Discover 4 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Cumnock (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Dumfries House, Terringzean Castle, and Woodroad Viaduct. Also, be sure to include Glaisnock Viaduct in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Cumnock (Scotland).
Table of Contents
Dumfries House
Housing. Dumfries House is a Palladian country house in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located within a large estate, around two miles west of Cumnock. Noted for being one of the few such houses with much of its original 18th-century furniture still present, including specially commissioned Thomas Chippendale pieces, the house and estate is now owned by The Prince's Foundation, a charity which maintains it as a visitor attraction and hospitality and wedding venue. Both the house and the gardens are listed as significant aspects of Scottish heritage.
The estate and an earlier house were originally called Lefnoreis or Lochnorris, owned by a branch of the Craufurds of Loudoun. The present house was built in the 1750s for William Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries, by John Adam and Robert Adam. Having been inherited by the 2nd Marquess of Bute in 1814, it remained in his family until 2007 when the 7th Marquess sold it to the nation for £45 million due to the cost of upkeep.
Due to its significance and the risk of the furniture collection being distributed and auctioned, after three years of uncertainty, in 2007 the estate and its entire contents was purchased for £45m for the country by a consortium headed by Charles, Prince of Wales, including a £20m loan from the Prince's charitable trust. The intention was to renovate the estate to become self-sufficient, both to preserve it and regenerate the local economy. As well as donors and sponsorship, funding was also intended to come from constructing the nearby housing development of Knockroon, a planned community along the lines of the Prince's similar venture, Poundbury in Dorset.
The house duly reopened in 2008, equipped for public tours. Since then various other parts of the estate have been reopened for various uses, to provide both education and employment, as well as funding the trust's running costs.[1]
Address: Dumfries House Dumfries House Estate, KA18 2NJ New Cumnock
Terringzean Castle
Terringzean Castle, also Taringzean, pronounced 'Tringan', is a Category B listed castle ruin lying above the River Lugar and the Terringzean Holm in the policies of Dumfries House, Parish of Cumnock, Scotland. The name Craufordstone or Craufurdstoun, has also been used, echoing that it and these lands originally belonged to the Crawfords, as did Lefnoreis Castle or Lochnorris Castle which once stood near the site of the Dumfries House stables.[2]
Woodroad Viaduct
Viaduct. The Woodroad Viaduct, also known as Bank Viaduct or Templand Viaduct, is a viaduct carrying the Glasgow South Western Line over the Lugar Water at Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. Since April 1971, it has been recognised as being a category A listed building.
The Woodroad Viaduct, which comprises 14 semi-circular arches, was designed by the civil engineer John Miller and built by the contractor James McNaughton. Construction was complicated by the presence of several coal workings in the vicinity, as well as the Lugar Water itself. It is largely composed of locally sourced white sandstone. The viaduct was completed during 1850, after which services of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) commenced across it. It has been claimed that Miller considered the structure to be his finest work.
Today, the viaduct is still in service and carries the Kilmarnock to Dumfries section of the main line from Glasgow to Carlisle. During the 21st century, national railway infrastructure company Network Rail formed a partnership with the Woodroad Regeneration Forum to preserve and maintain the Woodroad Viaduct for the long term; several future upgrades have been reportedly planned for the structure.[3]
Glaisnock Viaduct
Viaduct. The Glaisnock Viaduct or Caponacre Viaduct is a viaduct over the Glaisnock Water, on the former Glasgow and South Western Railway. It is located in Cumnock, East Ayrshire.[4]