The Herald - The Herald Magazine
The walk Eglinton Country Park
Location: Kilwinning, Ayrshire
Grade: Easy woodland and riverside walk
Distance: 3 miles/5km
Time: 2 hours
THE lands of Eglinton, between Kilwinning and Irvine in Ayrshire, were held by the Montgomerie family for many centuries. As a reward for service to King James IV, they were granted the title Earls of Eglinton in the 16th century. At the end of the 18th century Hugh, the 12th Earl, decided he needed a new house and commissioned John Patterson to design it.
Patterson came up with an ambitious plan for four high corner towers linked by ranges of rooms and with a central courtyard.
The house was finished in 1802 and in keeping with the style of the times, was called a castle though it never had any defensive purpose. The family’s fortunes later declined after a number of unfortunate schemes including a plan for a canal from Glasgow to the Ayrshire coast with a new harbour at Ardrossan, and the castle was abandoned.
All that remains today is one tower and some fragments of wall, but from that your imagination can build a truly grand edifice.
The castle reached the peak of its fame in 1839. Queen Victoria had come to the throne two years earlier and was due to be crowned, but it was a time of austerity (sound familiar?) and the government decided that an extravagant Coronation was neither desirable nor affordable. Archibald, 13th Earl of Eglinton, had other ideas. He fel strongly that the new queen’s reign should be marked in proper style and decided to organise a medieval style Tournament.
The event, held in late August, was planned on a vast scale and aroused huge public interest.
One estimate says that as many as 100,000 people attended (or tried to). Some came by the new railway, opened a few days earlier, others by steamer from Glasgow. Unfortunately the weather did not co-operate. There was persistent rain and the second day was washed out completely.
At the end the Earl was, perhaps diplomatically, voted the Victor and was presented (four years later!) with a huge, ornate silver trophy. There is an echo of the occasion still to be seen.
Much of the walk described here follows the Lugton Water, which is crossed, near the castle site, by the Tournament Bridge, an elaborate Victorian structure painted white. Designed by David Hamilton, it actually post-dates the Tournament but is very much in the style of the period.
Eglinton today is an extensive Country Park run by North Ayrshire Council. There is a network of walking, cycling and horse-riding trails and the park hosts a busy programme of events, many of them run in co-operation with the Friends of Eglinton. There is fishing on the loch and a great children’s play park. The visitor centre is closed in the winter but the excellent Tournament Cafe remains open.
While acknowledging its richly historical past, Eglinton is looking forward to a future firmly linked to the local community. It is a great place to visit at any time of year, and offers an easy escape to the countryside in the winter months when you may not wish to travel further afield.
One word of warning – the paths are often quite muddy. Not a big problem but make sure you have good strong footwear. A wee bit of mud never spoiled a good walk, did it? ROUTE PLANNER
Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger 70 (Ayr, Kilmarnock & Troon) or Explorer sheet 333 (Kilmarnock & Irvine)
Distance: 3 miles/5km
Time: 2 hours
Start/finish: Eglinton Country Park visitor centre (GR: NS319419), signed from Eglinton turnoff on A78
Transport: Stagecoach bus 11 (Kilmarnock-Ardrossan) passes the park entrance. For times see stagecoachbus.com
Information: Ayr TIC, 01292 290300 or the park website at www.north-ayrshire. gov.uk/eglintonpark
Route: From visitor centre TR on path beside access road. At crown of bend TR through gate onto riverside path. At second bridge keep ahead on field edge then path again. At Tournament Bridge TR and then TL to see castle ruins. Walk down to river, cross and TR. Follow path L beside loch. At far end of loch cross river and TR on path with long line of trees on L. At junction TR (purple sign). When close to river again, TL on path, open at first then through dark wood. At park edge with road ahead TR and follow this path back to the visitor centre.