Turnberry Castle - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

A beautiful wide sandy beach in a rural surrounding, backed by the famous Ailsa Golf Course, a regular spot on the Open Championships. To the north of the beach, visitors can walk to Turnberry Lighthouse, now converted into a suite of the Trump Turnberry luxury hotel (yes, as in Donald), attached to the golf courses in the area.

Kirkoswald Parish Church is located in the small village of Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is a parish church in the Church of Scotland. The church is unusual in that its design was, at the very least, strongly influenced by Robert Adam, one of Scotland's outstanding architects. He was working at the time on his masterpiece, Culzean Castle, and there are many Adam features about the church. It was built in 1777 and is essentially unchanged since.

The former home of the shoemaker John Davidson, immortalised by Robert Burns as Souter Johnie in his supernatural tale Tam o' Shanter. This is a beautiful thatched cottage with restored 18th-century domestic and workshop interiors, containing shoemaking tools and Burns-related artefacts.

Culzean Castle is a beautiful fantasy castle created by Robert Adam in 1772-1790 for the 10th Earl of Cassillis. Culzean is notable for its elegant oval staircase, circular saloon, painted ceilings and delicate friezes, this is one of Adam's greatest creations. The clifftop castle lies within the Culzean Castle Country Park and is opened to the public. From 1972 through 2015, an illustration of the castle was featured on the reverse side of five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Thomaston Castle is a medieval castle located west of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It looks much as it did hundreds of years ago. Little has changed, except for the addition of a house located on the property. The castle is run down and has debris falling in on it.

Crossraguel Abbey is one of the best preserved, most varied and most interesting of the many abbey ruins that are dotted across Scotland. Despite being a place of worship, this Cluniac monastery saw its fair share of conflict. The monks’ loyalty to Robert the Bruce eventually saw Crossraguel severely damaged in the Wars of Independence.