Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

5 day, 4 night visit by coach     £380    S.Suppl. £80

The Galloway area of south west Scotland stretches from Ayr in the north to the Solway Firth in the south. It is a pleasant largely rural area of rolling countryside and high open upland with many forests and lakes at its centre. The lightly populated areas are a haven to wildlife, with kites, ospreys, red deer, wild goats, and red squirrels living undisturbed by people. This was home to Robert Burns, David Livingstone, and the Boswell family among others, and the beauty of the landscape led many people to create estates and build large houses and castles here. The mineral wealth of the area has been exploited for lead and coal in the past but has now virtually disappeared leaving the countryside largely unscarred.

On our first day, we depart from Memorial Gardens, Leeman Road, at 8.00 am, and drive in our comfortable coach to Appleby for coffee, before continuing to visit Drumlanrig castle, ancestral stronghold of the Douglas family and today home to the Duke & Duchess of Buccleugh, with magnificent rooms, furniture, and art. We then move into the nearby hills to the contrast of the Scottish National Lead Mining Museum, and after a visit and tea move on to our modest 3 star hotel in Ayr.

Day two starts with a morning at leisure exploring Ayr before moving off at midday to visit the nearby Burns Birthplace Museum (NTS) to learn more about his life and writings and to have lunch. Afterwards we visit Culzean Castle and Gardens (NTS) for a conducted tour and an opportunity for tea before returning to our hotel.

Packed to the turrets with antique furniture and furnishings, artworks, porcelain and other fascinating period objects, Culzean Castle is a superb example of high-class living, 18th-century style. Highlights include the Round Drawing Room with its panoramic view of the Clyde; the Armoury, which holds one of the world’s largest collections of swords and pistols; and the grand Oval Staircase. To help you make the most of your visit, there’s a short ‘History of Culzean’ video in the Visitor Centre, multi-media tours in the castle, and information cards and guides in every room.

On day three we drive south down the coast for coffee and a visit to Logan Botanic Gardens – an outlier site of Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. Warmth from the gulf stream allows many exotic plants to flourish here. We then head east to Creetown to the Gem Rock Museum for a light lunch and visit. After being dazzled by the displays of natural minerals we return to our hotel through Galloway Forest Park where we hope to spot some of the more unusual wildlife and stop en-route for tea.

On day four we drive north to Blantyre to the David Livingstone Museum (NTS) to learn more about this interesting man and have coffee. Born in 1813 to humble mill working parents, he worked at the mill himself from age 10 on a 14 hour day and used his first wages to buy a Latin primer to begin to educate himself. He continued his self education from books until he was accepted at Andersons College in Glasgow to study medicine and theology while still working. He became a missionary doctor and made his first trip to Africa in 1841.

Heading south again, we stop at Dean Castle at Kilmarnock to tour the interior and see the grounds. Dating from around 1350, the Castle has had a chequered history and today contains collections of national importance of musical instruments, armour, and tapestries We shall also have lunch at Kilmarnock.  A detour via Cumnock allows us to visit Dumfries House, a beautiful stately home built for the 5^th Earl of Dumfries in the 1750s; its sumptuous interiors contain magnificent furniture.  The interior has remained virtually unchanged for 250 years. The house which sits in grounds in a 2000 acre estate was rescued for the nation by Prince Charles and is now run by a Trust. After tea there we return to our hotel.

On our final day after leaving our hotel we drive south to visit the Threave Estate and Gardens (NTS) near Castle Douglas for coffee and a visit to the garden. The Garden is made up of many landscaped features and themed rooms including a Secret Garden, Patio Garden, Sculpture Garden, Rockery, Rhododendron Garden, Azalea walk, a terraced Rose Garden and heather beds. There is also a 1 acre working walled garden adorned with herbaceous borders, and many climbing plants and fruit and vegetables. Also on site are glasshouses containing beautiful displays of exotic plants native to tropical and temperate regions of the world, a woodland garden, and extensive beds and borders planted with a wide and varied range of trees, along with many shrubs and herbaceous flowering plants from the Northern hemisphere. The many water features include a rock pool cascade, a sculptural water feature and a wildlife pond with bridge.

Then it is on to Carlisle to Tullie House museum where lunch may be obtained. After looking round the museum we then continue to Hutton-in-the-Forest near Penrith for a tour of the house and gardens. Today Hutton-in-the-Forest reflects centuries of history and change. A house of six periods between the mid-14th and the mid-19th centuries, Hutton is a rich illustration of the development of the country house in the North of England. A tour through the many rooms at Hutton is a remarkable journey in time. From the medieval Stone Hall to the high Victorian Drawing Room and the splendid Hall, the rooms are rich in history and notable for their contents. Every room has fine examples of furniture of its period and there is also an interesting collection of contemporary ceramics. Hutton is surrounded by beautiful gardens and grounds. It is known that there were elaborate gardens around the house from the late 17th century. They have evolved since that time but the basic elements can still be seen and are a wonderful background to the plants and flowers. After tea at Hutton we continue to York which we expect to reach around 7 p.m.

The tour cost includes comfortable coach transport, accommodation on a dinner, bed & breakfast basis in the 3 star Mercure hotel (tea/coffee in rooms, pool, etc) in central Ayr, all gratuities, coffee on the first morning, 3 lunches, 4 teas, and admissions to all sites excluding those of National Trust of Scotland (NTS) as most passengers tend to be members of a National Trust organisation and get free or reduced price entry. As a guide, the cost of concessionary admission to the NTS sites we visit is £30. NT (England) members should gain entry for half this or less. NTS members will of course get free entry.

If you would like to join this tour, please complete and return the form below before the end of June, together with your deposit of £50 / person. Acknowledgement will be by email unless a SAE is included with your form.

Alan Owen

Tour Organiser

To : –  Alan Owen,  YPS,  The Lodge,  Museum Gardens,  York YO1  7DR

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