September – October 2023
This post is dedicated to days out in Glasgow and Ayr. There is always a museum, country estate or random animal encounter in this part of the world to keep a 3 year old entertained. We will never grow tired of exploring this part of the world.
Rozelle House and Estate
On the southern side of Ayr town is Rozelle House. A Georgian mansion built in 1760 for Robert Hamilton (no relation!) a wealthy merchant and named after a family estate in Jamaica. It acted as a seat for the Hamilton family until 1968 when Commander John Hamilton RN donated the house and its extensive grounds to the Royal Burgh of Ayr to preserve it for public recreation, arts and cultural access.
The main reason for our visit was to take in the Story Woodland Trail. A collection of large intricate willow sculptures – each one an iconic figure from literature and folklore. They were built and designed by local artist David Powell and have a strong Scottish connection.
There was Katie Morag, Captain Hook (from J.M. Barrie who spent his childhood in Scotland), the Gruffalo, Shrek and many more.
Inside the house is a museum with exhibits dedicated to fine art and history. The Tam o Shanter Gallery has a collection of 54 narrative paintings illustrating the epic poem by Robert Burns. Burn’s cottage is just next door in Alloway.
It also acts as a museum for the Ayrshire Yeomanry, a British Army regiment with a history stretching back to the 1790s and with battle honours from World War I and II.
There is also a fantastic wee tea room on the lower ground level.
Glasgow Transport Museum
Officially it is called the Riverside Museum but the locals call it the ‘transport museum’ after its old name. Located on the docks of the Clyde river it is the first purpose built Glasgow Museum in the 21st century and with a collection of over 3,000 objects, and quite a few of them being vehicles, it’s purpose is to tell the story about how transport (and technology) has evolved in Glasgow, Scotland and around the world.
As you walk through the front entrance and meander to the right hand side you swap the modern tiled flooring for the cobblestones of Main Street. This exhibit takes you back to the Glasgow of 1890 to 1930 complete with shops with genuine historic interiors and vintage trucks and buses and carriages too.
Blockade Runners
June 1863, Wilmington North Carolina.
Having evaded the nearby naval blockade by Union forces, a shallow passenger paddle steamer ghosted into Wilmington harbour carrying much needed supplies and ammunition for the starved Confederate forces.
This was one of dozens of Clyde-built steamers that were sold to southern forces so that they could avoid the Anaconda Plan – a massive naval blockade of over 180 southern ports, harbours and landing spots – in an effort to shorten the war by starving the southern states of trade and commerce. Vast profits were made from the illegal sale of cotton abroad and the city of Glasgow profited from this illicit trade. But as befitting the character of the city it did not profit without protest as a lot of unions, workers and even the US consul sought to shine a light on the secretive trade.
70 years later Glasgow ships and mariners would be involved in breaking another blockade – that of Fascist forces under General Franco in Spain during their Civil War.
Some of our other favourite exhibits were the ‘Jam Butty’ – a Ford Granada police car used by Strathclyde Police in the 1980s; the Salaam festival art truck; the red ducatti 916 motorbike on the motorcycle wall and getting to meet Clyde – the thistle mascot from the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow.
Glasgow Science Museum
Another favourite museum was the Glasgow Science Center, located at Pacific Quay on the south bank of the River Clyde. Built in 2001 it is comprised on three buildings, Science Mall – the main museum, Glasgow Tower and Scotland’s first IMAX cinema – in it’s own titanium building.
It is jam packed full of interactive exhibits and sections. Cillian had an absolute ball here.
Dumfries House
You can read more about our previous visits here
Located outside Cumnock, Dumfries House is always a great spot to visit, and as Cillian was a little older this time we were able to explore more of the grounds. There was also a brand new addition, opened in 2022 – dubbed Adventure Play.
Opened by HRH The Prince of Wales (Now King Charles III) it is a playground that can only be described as something from either Endor or Robin Hood’s encampment in Prince of Thieves. Embedded amongst the redwood forest are slides, canopy walkways, towers.
Alpacas?…in Ayrshire?
Yep. Apparently so. From the Andes Mountains in South America to the farmlands of Drongan we were able to celebrate Cillian’s 3rd Birthday morning with a trio of Alpacas*. We got to meet a good chunk of the 90 strong herd on the farm, hear all about how to raise alpacas, their wool, feeding and yes we got to feed some of them.
*Sadly no Maracas were found in the vicinity.
The Bruce
One day we were walking into Prestwick and as we were heading to a playground John noticed an interesting looking set of stairs built from stone and descending into the ground. Not the original stones mind – it was re-built in 1912 by Prestwick council.
It is a medieval well, an ancient spring and is called Bruce’s Well as legend has it, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland (played by Angus MacFadyen in Braveheart or Chris Pine in Outlaw King) drank from this well in an effort to be cured of severe skin affliction (maybe leprosy).
The well was previously known as St. Ninian’s or Kingcase Well and sits next to the remaining ruins of St. Ninian’s Hospital – a leper hospital that was said to have been founded by the Bruce himself.
