Photographs of Culzean Castle Country Park on the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland

Location: South Ayrshire
Map: OS Landranger 70. A detailed map is free to visitors
Distance: 5 miles W
Time: 2-3 hours
Grade: Easy woodland and shore walk

There is so much to see and do at Culzean that it’s hard to know where to start, though until April 1 the options are limited due to the castle’s seasonal closure.
You can however still access the wonderful park and feast on the castle’s visual appeal.
In 1770, the 10th Earl of Cassillis asked the renowned architect Robert Adam to enlarge the existing castle on its cliﬂtop site.
Adam at the height of his powers, recognised the potential of the site and rewarded his generous client with a masterpiece.
It is not a castle in the defensive sense, more a magniﬁcent country house that has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland since 1945.
It contains a great deal of interesting furniture, paintings and other artworks and is well worth a visit when the curtain rises on the season.
Our focus here is on using the castle as just one attraction on a splendid walk. The castle sits at the heart of an extensive park which has much to see within it and is rightly popular with visitors of all ages.
Right at the start of the walk the Home Farm courtyard (also designed by Adam) holds a restaurant. shop and toilets — all great facilities that you can use before the walk or after it.

Later on you can see Culzean’s deer park over to the right and can if you wish divert to walk through the ﬁne walled garden or (as the route describes) past the Camellia House with its exotic plants.
Culzean’s path network ( shown on the free map available on arrival ) offers almost edless possiblities and it is quite easy to get away from crowds if you have come at a particularly busy
time. Whenever you come, one visit is unlikely to be enough. It truly is a place for all seasons.

Route: Start and finish at Home Farm car park, Culzean ( GFI: NS237103 ).
Walk through courtyard and exit by far left archway. Look for sign Footpath to Castle and follow this.
Pass through archway and walk up to castle.
From front of castle, go down steps to walk through Fountain Court.
At far end, go R on path to the West Battery. Continue on
path marked Cliff Walk and Swan Pond.

Follow this path, briefly joining road then continuing through woods to Pond.
Follow pondside path. At far end cross fotbridge and take ﬁrst path on R in 50m.
Follow this path through woods then into the open and down long flight of steps to the beach.
Walk along beach, crossing burn by a footbridge, into Maidens.
Return along the beach to footbridge but go R here ( NTS -signs ) and follow main track straight ahead.
At large car park go L to Swan Pond and follow path beside it.
Past end of pond, at junction TR and in about 150m TH again on first real path, climbing gently.
Rejoin main drive but when this goes sharp Fl go ahead on small path to pass Camellia House.
Continue ahead on path back to archway and return to the start.
Note: There is a charge for entry for those arriving by car ( NTS members free ). There is no charge for walkers.

CULZEAN COUNTRY PARK - DESCRIPTION:-

Over many years competitive vegetable growers have come to rely on a number of high-performing vegetable varieties to bring them success on the show bench.
One of those is Ailsa Craig, a large, golden onion that is prized by cooks and allotmenteers alike.
This reliable onion was bred by gardener David Murray in the 1870s within the walled garden at Culzean Castle, the historic seat of the Kennedy family
, which was designed by superstar architect Robert Adam - who certainly made the most of the setting.
The castle sits on the edge of sheer cliffs, overlooking the Firth of Clyde, and the estate that lies on the other three sides covers 260 hectares of woodland, farmland,
designed landscape and beautifully cultivated gardens.
From the ramparts there are stunning views towards Arran and the sunsets here are some of the most spectacular in Scotland.
The entrance to the castle is reached by a stone bridge over a gully and below this is a the sunken Fountain Court, where all kinds of semi-tender ﬂowers enjoy the
protected position, flowering well into autumn.
The fountain itself is a glamorous centrepiece, with dolphins and a nymph cavorting above a large pool. Citrus trees overwinter in the orangery set into
the lower level, while not far away sits an exquisite camellia house, where more delicate species of this favourite spring shrub are protected from frost.
The walled garden where that famous Ailsa Craig onion was bred has undergone restoration in recent years, with new fruit trees, ﬂowers and vegetable beds added
to the existing range of productive glasshouses. Produce from here is used in the cafe which occupies one side of an elegant stable block that is set around a courtyard near to the castle
devoted to producing food and flowers.
What makes this walled garden different from others is that while one half is food and flowers, the other half was designed as a place for pleasure, with mature
cedars, hardy bananas, a grotto and ferns of the kind that were hugely fashionable during the Victorian era.
Continue through the estate and you eventually reach the Swan Pond, a five-acre pool surrounded by trees and home to many different kinds of wildfowl.
Here and in other parts of the estate you can find giant willow structures designed by Galloway-based artist Trevor Leat.
One to look out for is the Ailsa Onion arbour where weary visitors can sit and rest their feet.
And they might need a rest after tramping the 18 miles of paths and tracks that lead through the woodlands and parklands, down to the coves and caves that lie at the
bottom of Culzean’s cliffs.
Five million trees were planted on the Culzean estate during the early part of the 19th century and these trees now act as a shelter belt, protecting the gardens from the
winds that blow in from the Clyde.
Today this dense beechwood and the shrubbery that has grown up beneath it also provides a rich, habitat for all kinds of wildlife, including bats, barn owls,
woodpeckers, hares and otters.
There are also a few more unusual species to be found here too, including the llamas that share a huge enclosure with a flock of red deer.
The deer park is of particular interest to young visitors and so too is the extensive range of adventure playgrounds that provide active fun for children of all ages.
Nearby steps lead down to Maidens beach while the rock pools beneath the cliffs are filled with marine creatures.
In autumn the colours in the trees are rich and vibrant, but Culzean’s sheltered microclimate also makes it worth visiting throughout the winter months and into the new year, when
sheets of snowdrops start to appear, pushing their way through the fallen leaves that carpet the ground, and the growing season starts again.

DETAILS:

Culzean Castle gardens and country park are open daily, 10am-4pm.
Tickets: £7/ £5/ £4 ( children ) / £1 ( Young Scot )
Tel: 01655 884455
information@nts.org.uk
The entrance to the estate is on the A719 12 miles south of Ayr.
Some parts of the estate are wheelchair accessible.
A full accessibility guide is available on the NTS website ( www.nts.org.co.uk ).