Culzean Castle is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The clifftop castle lies within the Culzean Castle Country Park and is opened to the public.

Culzean Castle was constructed as an L-plan castle by order of the 10th Earl of Cassilis. He instructed the architect Robert Adam to rebuild a previous, but more basic, structure into a fine country house to be the seat of his earldom. The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792. It incorporates a large drum tower with a circular saloon inside (which overlooks the sea), a grand oval staircase and a suite of well-appointed apartments.

In 1945, the Kennedy family gave the castle and its grounds to the National Trust for Scotland (thus avoiding inheritance tax). In doing so, they stipulated that the apartment at the top of the castle be given to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War. The General first visited Culzean Castle in 1946 and stayed there four times, including once while President of the United States.

The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry, a British Yeomanry cavalry regiment, was formed by the Earl of Cassillis at Culzean Castle in about 1794. On 24 June 1961, the regiment returned to the castle to be presented with its first guidon by General Sir Horatius Murray, KBE, CB, DSO.

The castle re-opened in April 2011 after a refurbishment funded by a gift in the will of American millionaire William Lindsay to the National Trust for Scotland.

Features

The armoury contains a propeller from a plane flown by Leefe Robinson when he shot down a German airship north of London in 1916.

To the north of the castle is a bay containing the Gas House, which provided town gas for the castle up until 1940. This group of buildings consists of the gas manager's house (now containing an exhibition on William Murdoch), the Retort House and the remains of the gasometer.

There are sea caves beneath the castle which are currently not open generally, but are open for tours throughout the summer.

The castle grounds include a walled garden, which is built on the site of the home of a former slave owned by the Kennedy family, Scipio Kennedy.

The castle is reputed to be home to at least seven ghosts, including a piper and a servant girl.

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Address

Maybole, United Kingdom
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Details

Founded: 1777-1792
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Wendy Graham (7 months ago)
Brilliant day out with the kids so much to do and see. The castle is a must full of historic values for both young and old ?, then you have the walled garden beautiful in its own right and the play areas for all age groups. You don't need to worry about food either the country kitchen has plenty ?.
Mark Almada (7 months ago)
Beautiful location on the coastal cliffs with a beach below the castle. Park lands are cast and the walks are good. National Trust staff are very helpful and knowledgeable. They are easy to approach and once engaged they are happy to share their knowledge of the place. The driver of the Transport from the stable to the Castle is a real joy. Super friendly and fun with the visitors. A pleasure and well worth a trip or two.
Mark Beuchet (7 months ago)
Great place with lovely grounds, walks, and access to beach. The castle itself doesn’t have a huge amount of rooms open to the public, but they are nice rooms with good information. We also used the cafe which was very good. Excellent food and good quick service. Really nice place that’s well worth visiting.
Jen Gan (7 months ago)
Amazing experience here. So much to do and we just didn't have enough time. Easily a full day's worth of fun. Definitely worth a visit. Children loved the play area, I even had a go! Walled Gardens are beautiful and the castle was fab with the Lego people activity a great bit of fun for us all. Staff I the castle couldn't have been nicer. Fabulous day.
Yohan Mendis (7 months ago)
This is popular tourist attraction. Some of our friends mentioned this is a must see. So we had lots of expectations when we visited it. The collection of armoury was well presented. The views from the circular drawing room on the first floor was stunning. There are appropriate facilities such as parking, toilets, and cafes. There is a fabulous play area for kids. Few trails lead to the beach as well. A good place to spend the day if the weather is good. But for me it was average value for money.
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