Our visit to Ayrshire
10 – 12 June 2019
Monday 10 June 2019
Our first visit was Crawick Multiverse, a hidden gem nested in a bowl of rolling hills in the heart of Dumfries and Galloway. This major new land restoration project on the Duke of Buccleuch’s Queensberry Estate has transformed a former open cast coal mine into a spectacular artland and public amenity and was designed by Charles Jencks, the celebrated landscape architect and author. The ecology of the site, and the materials found within it, inspired its design which is based around space, astronomy and cosmology.
Tuesday 11 June 2019
Visit to Dumfries House. Its stunning interiors are home to a world-class collection of furniture by Thomas Chippendale and many late 18th Century cabinet makers, which recently featured on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. A guided tour of the house is included. There will also be an opportunity for lunch (not included) and time to enjoy the grounds and gardens of Dumfries House.
In the afternoon we visited The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum – a unique encounter with Scotland’s most exceptional man. Set among the delightful scenery of historic Alloway, the museum houses the world’s most important Robert Burns collection, an unmatched opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of the work of Scotland’s National Poet. Other highlights include Burns’ birthplace, brought to life through a mixture of modern technology and unique authentic locations and artefacts as we travel back in time and visit the Burns family; the humour and excitement of Robert Burns best-loved tale in the Tam O’Shanter Experience and a chance to walk in the footsteps of Tam himself in “Alloway’s auld haunted kirk” and across auld Brig O’Doon, where Tam’s mare, Meg had her narrow escape from the witches.
Wednesday 12 June 2019
Drumlanrig Castle. Surrounded by the 120,000 acre Queensberry Estate, Country Park and grand Victorian gardens, Drumlanrig Castle was completed in 1691 by William Douglas, first Duke of Queensberry, and is one of the first and most important Renaissance buildings in the grand manner in Scotland. Drumlanrig hit the headlines in 2003 following the audacious theft of the Leonardo da Vinci painting ‘Madonna with the Yarnwinder’ and it was as a consequence of this that formal guided tours of the castle were introduced.