Huge

“It’s too hard to climb!”   said one of the boys on this huge Wellingtonia tree which stands in the grounds of Dumfries House in East Ayrshire

The house became headline news eight years ago when Prince Charles came to the rescue to save the Adam designed house and its contents from being split up and sold.   The 7th Marquess of Bute (Johnny Dumfries, the racing driver) was hit with massive death duties and felt he had no alternative except to sell the family house after trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the National Trust of Scotland and other alternatives to keep the house and contents together. Literally at the last moment as the furniture and contents were in Christie’s vans ready for auction, Prince Charles took a huge risk and arranged a loan of £20 million to cover the balance needed to purchase the place for the nation.
We felt it was definitely worth visiting and were impressed not only with the “18th century time capsule” and collection of Chippendale furniture but also the grounds where there seemed to be many young families enjoying the facilities. Severaltrr of the former estate buildings are being renovated including workshops teaching traditional skills. Most of all it has brought much employment to the local community which had suffered high unemployment.