📌 Maidens, South Ayrshire
★★★★
We don’t usually give castle grounds their own feature page, but Culzean Castle‘s surroundings are something special. This country park is designed on a grand scale, with wooded avenues linking lakes and ponds, walled garden, formal lawns, deer park, adventure playground, dozens of follies and multiple car parks. Sheer cliffs also drop directly behind the castle walls to a beautiful stony beach, with miles of tidal rock pools brimming with marine life. The country park (only) ticket includes access to all of this except for the interior of the castle itself (a more expensive ticket covers this too), and is a full day well spent. Beware – on a hot Bank Holiday Weekend, half the population of southwest Scotland seems to agree.
🌍 Location
📌 Off the A719 2 mi north of Maidens. Swan Pond is at:
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 225096
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.347921,-4.801196
🚌 Bus stops on A719 at entrance to park
🚗 Car parks
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily
🎫 £14 adult / £8 child, free for National Trust for Scotland members – joint ticket with Culzean Castle available
🔗 Website: nts.org.uk | Park map here
