A fragmentary clifftop ruin above Dunure harbour, a Kennedy stronghold remembered for a grim piece of Ayrshire history
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Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
The ruin stands on a low rocky headland just above the harbour at Dunure, with a restored dovecot — a stone house built for pigeons — beside it and a small park around. This was a stronghold of the Kennedys, the family who dominated this part of Ayrshire for centuries. Dunure’s grim claim to fame dates to 1570, when Gilbert Kennedy, Earl of Cassillis, had Allan Stewart, the commendator who held the revenues of Crossraguel Abbey, roasted over a fire in the castle’s vault to force him to sign over the abbey’s lands. Stewart survived, and the story stuck. Little of the castle is left standing now, but the setting above the water makes it a good short stop off the Ayrshire Coastal Path, which passes right by. The grander Culzean Castle is a few miles down the coast.
