Dumfries House
Dumfries House was built between 1754 and 1759 for the 5th Earl of Dumfries. Just a year after the building of the house had begun, the earl lost his wife, Countess Anne. Although the Earl mourned her death deeply, he did not abandon the building project and his loss appears to have played a major role in shaping the interiors of Dumfries House. Lavishly decorated and furnished in the latest fashion, the widower set about creating a ‘honey trap’ to attract a new lady who would join him in his quest for an heir.
Dumfries House contains a unique collection of Chippendale furniture, and has been described as an 18th century time-capsule since the principal rooms and their contents have remained virtually unchanged for 250 years. The large blue silk-covered Chippendale bed was one of the most beautiful and impressive pieces of furniture I have seen. The blue silk was perfectly stretched over every little piece of carving; it must have taken ages to make.
The same beautiful blue silk was also used on the Chippendale furniture in The Blue Drawing Room. Even though the silk is not the original silk, it still gives an impression of the way the furniture must have looked when it was new.
Another interesting part of the guided tour was the Pewter Corridor. The corridor has been restored to its former magnificent colours, but a small part of the corridor has been left as it was when the outer layers of grey paint had been removed. The colours are the same as the rest of the corridor, only less vibrant and shiny.
In June 2007, HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, headed a consortium of charities and heritage bodies to purchase this unique house, its contents and adjoining land, in order to keep this historical jewel intact and accessible to the public. He has later also been involved in other ongoing projects connected with the house.
During our guided tour of the house, I noticed some beautiful watercolour paintings. When I took a closer look, I noticed they were signed C. Our guide confirmed my suspicions; the paintings were by HRH Prince Charles.
As usual we were not allowed to take photos inside the house, so I recommend that you click on one of the links I have added above to the home page of Dumfries House. On these pages you can get an impression of the beauty of the house. The only picture I could take inside was of the ladies toilets. The style was much simpler than elsewhere in the house, but you still got an impression of past grandeur.Culzean Castle
After our guided tour of the magnificent Dumfries House, we drove to Culzean Castle (pronounced 
kəˈleɪn). The castle has been associated with the Kennedy family since the 14-th century and was the principal seat of the family from 1759. The Kennedy family is one of Scotland’s oldest families and trace ancestry to Robert the Bruce.
kəˈleɪn). The castle has been associated with the Kennedy family since the 14-th century and was the principal seat of the family from 1759. The Kennedy family is one of Scotland’s oldest families and trace ancestry to Robert the Bruce. In the 1770s, the 10th Earl commissioned the famous architect, Robert Adam, to create a house worthy of his political status. The castle was built in stages between 1777 and 1792, transforming a medieval tower house, built to protect its inhabitants during dangerous times, into one of the grandest country houses in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Symmetrical design
What fascinated me about the design, was the extreme focus on symmetry, both inside and outside. Every single room is beautiful in its own right and the symmetry of the rooms also includes the doors. The consequence is that there are a number of false doors throughout the castle.
Large collection of armoury
The armoury display in the entrance hall is the largest collection of its type in existence, apart from Her Majesty the Queen’s at Windsor Castle. In 1812, the flamboyant and ambitious 12th Earl bought the pistols and swords from the Office of Ordnance at the Tower of London. The arms were dispatched from London in twelve chests along with ‘one of the men from the tower with the Arms, who will fix them up in a proper manner’.The Oval Staircase
The Oval Staircase is an Adam masterpiece, reflecting his logical and imaginative approach to architecture. With little space available, he created a dramatic focal point which united all the different phases of the castle. The entire house seems to have been built around it when, in fact, it was the last phase of Adam’s work at Culzean.I've added a video (part 1 of 2) to give you an impression of the castle, its interior and the surroundings. Part 2 of the tour is available once you've seen part 1. The videos are only a few minutes each.
Large property
The property is set in nearly 600 acres of stunning countryside and
miles of waymarked paths lead visitors through majestic woodland and
past secluded ponds. There are numerous interesting things to see on the estate, including a swan pond and old estate buildings like Camellia House, the Water House, the Ice House and the Pagoda.
Unfortunately time did not allow us to explore the grounds as thoroughly as we would have liked, we only saw a fraction of the gardens, the area closest to the castle. Our boys were a bit disappointed that we did not go to the adventure playground, but if I remember correctly it would take us at least an hour return just walking there. And this was the last day of our trip. Needless to say we still ended up getting home much later than originally planned. But it was certainly well worth spending some extra time at the beautiful estate.
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