Dunure is a small village in the South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

 area of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

, Dunure is near to Maybole

Maybole

Maybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of South Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop. 4,552. It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. ‎...

.

The villages

The first buildings in the lower Dunure village were erected in the early nineteenth century, not long after improvements to the local harbour in 1811. Kennedy Hall dates from 1881 and Dunure House from around 1800. Limekilns are a common feature of small harbours and Dunure has a fine specimen at the village play park.

Fisherton Church was erected in 1938 as a chapel of ease

Chapel of ease

A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....

 for Dunure and district. It was rebuilt and extended in 1912. Dunduff Castle

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire is a restored stair-tower situated on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above Dunure, Parish of Maybole, Scotland.-History:...

 stands above Fisherton; originally a 15th century structure it was altered and extended in the 1980s for use as a private house. The remains of a prehistoric earthwork, the Dane's Hill, are located in a nearby field. The ruins of the pre-reformation Kirkbride church and cemetery

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire is a restored stair-tower situated on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above Dunure, Parish of Maybole, Scotland.-History:...

 are nearby, abandoned since the parish was combined with that of Maybole

Maybole

Maybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of South Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop. 4,552. It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. ‎...

.

The harbour

The harbour is a roughly square basin with a breakwater quay, topped off by a characteristic cylindrical stone harbour light. The Earl of Cassillis improved the harbour at a cost of £50,000 in 1811, making the location more attractive for fishing. The depth of the water in the harbour is 12 feet at ordinary spring tides, but could be artificially increased to nearly 30 feet. William Aiton records in 1808 that the sole costs of the improvements to Dunure harbour were borne by Thomas Kennedy of Dunure Esq.

Transport

There was previously a Dunure railway station

Dunure railway station

Dunure railway station was a railway station serving the village of Dunure, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was part of the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway.- History :The station opened on 17 May 1906...

 in the village on the Maidens and Dunure Railway, however this station closed in the 1930s.

Items of local interest

John Keppie was a colleague of Charles Rennie Mackintosh who rented the house of Mainslea and a small cottage in its back garden, opposite Dunure Castle for “The Roaring Camp”; a holiday home for girl friends of theirs from the Glasgow School of Art. It was from this base that Mackintosh set out on a sketching expedition to the abbey of Crossraguel, Baltersan and Maybole in 1895.

The famous Electric Brae

Electric Brae

The Electric Brae is a gravity hill in Ayrshire, Scotland where cars appear to be drawn uphill by some mysterious attraction. The Lowland Scots word brae means a hill-slope or brow , and the "electric" name was given when electricity was a new technology associated with strange forces.There is more...

 and the substantial ruins of the infamous Dunure Castle

Dunure Castle

Dunure Castle is located on the west coast of Scotland, in South Ayrshire, about 5 miles south of Ayr and close to the village of Dunure. Dunure Castle today stands in ruins on a rocky promontory on the Carrick coast, protecting the small Dunure harbour....

 are located near the village. Dunduff Castle

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire

Dunduff Castle, South Ayrshire is a restored stair-tower situated on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above Dunure, Parish of Maybole, Scotland.-History:...

 above Fisherton primary school has been rebuilt and is now a private home; the old parish cemetery and pre-reformation church ruins lie near Dunduff Farm. The mounted skeleton of the famous Clydesdale horse 'Baron of Buchlyvie' is a popular attraction for the Kelvingrone Museum and Art Galleries in Glasgow. The Baron finished his days at Dunure Mains Farm and was originally buried here.

A labyrinth

Labyrinth

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...

has been constructed in a hollow on the headland overlooking the castle as part of the Kennedy Park improvements.

External links

• Dunure Community Council Dunure Community Council Web Site
• Pictures of Dunure
• Pictures of Dunduff Castle