3 Best Landmarks in North Ayrshire

“Lochranza Castle was remodelled in the 16th century, although it incorporates much of a 13th or 14th-century hall house. Lochranza was probably owned by the MacSweens and was used as a hunting lodge by the kings of Scots. The main block has three storeys and an attic, while the wing rose two levels higher and was capped by a watchtower. Lochranza Castle is a building incorporating a rare hall-house of the 1200s. The castle is dated from the 13th century. The castle was the model for the castle in The Adventures of Tintin comic The Black Island, specifically for the English translation in the 1960s when the drawings were modernized. Lochranza Castle affords free admission.”

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“Kilwinning Abbey has close ties to Kelso Abbey, and the abbey monks were founded in the late 1100s. Kilwinning Abbey had a peaceful existence during their 400-year stay here. The abbey was ‘cast down’ following the Protestant Reformation of 1560, though its magnificent south transept still stands almost to their full height today. Kilwinning Abbey is a visitor attraction and contains many items of local interest, an example being information boards on the history of the mediaeval abbey and the poet Robert Service. The tower has an information board on the history of the mediaeval abbey and the poet Robert Service. Free car parking is available. They offer free entrance.”

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“Ardrossan Castle is from the fifteenth century and has a vaulted range containing a kitchen and cellars. This place has panoramic views of Ardrossan. The beautiful monument is a national archaeological place and a famous building. Ardrossan Castle is a small rectangular block on the SE, at a lower level than the vault, which comprises two compartments, and the walls are 1.5m maximum height internally and 1.2m thick. A partly filled-in gully may have been carried around the N side as a defensive ditch. The castle occupies a rock point, detached from the main promontory by a ditch to the W, about 100ft across and artificially deepened with a stone revetment now almost entirely buried beneath a modern rubbish dump.”

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