I had another day to myself today so I decided to take a trip down to South Ayrshire and visit Culzean Castle. (Pronounced Cul-ane)
It’s £18.50 for entry which is not particularly cheap but that gives you access all day.
Once you’ve parked in the main car park, you get access to the Castle, the Stables, the Walled Garden, Home Farm and Swan Pond.
The Castle is not as old as I expected it to be and looks quite modern as you approach. I guess in the grand scheme of things it’s not as old as many of the Castles in Scotland.
It was more of a stately home really.
Culzean Castle is perched on the side of a cliff at the end of Croy Beach.
It was built there to impress. Originally a batchelor pad, it’s been added to over the years to accommodate future generations with families.
The oval staircase is particularly impressive. Built like that to accommodate the space available, it’s very cleverly done and the rooms in the main part of the house are all accessed from the staircase.
The ceilings in many of the rooms are particularly impressive. This one was made with paper maché!
The tour takes you down to the reconstructed kitchens. In 1945 when the Castle was first opened to the public, they assumed that the public would not want to see anything of the servants…. The kitchen was converted into a tearoom. The National Trust have not converted it back to what it would have looked like.
I love this caption above the range… WASTE NOT WANT NOT.
My gran used to say that all the time. These days we waste so many thing, especially food.
The family used to send laundry back to Culzean when they were living in London. They sent it by train. How decadent was that?!?!
I then walked round the west wing of the house to the gardens.
I think many of these are private flats now.
By far the best part for me was the walk through the grounds down to the Swan Pond…. Think they missed out big time not calling it Swan Lake!
The pond is pretty stagnant in most places.
But very beautiful with all those lily pads.
I loved this wicker dragon in the pond. 🐉 what’s a castle without a dragon?
I took a million photos of these two swans! They looked like a gravy boat!!!
I stopped for a coffee and this wee guy perched on the wall in front of me. So cute!
I then took a walk down the cliff onto the beach. I loved this walk. I was scrambling over rocks for a fair bit of it but you know how much I love a beach. 🏝
The castle on the cliff…. The sun came out and I was awfy warm scrambling around.
Loved these shells!
The castle is built over a warren of caves. None of these are open to the public that I could see but there are archeological investigations ongoing. They believe the caves were occupied in as far back as the Iron Age.
I loved this wee gas housekeepers cottage.
This is the gas house!
There are plenty of tearooms and a couple of gift shops but the highlight for me are the sprawling grounds, Swan Pond and the beach below.
You could walk around the country estate all day and still not cover it all. The walks are clearly signposted.
It’s been a lovely day out.
I have to give you a laugh at the Powder Room…. which I don’t have a photo of… I assumed it was for the ladies of the house to stop off and powder their noses on the 25 minute walk from the house to Swan Pond and back.
Nope…… gunpowder storage. 🤦🏻♀️ course.
I have loads more photos that I can share tomorrow but WordPress is not behaving again tonight. It doesn’t seem to like this many photos in one blog. I have a feeling some won’t show when it’s published but let’s see.
Hope you’re having a lovely Saturday.
Stay safe everyone 🏰🏴🏰
The Rambling Sloth 🦥 