Culzean Castle
Culzean is one of the most well-known castles in the country. Built in the 18th century and famous for its cliff top location and grand oval staircase, Culzean is widely regarded as architect Robert Adam’s finest work. Culzean is an ideal place for a day out with plenty to do including walks, gardens and play areas for kids.
Heads of Ayr Farmpark
Heads of Ayr Farmpark is a perfect place for a day out with the family. With an array of activities to choose from including assault courses, playparks, a giant sand pit, trampolines, quad bikes and many more there is always something to do whatever the weather.
Trump Turnberry, Golf Academy
The academy at Trump Turnberry is an ideal place for golfers of any level to improve their skills. The facilities include a driving range with sheltered, outdoor and grass bays, an extensive short game area and an immaculate putting green. Also on offer are lessons from some of the country’s top professionals and a state of the art True Spec fitting centre if you are interested in buying new clubs.
The Dick Institute
The Dick Institute is Ayrshire’s largest museum and art gallery space as well as East Ayrshires central library. The building was opened in 1901, and since its inception has played host to a number of significant exhibitions including Miffy, Quentin Blake, Wallace and Gromit, Cutting Edge, Radical Nature and Bill Viola. It has a diverse programme that includes work by contemporary artists, film makers and young artists from the region.
Dumfries House
Located 2 miles west of Cumnock, Dumfries House is an enchanting stately home set in over 2,000 acres of land. Noted for being one of the few Palladian houses with much of its original 18th century furniture still present, Dumfries House is a popular tourist destination and wedding venue. The estate has numerous attractio including a walled garden, restaurant and adventure playground.
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is a must visit destination in Ayrshire. The site includes the cottage where Burns’ was born and spent his first few years as well as a museum dedicated to the work of Scotland’s National Bard. Included in the ticket price is admission to nearby Burn’s Cottage, where the poet lived with his family.
Troon Beach
Troon beach is a long sweeping stretch of sand adjoining the Firth of Clyde to the main town. The beach is extremely well maintained and with easy access to local amenities such as ice cream and fish and chips shops you can see why it remains a popular spot.
Dundonald Castle
Built in 1371 and situated between Kilmarnock and Troon, Dundonald Castle is a stunning medieval tower house steeped in history. The fort was originally built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland and was used as a royal residence for him and his son Robert III. The castle features stunning views across the Firth of Clyde and has an adjacent visitors centre and cafeteria.
Turnberry Adventures
Located next to the iconic Trump Turnberry resort, Turnberry Adventures offers a broad range of activities including horse riding, clay pigeon shooting, archery, quad biking and water zorbing. The centre also caters for team building exercises as well as stag and hen do events.
A.D. Ratray’s Whisky Experience and Whisky Shop
With an incredible selection of whiskies from Scotland and around the world to browse and try, A.D. Ratray’s Whisky Experience and Whisky Shop is a must visit for whisky fans. It is a great place to learn about the history and production process behind Scotland’s national drink.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article