Top 6 Castles around Saltcoats

The paths through the park are best when dry a few days. Can get mucky in the shaded sections after rain.

Historic castle (is there a different kind?)

Hunterston Castle is the smallest of the West Kilbride castles and belongs to the original family of the Hunter family, who own the land around it. It is the historic home of the lairds of Hunterston and Chiefs of Clan Hunter. The keep dates from the late 12th, or early 13th centuries, while the attached manor house is of the 18th century. The estate was granted to the Hunters by David I of Scotland in the 12th century, and the heads of the clan have lived on the estate for the following 900 years. The castle is a Category A listed building.

Ardrossan Castle, built in four phases, sits high atop Castle Hill, with views of the surrounding coast and countryside. The original castle, built around the late 13th century mainly from grey sandstone, consisted of a simple rectangular shape approximately 70-foot square, with a forward projecting gatehouse which was both keep and main residential block with underground cellars, backed by a walled courtyard. The castle sat at a height of just 50 feet, due to the higher sea at the time, with the modern town of Ardrossan sitting on 'reclaimed' ground. In the early 14th century the gatehouse was rebuilt from the first floor up. Now consisting of three floors, a straight stairway built into the north wall, ran from the first floor to the battlement walk which had a turret at the north-west side of the castle. Following the death of Godfrey de Ardrossan in 1357, without a male heir, the lands of Ardrossan passed through marriage into the Eglinton family. About 1360, Elizabeth, sole heir of Sir Hew de Eglinton of Eglinton married Sir John Montgomerie of Eaglesham and the lands of both Eglinton and Ardrossan passed into the Montgomerie family. During the third phase, occurring in the mid to late 15th century, Ardrossan castle underwent an extensive rebuilt to improve both the living conditions and the castle defences. A large window was inserted in the western portion of the first floor looking northwards and an additional floor was added raising the height of the keep. A variety of buildings along with a chapel were built along the western and north-west curtain walls. A rectangular tower was added at the south-west corner and two long narrow slits, potentially gun ports, were inserted along the south wall. Little was changed during the final phase except for the original entrance to the keep being blocked up and a wide mouthed gun port being added. During the mid-17th century Ardrossan castle was destroyed, allegedly by Oliver Cromwell’s troops. The castle which had been a stronghold for centuries could not withstand artillery fire and was never rebuilt.

Portencross Castle, also known historically as Portincross Castle, is situated in Portencross, on the west coast of Scotland, about 3 km from West Kilbride. The site has been fortified since the 11th Century. The present tower castle is thought to date from the mid-14th Century and later. It remained in use until it was unroofed by a great storm in 1739 and gradually became ruinous. The castle was designated as a scheduled ancient monument in 1955. The castle was one of the buildings featured in the 2004 series of the BBC television programme Restoration and was the subject of efforts by a local community group to secure its future.

Fabulous Portencross Castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde near West Kilbride in Ayrshire.

Remains of a magnificent gothic mansion in North Ayrshire. It's a perfect spot for a runaround or a picnic with lots of open green space.

Fine castle looking out over the Firth of Clyde. Steeped in Scottlsh history so well worth stopping off and exploring the site if you've got time.