Day Four - Ayrshire - Dean Castle & Culzean Castle

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Ardyne B&B at Rothesay - from the front step looking north there was an expansive view of the Firth of Clyde and the Scottish Highlands. A CalMac ferry was passing and I'm sure you can set your clock by them. 

After another impressive breakfast, we were on the 9 am ferry to the mainland. Then we drove south, along the west coast, into Ayrshire, Robert Burns country. 

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	front yard view		the Ardyne Guest House		owner & breakfast chef		Rothesay looks outdated
		back on the Firth of Clyde		Scottish Highlands start here		dreaming of sticky toffee pudding ?

On the map below, look for Kilmarnock, where Dean Castle is, and for Maybole, south of Ayr, where Culzean Castle is. Also look for Tarbolton, east of Ayr, where we stayed.

map of Ayrshire

We drove inland to see Dean Castle, near Kilmarnock, knowing ahead of time that it was closed & undergoing a multi-year restoration, but we wanted to walk around the old structure, currently clad in scaffolding, because one of us had a Dean family connection. 

	the connection		Castle under repair				tapestry from  Castle collection
		postcard photo		three photos from the web		magnificent entrance
			a large County park surrounds the Castle		visitor center

note - at the visitor center I ordered a coffee drink and the person serving me was a young Filipino woman. Being familiar with the ethnic group from my work career, I said (in essence) 'what are you doing living here ?'. I added 'because it gets so cold in winter'. 

She laughed and said "I love freezing weather" and admitted that she has never seen another person from her Country here. I asked her if she knew that Filipinos have thrived on the west coast of the US, she was stunned and said she had never heard of that before. This was an unexpected cultural exchange, and, the coffee was great !

We did saunter around the entire castle but it is under (construction) wraps.  

From Dean Castle we drove south past Ayr & Alloway to Maybole & thence to Culzean Castle. The original buildings were renovated and expanded in the late 1700s by Robert Adam, the preeminent Scottish Architect of the Georgian period. After so many accomplishments, this was his last project and he passed away prior to completion. His brother & son finished the work.   

CULZEAN CASTLE (the Z is silent)

Since around 1500, the London based Kennedy family held or earned the hereditary title of Earls of Cassillis and there was an early structure at Culzean since the 1600s. It was Thomas Kennedy of Culzean and 9th Earl of Cassillis who in the mid-1700s embarked on large scale improvements to the Castle and Estates.  Much of the ground floor was completed at that time.  David Kennedy, 10th Earl of Cassillis, commissioned Robert Adam to finish the job in the 1790s.

The Castle is in a stunning natural setting, perched on a cliff above the Firth of Clyde. 

	a ruined arch & viaduct visitor entrance		Culzean Castle		look for palm trees		cotoneaster
		clematis		huge gun display at the entry		Docent in dining room
	great ceilings, by Robt. Adam		in the study				on the Firth of Clyde
		Isle of Arran across a wine-dark sea				elegant stairway
	a little portrait galley on 3rd floor landing		the Brits admired Napoleon at first		the hand
							Susanna, Countess of Eglinton
	the best of the best		last Q&A opportunity		a cold & rainy day outside

Culzean Castle grounds are enormous & the handout map shows at least three walking paths down to sea level. One could stroll here for hours, but not on a windy & rainy day.    

AYR & TARBOLTON

After the Castle tour, we drove five miles north on minor roads into the old port City of Ayr, where we had a 4:30 pm dinner at Chestnut's Hotel, a classy old building. We were the only diners and our table had a fireplace close by. Service and food were great.

Thanks to Linda B's online driving guidance, we navigated our way uphill on a rainy October night, after dark, to Crofthead Farm B&B in Tarbolton. Once again we were out in the country, and it was completely quiet at night.

From open windows came gusts of cold wind, bringing coastal & farmland aromas.

go to next page - Drive to Keswick - Crawick Multiverse & Robert Burns House (Dumfries)

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