Straiton Village / Straiton Walks / Blairquhan Castle.

Straiton is one of the largest parishes in Ayrshire. Its extreme length, from Carnochan on the River Doon to the head of Loch Doon, famous for trout and salmon is more than 20 miles.

Straiton Village is the most attractive village in South Ayrshire with a short main street. East of the village shop and the Black Bull Hotel, which is dated 1766 over a window, two rows of stone cottages face each other. The war memorial and the 18th century former manse close off the east side of the street. St Cuthbert's church dates mainly from 1758 and was restored in 1901.

Straiton

Straiton Village

Blairquhan Castle, the seat of Sir David Hunter Blair was finished in 1824. It is upon the banks of the River Girvan, almost upon the site of the ancient Castle and about a mile from Straiton Village and features architecture of the time of Henry the Seventh. Blairquhan Castle is usually open to the public over the summer months and was used as a location backdrop for the film the queen, starring Helen Mirren. On visiting, I enjoyed a display of scottish sword dancing in front of the Castle.

There are several good walks around Straiton Village. The monument on Craigengower 1086 ft up, commemorates Colonel Blair of Blairquhan who died at the Battle of Inkerman in 1854. A short distance along the B741 towards Dalmellington, a scenic walk goes uphill on the Scienteuch Moor. A mile further a walk goes upstream through woodland by the Lamdoughty Burn, which twists over a succession of waterfalls in its glen. The greatest waterfall is called the Black Lion.