Location:Dumfries House, Ayrshire
Grade: Easy woodland walk
Distance: 2.5 miles/4km
Time: 1-2 hours
A Heritage Success Story
The story of how Dumfries House – and in particular its priceless contents - was saved is well known, as is the prominent role Prince Charles played in bringing people together, alerting them to the problem and getting something done about it, including of course the all-important funding.
Dumfries House is now a very successful visitor attraction, and is well worth a visit. Renovation has been carried out to the highest possible standard, and the house contains the largest known collection of Thomas Chippendale’s early work.
A great deal of work has also been done on the wider estate, and a walk round the grounds is not only a very pleasant experience but provides plenty of evidence of ongoing work to improve things still further.
Start from the main car park and follow the signposted path to the Visitor Centre where you can pick up information (and a free map of the estate) and book a guided tour of the house if you want one. The excellent Coach House Café is located next door. Continue with the path, returning to the roadway just before the Adam Bridge over the Lugar Water. Note the very steep gradient – this is called an ‘elliptical bridge’ and was designed to give visitors a sudden and dramatic view of the house (now screened by trees). You next pass the Chinese Bridge, based on an original design by Robert Weir Schultz, and walk up to the Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden. The riverside path you take borders a beautiful arboretum.
The Walled Garden has been laid out to a design by Michael Innes, and gives a magnificent display of colour in summer. It was opened by The Queen in July 2014 and is named in her honour. Note that there is a separate small charge for visiting the Walled Garden. You can also visit the greenhouses which hold exotic plants.
The Duchess of Rothesay Avenue (a path lined by lime trees) leads to the curious building called The Temple Gate at the top. It was designed by John Adam as a gatehouse in the late 1700s but now has no practical purpose. After wandering past Valentin’s Education Farm, which is used by visiting school groups, and Home Farm you follow a truly delightful path that meanders through mature woodland and takes you back to the pond and fountain, a good place for a stop.
After recrossing the Adam Bridge, a curving path round the back of the Maze leads to the former laundry, another John Adam building which has been restored and now houses the Royal Drawing School Dimplex Artist Studios used by the RDS Artist in Residency programme. Crossing the excellent adventure play area, you finally reach Dumfries House.
Walk round the house, admiring the parterre and the fine Mahfouz Fountain. The house was completed in 1759 to a design in the Palladian style by Robert and John Adam, and was extended in 1897 by Robert Weir Schultz. This brief description can only serve to whet your appetite and I strongly recommend you go and see for yourself. Every time you go to Dumfries House there seems to be something new to enjoy.
Roger Smith
ROUTE PLANNER
Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer sheet 327. Free estate map available at Visitor Centre.
Distance: 2.5 miles/4km
Time: 1-2 hours
Start/finish: Dumfries House car park (GR: NS 540204). Entry is off the A70 3km west of Cumnock.
Public transport: None to the start. Stagecoach buses (service 42 or 43) to Cumnock (3km away) from Ayr. Trains from Glasgow Central to Auchinleck (3km away). Details from www.travelinescotland.com
Information: Dumfries House, 01290 425959 or www.dumfries-house.co.uk .
Route: From car park, take signed path to Visitor Centre. Continue on path to Adam Bridge. Cross bridge and TL following Lugar Water past Chinese Bridge. Continue to Walled Garden. Walk round Walled Garden and leave by same gateway. Take left hand path going towards fountain but at junction TL uphill. Cross road and walk uphill on Duchess of Rothesay Avenue to Temple Gate at top. TR and follow path round towards farm buildings. If gates locked TL and walk through wood by fence to road. TR and follow road through Home Farm. When road goes R go ahead for 50m then TR on path through woods, back to pond and fountain. TL and recross Adam Bridge. TL on path round back of Maze, curving round to old laundry. Go up slope to adventure playground, cross and take path leading L to rear of Dumfries House. Walk round to front of house and when ready to leave, take path past picnic tables leading back to car park.
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 here