CARRAIG
Culzean Castle and Country Park
CULZEAN CASTLE
Visit Carraig for our castles ...
Culzean Castle and Country Park is our jewel in the crown of castles. Known as Robert Adam’s cliff top masterpiece, this storybook castle centres around a dramatic oval staircase with the magic of turrets, panoramic views and military swords. There is a whole suite named in honour of President Eisenhower. Head outdoors to the adventure cove playground, beaches, trails, deer park. Look out for The Gruffalo! Pick up some second hand books or some art before enjoying some courtyard lunch or a picnic by the swan pond. Culzean is loved by many. You will soon discover why!
VIDEO : CULZEAN CASTLE © From The Ayr
CARRAIG CASTLES
Kilochan Castle and Blairquhan Castle are both available for private hire. Kilochan boasts a happy hour deck with views to die for, your own cinema room and fishing river. Blairquhan Castle is where The Queen movie was filmed and has a number of holiday cottages.
Other castles within Carraig which are not visitable at the moment include Maybole Castle (essential works underway), Cassilis Castle (up for sale), Dunduff Castle (privately owned) and the once frequented by Pre-Raphaelite artists and writers Penkill Castle (privately owned). 'Even Naples in imagination cannot efface the quiet fertile comeliness of Penkill in reality' Christina Rossetti (poet)
CASTLE RUINS
But who doesn’t love a castle ruin?
Only the remains of Turnberry Castle, where Robert the Bruce was born, still exist. But they now form part of a scenic short walk towards Turnberry Lighthouse built by Robert Louis Stevenson’s father and uncle - so still very worth a visit.
Dunure Castle is a favourite amongst locals and visitors and an absolute show off when it comes to great photography! It can be found hugging the coastline and overlooking the harbour where Jamie and Claire boarded the Artemis in Outlander.
Baltersan Castle sits close by to Crossraguel Abbey ruins. There is said to once have been a tunnel between them. Crossraguel Abbey is thought to be the spot where Robert The Bruce was christened, with his assumed baptismal font now located in nearby Kirkoswald.
Dalquharran Castle, like Culzean, was another Robert Adam creation. But in contrast to Culzean, it now lies in ruin, with an eerie atmosphere, packing a punch for stunning overhead drone photography.
Other Carraig castle ruins include Thomaston Castle (look out for it from the roadside near Culzean), Ardstinchar Castle, used as a quarry for material for a bridge over the River Stinchar around 1770 and Carleton Castle, rumoured to be attached to a legendary tale of Sir John Cathcart and his many wives mysteriously plungeing to their deaths!
VIDEO : DALQUHARRAN CASTLE © From The Ayr
CARRAIG HERITAGE ECO-MUSEUM EXHIBITS
Experience Heritage with our Carraig Eco-Museum exhibits including :
CASTLES | CASTLE RUINS : Culzean Castle (open to public) Kilochan Castle (private hire) Blairquhan Castle (private hire) Maybole Castle (currently closed) Cassilis Castle (currently closed) Dunduff Castle (privately owned) Penkill Castle (privately owned) Turnberry Castle (limited ruins) Dunure Castle (ruin - open to public) Baltersan Castle (ruin - open to public) Crossraguel Abbey (ruin - open to public) Dalquharran Castle (ruin - open to public) Thomaston Castle (ruin - open to public) Ardstinchar Castle (ruin - open to public) and Carleton Castle (ruin - open to public).
CHURCHES | GRAVEYARDS : Kirkoswald Old Kirkyard (real life characters from Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter lie here) Kirkoswald Parish Church (designed by Robert Adam, frequented by Robert Burns and visited by President Eisenhower, the only serving American President to worship in a Church of Scotland) Maybole Collegiate Church Ruin (founded 1371), and St. Cuthberts Church Straiton (featuring a Gothic window and a stone seat the full length of the wall)
HALLS | HOUSES | COTTAGES : Souter Johnnie's Cottage (an' auld friend o' Tam o' Shanter), Stumpy Tower (Girvan's old courthouse and jail), McCosh Hall (donated to the community from Dr John McCosh, a local surgeon and photographer who served in India) and the weavers cottages which still stand today in Crosshill and Kirkmichael.
SCULPTURES | STATUES : Bruce's Baptismal Font (moved from Crossraguel Abbey to Kirkoswald), the brand new Mercat Cross celebrating Maybole history, Dunure Dovecot (beehive shaped) and the Robert Burns bust displayed proudly in Maybole Town Hall, the town where his parents met and married.
LANDMARKS : Turnberry Lighthouse (designed by Robert Louis Stevenston's father and uncle), Girvan Lighthouse (just 5 miles from Turnberry Lighthouse), Dunure Lighthouse, Limekilns and Labyrinth and the magical :) gravity defying Electric Brae