Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
many outstanding golf courses, such as Turnberry (see below), also pleased the golf-
mad U.S. president. Today, tourists can use his six-room top-floor flat as holiday
accommodations. Fans of the Scottish cult horror film, The Wicker Man, should
recognize that scenes were filmed here. Last entry is 1 hour before closing.
A719, west of Maybole. &   01655/884-455. www.culzeanexperience.org. www.nts.org.uk. Admission
(including entrance to the Country Park) £13 adults, £9 seniors and children, £32 family. MC, V. Apr-Oct
daily 10:30am-5pm (visitor center also Nov-Mar Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm).
Culzean Country Park The expansive grounds surrounding the castle
contain a formal walled garden, an aviary, swan pond, camellia house, an orangery,
adventure playground, and restored 19th-century pagoda. Not to mention a deer
park, kilometers and kilometers of woodland paths, and a beach, too. Unless you're
dead keen on historical houses, the country park is arguably the real highlight of a
trip to Culzean on a fine Ayrshire day. The views over the sea to the southwest
include the rounded rock of an island called Ailsa Craig. Some 16km (10 miles)
offshore, it's a nesting ground and sanctuary for seabirds.
On the land surrounding Culzean Castle. &   01655/884-400. Included in admission to Culzean Castle.
Daily 9am-dusk.
GOLFING HEAVENS: TROON &
TURNBERRY
Troon
The town of Troon, 11km (7 miles) north of Ayr and about 50km (31 miles) south-
west of Glasgow, looks out across the Firth of Clyde toward the Isle of Arran. Troon
takes its name from the curiously hook-shaped promontory jutting out into the sea:
The trone or “nose.” From this port, a ferry sails March to October to Larne in
Northern Ireland.
Troon and its environs offer several sandy links courses, most prominently the
Royal Troon Golf Club , Craigend Rd., Troon, Ayrshire KA10 6EP ( &   01292/
311-555; www.royaltroon.co.uk). Royal Troon is a 7,150-yard seaside course that
hosts the prestigious Open Championship, which was last played here in 2004. Hole
8, the famous “Postage Stamp,” may be only 123 yards in distance, but depending
upon the wind, you may need a wood or wedge to reach the green. A second course,
the 6,289-yard Portland, is arguably even more challenging. Visitors, with certificate
of handicap (20 for men and 30 for women), can play the course from May through
October on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The 1-day fee to play one round on the
Old Course and one on Portland is around £240, which includes morning coffee and
a buffet lunch. Two rounds on Portland are about half the cost.
A less expensive and still gratifying option is to play one of Troon's municipal
courses run by the South Ayrshire Council, such as Darnley or Lochgreen, which runs
parallel to Royal Troon at spots. Fees during the weekend range from £18 to £32.
Another option is a six-round, 7-day golf pass from the council for £88. Log onto www.
golfsouthayrshire.com, or call the South Ayrshire Golf hotline on &   01292/616-255.
Trains from Glasgow's Central Station stop at Troon several times daily. The trip
takes about 40 minutes, and the standard same-day round-trip fare is about £12.
Trains and buses also connect Ayr with Troon, which is about a 10-minute ride. Call
&   0870/608-2608 for public transportation information.
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