HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust organised a very successful visit for members and friends to Dumfries House and Aiket Castle on Wednesday June 8 2011.
As promised when Charlotte Rostek Davis (pictured) spoke to the Trust, the special visit was arranged to see the historic Dumfries House, near Cumnock, now reopened by HRH The Prince of Wales, Great Steward of Scotland, after a major refurbishment.
Charlotte, the former Hill House curator who is now at Dumfries House, greeted the party with her husband Mike, the recently retired reference librarian at Helensburgh Library, and gave a talk before lunch in the new cafe in the old coach house.
She said: "The house is looking absolutely fabulous. The chairs and sofas have been re-upholstered and covered in finest silks, and the four poster bed has been restored to its original magnificence."
In the afternoon the party visited Aiket Castle, Dunlop, which has been restored by Robert Clow from the burnt-out shell of an ancient tower house, and toured the beautiful gardens created by Katrina Clow.
The coach trip, organised by Trust company secretary and treasurer John Johnston, cost £36 per person, with reductions for members of The Art Fund and of Historic Scotland.
