AS one of the many who love Portencross and would love to own it and restore it to its former glory and life as a home, I find it sad that a ''romantic ruin'' for today has precedence for many over an ongoing existence for the castle. Were I successful in purchasing Portencross it would be to open the doors and become part of the community, rather than continuing the locked and barred doors that it has largely been for the past 250 years.

Portencross is in bad shape; the concrete roof that was put on a number of years ago is leaking and creating a situation that will bring the old stones down, and with them the vaulting. It needs a roof and floors and stonework and protection from the elements if it is to survive to inspire future generations and visitors.

Fencing around Portencross would be heresy - but so too is leaving it to rot and ruin for the sake of decrepitude as a novel form of art. Too much of Scotland's history and beauty is going to rack and ruin because of this attitude. Preservation of Scotland's heritage and respect for the architectural wonders of earlier generations, particularly of a place such as Portencross where enough remains to enable an enthusiastic and careful owner to restore it to its fourteenth-century grandeur, is vital. So much of the written history and artifacts of early Scotland were destroyed in ensuing wars and vicissitudes that the architecture must be valued.

It would take dedication and years and years and a great deal of money, but at the end, it would be a life well lived that saved Portencross. Don't let Portencross fall into the sea from a misguided sense of romance. Let living people populate it again, to dance with the ghosts of its past and its future.

Nola Crewe,

22 Wellesley Street East, Toronto.

May 19.

ANN McLachlan's comments (May 20) on the future of Portencross are refreshing as she clearly sees the proposed sale of Portencross Castle as an opportunity rather than a problem. But I take issue with the view that the building and the foreshore should ''stay the same''. Even if nobody does anything, it will not stay the same. It is the nature of life that everything is in decay and the whole struggle is to arrest or at least slow down that decay in order that we may gain enrichment and enjoyment.

The building is frequently battered by abrasive, salt-laden winds. The 84-year-old lady who was recently enjoying Portencross and reminiscing of her past visits will not be matched in 80 years' time by any of today's four-year-olds. One day, Portencross Castle will be gone.

So the choice is between conserving as a ruin or restoration to a purpose as close as possible to the original. In either case, the matter is simple. Who will pay? Should public money be spent to pickle a ruin or should private money be encouraged to restore it to life?

There are many examples of conserved, roofless ruins in Scotland. So much so that Historic Scotland's advertising implores visitors to ''bring their imagination''.

In most cases, ruins are bleak, empty places. they speak of defeat, neglect, and decay. Scottish tourists admire the inhabited historic buildings in England, Germany, and France. But when they return home, they seem content to have their own country lie in ruins. Where is the logic?

Portencross restored would be a magnificent asset. It would be a wealth generator, not a money drain. It would be a facility literally rooted in the hamlet, not a transient benefit like some Oriental computer plant.

I cannot see what pride there is in dispatching pictures of a ruined building around the world any more than I would send someone a photograph of my family in rags. Surely, a lived-in building with appropriate garden surrounds is better than the present moribund state?

It is possible to find a benign, sensitive restorer who will bring that desirable situation about, and ensure public access to the foreshore. But only if Magnox are prevailed upon not to sell simply to the highest bidder in our dreadful ''blind bidding'' property purchase.

The best new custodian of Portencross will not be an amorphous, public body which thinks in cold statistics, but a passionate individual with the welfare and best interests of the people of Portencross and the castle foremost in their heart. That means the challenge of change and the excitement of development.

James Brown,

Baltersan Cottage,

Dalchomie Farm, by Maybole.

May 20.

I READ Jennifer Cunningham's article (May 18) about Portencross Castle with much personal interest. My grandfather, Gilbert Irvine, was shepherd at nearby Ardneil Farm for over 40 years. My two sisters and I spent the long summers of our childhood exploring Portencross beach and the castle.

I am dismayed that there may be a possibility that Portencross Castle may be sold off. Is nothing sacred? Surely we owe it to generations to come to preserve things as they are.

Please keep Portencross Castle as it is - a wonderful feature on a beautiful rugged piece of the Ayrshire coastline.

Fiona McBroom,

21 Argyle Grove, Dunblane. May 18.