Travels with rarecat: Ayrshire - Rabbie Burns Country

Sunday, 15 July 2018

Ayrshire - Rabbie Burns Country

Our first day out of Glasgow, we joined a day tour to Ayrshire, visiting Culzean Castle and Rabbie Burns country. Culzean Castle was the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, chief of Clan Kennedy, but has now been turned over to the National Trust of Scotland and is considered the "jewel in the crown". The 18th century castle, more like a country house with battlements, was designed by architect Robert Adam. The best aspect of the castle in my view is its site on the top of a cliff with waves crashing at its feet. But it also has lovely grounds, including a walled garden, the beautiful ruins of a viaduct and many old trees along its many walking paths.

There was a nice friendly cafe on the castle grounds with delicious homemade scones among its offerings. After lunch we headed towards Alloway into Rabbie Burns country. On the way we stopped at the ruins of Dunure Castle, also by the sea. There is a certain air of romance around ruins that made them very attractive. We had seen another one (Baltersan Castle) earlier on the way to Culzean castle but we didn't have time to stop at the ruins of Crossraguel Abbey, which looked very pretty online.

Our first view of the Brig O'doon was exactly as I had seen it in photos - what a stunning sight! It was the photo that made me want to come down to Ayrshire - a must-see for me and as luck would have it, the sun came out for us just at the right time after a windy cloudy morning at the Castle. Unfortunately, the gardens, which looked gorgeous from the gates, were closed by the time we got there but we just made it into the Alloway Church beside it to see the beautiful interior with its amazing stained glass. Our guide Iain had put on songs and poetry by Rabbie Burns on our way down to the countryside, putting us right in the mood for a visit to his birthplace. Iain reminded us of his poem "To a mouse" and how he derived deep philosophical insight from a common incident encountered so when we walked by the sculpture of the mouse on the Poet's Path to his cottage, we recognized what we were looking at.

It was an excellent day trip from Glasgow - highly recommended!

Practical tips:
- The "z" in Culzean Castle isn't pronounced; I asked the guide as I kept wondering whether I was misspelling it.
- Check the hours of the different pieces of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum before you visit so you don't miss seeing important places like the gardens which supposedly close at 5pm but was closed when we got there at 4pm. The Church was open till 4pm.