Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At the heart of the complex is the
abbey church
, which has ornate carvings over the
piscina and sedilia, though it's not as impressive as the fifteenth-century
sacristy
,
which has kept its vaulted ceiling and its decorative capitals, corbels and bosses,
embellished with squirrels, lions, a triple-faced head and a green man. Next door, off
the cloisters, is the similarly intact, though less decorative,
chapterhouse
. he
tower
house
, tacked onto the eastern end of the complex, was built in the early sixteenth
century as luxury accommodation for William Kennedy, the last abbot to reside here,
between 1520 and 1547; in keeping with the abbot's high status in the outside
world, it clearly illustrates the corruption of the monastic ideal that spurred the
Reformation. On the opposite side of the abbey, the
gatehouse
is equally grand, and
has been restored so that you can climb right up to the cap house and walk out onto
the battlements.
Visible in one corner of the complex is a beehive-shaped
dovecote
, complete with
well-preserved nesting boxes. his was a crucial part of the abbey's economy, as the
monks not only ate the doves but also relied on them for eggs.
Culzean Castle
A719, 4km west of Maybole •
Castle
Easter-Oct daily 10.30am-5pm • £15; NTS •
Country
park
Daily 9.30am-dusk • £10
T
0844 493
2149,
W
culzeanexperience.org • From Ayr take bus #60
Sitting on the edge of a sheer cliff, looking out over the Firth of Clyde to Arran,
Culzean Castle
couldn't have a more impressive situation. Given its strategic position,
it's hardly surprising that the Kennedy family maintained a castle at Culzean
(pronounced “cullane”) from the twelfth century onwards. he current castle is actually
a grand, late eighteenth-century stately home, designed by the Scottish Neoclassical
architect
Robert Adam
for the tenth earl of Cassillis (pronounced “cassles”), as the
Kennedys had by then become.
At the
visitor centre
, in the modernized Home Farm buildings, you can watch an
audiovisual show on the house, and pick up free maps that help you to get your
bearings. From here, it's a few minutes' walk through Adam's mock-ruined arch to
the
castle
itself, which overlooks the pristine lawn and herbaceous borders of the
Fountain Court on one side, with the high sea cliffs on the other. Begun in 1777,
Culzean's exterior preserves a medieval aspect, with its arrow slits and battlements;
the interior, however, exemplifies the delicate, harmonious Neoclassical designs that
Adam loved - look out for the dolphins and swans (emblems of the Kennedy family)
and the rams' heads (Adam's own favourite motif ). he most brilliantly conceived
work by Adam is the
Oval Staircase
, where tiers of classical columns lead up to a
huge glazed cupola allowing light to stream down. After admiring the portrait of
Napoleon by Lefèvre, you pass through to the impressive circular
Saloon
, whose
symmetrical flourishes deliberately contrast with the natural land and seascapes on
view through the windows.
It's worth leaving enough time for an exploration of the 500-acre
country park
, the
highlights of which are the walled garden, with its stone and glass orangery, stone
grotto and fruit houses, and the Swan Pond, abundant with waterfowl.
4
GOLF IN AYR
Few parts of Scotland can boast as many world class
golf courses
as this stretch of the
Ayrshire coast, with two in particular -
Royal Troon
(
W
royaltroon.co.uk), ten miles north of
Ayr, and
Turnberry
(
W
turnberry.co.uk), sixteen miles south of Ayr - ranking among the
world's most prestigious. Both courses are on the British Open roster, with Troon scheduled to
stage the event in 2016. A round at either of these will cost you a small fortune (about £150),
but there are plenty more affordable places to play throughout the region.
