Blairquhan Castle

2011 Newsletter

Best wishes for 2011 from all of us at Blairquhan!

Last year flew past, with lots of fun, weddings and fundraising for some fantastic charities.

The turn of last year saw us all curling on the garden pond with friends and neighbours, and it was wonderful to see the curling stones out on the ice rather than sitting primly on their shelves. The twins used their go-karts as refreshment trolleys and Fionn (the dog) did his best to get in everyone’s way.

St. Cuthbert’s headteacher, Mrs. Rooney hosted a magnificent Burns Supper with superb entertainment from pupils, teachers and Maybole Pipe Band.

In March we joined in with our second Chest Heart & Stroke Happy Feet Fun Run which raised £10,500 for the charity.

We have hosted more weddings this year than ever before and thanks to the fabulous weather, many were outside and in the flower garden and walled garden.

Images courtesy of Craig and Eva Sanders Photography (www.craigandersphotography.co.uk)

Niamh had a great lambing at Easter near Gatehouse of Fleet and milked locally in the summer. She is trying to secure a work placement this year on an Irish stud farm.

Caoimhe had had a very busy year performing in the school show and visiting Hungary as part of her Comenius Project. She was delighted to Captain her team to win the McKinstry Cup in debating and has started getting some unconditional offers for university.

Ronan continues to play rugby for Ayr u 16’s and is proud to be in the school first 15. The French rugby tour in the Autumn was a great success and we have loved hosting students from France and Slovenia throughout the year.

Dara’s sheep had twin lambs this year – Peter and Nancy and Deaglan has a new sheep, Louise. The chickens have done well this year but sadly our Tom cat was run over leaving Jerry on her own, Murphy and Oli continue to munch quietly along.

The fishing, shooting and deer stalking have all gone well this year despite Fionn’s over enthusiastic participation.

Blairquhan Woodfuel continues to grow in size, supplying logs, woodchips and pellets to local homes and businesses – helping them to heat their premises with minimal carbon footprint.

The Autumn colours were particularly good this year and the icicles at the side of the river were truly amazing.

Thank you as always to all our visitors who came to see us on our open days, which were quite late on this year as a result of the busy wedding season.

We are happy to provide organised tours at any time of the year and our official open days this year will be on the website in February.

Hourston’s Department Store provided a fantastic Fashion Show in November to support Marie Curie. The Zumba themed extravaganza held in the Castle brought colour and joy to all who attended and raised nearly £4,000.00 for this incredibly important charity whose work supports families throughout Scotland.

In December we were delighted to host the Wellington School 5th & 6th year Christmas Reels in aid of Yorkhill Sick Children’s Hospital.

We closed the year with a very special wedding on Hogmanay. Our best wishes to all our Couples and Brides and Grooms in 2010 and their friends and families.

Also many thanks to our faithful holiday cottage friends, many of whom have been holidaying here for nearly 20 years – some of you two and three times a year!

In 2010 we made the hard decision to put the Castle and part of the estate up for sale. We have had lots of interest and enjoyed meeting a wide range of different viewers. As this process remains ongoing we are pleased to announce Business as Usual for 2011.

Once again we are overwhelmed at the interest from people both local and from abroad who want to be married at Blairquhan. The feedback from all our guests tell us that not only are the staff and facilities of exceptional quality but more importantly that Blairquhan is a truly unique and uplifting experience. (Listed number 14 by the Independent newspaper in their list of 50 best places to get married in the world!)

So come and enjoy the beauty as a guest or visitor at Blairquhan in 2011!

Sir Patrick and Lady Hunter Blair

Here are some references from guests, and other groups who have visited the Castle:

Listed 14th Best Places in the World to get Married, Independent Newspaper

December 2010 – Wedding
“As a company of some 21 years, it seems extra-ordinary that only this month we filmed our first wedding at Blairquhan Castle, an idyllic setting for a couple to commit to each other.
Amidst the snow and ice, the guests thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of the castle, with all its years of history …. yes many remarked on the internal features.
And talking about warmth, Jim was the ultimate host, very friendly, knowledgeable and outstanding in his capacity of Master of Ceremonies.  He certainly ranks in the top amongst those whom we have worked with all over Scotland and in parts of England and abroad.  You must be very proud of your exceptional employee.  He was certainly a great help to us.
We hope to be back again in the near future, and of course, if there is anything we can do to help by way of filming advice, please contact us.
Thank you again for providing a unique wedding venue.
Enjoy the festive season and all good wishes for 2011.”

December 2010  -  Wedding
“Thank you so much for all that you did and the way that you did it.  We had a wonderful two days staying at the Castle for the wedding.  You all helped to make their special day even more memorable and unique.”

November – Marie Curie Fashion Show
“Many thanks for your support and the helpful cooperation to the run up for the Fashion Show from you all.
Blairquhan  is a great venue and there will be some good photos.  It was a happy evening and everyone seemed to enjoy the show.”

November – Wedding
“We had a wonderful time at Blairquhan and we can’t thank you and your colleagues enough for making our weekend perfect”. 

October – Wedding
“Where do we begin?
Thank you and your amazing family.  We had a wonderful experience planning our wedding and a wedding weekend of our dreams …. that was all because of you and the team!
We wish you all the luck for the future whatever it may bring!
We will be sure to visit Blairquhan again and hopefully celebrate there once again.”

September – Wedding
“We had the most magical wedding weekend.  I cant thank you enough for everything you have done to make it so special.   Last minute printing and attention to detail were greatly appreciated.”

August – Wedding
“Just a wee note to thank you for your help with the wedding.  We had a fantastic day and Blairquhan and Straiton will always be special to us.  Everything went according to plan and all the guests said they had a lovely time.”

August – Wedding
“What a wonderful day we had,everything was perfect and the weather could not have been better.
The Blairquhan team were fantastic.  Thank you again for all your help and making it all possible.”

July – Wedding
“I would like to thank you and all the staff at Blairquhan for all the hard work to make my daughter’s wedding a most memorable day.  The Castle is a magnificent setting – many thanks again for everything.”

June – Wedding
“My wedding was definitely the best weekend of my life and people are still talking about how amazing the castle was.  Thanks once again and hopefully we will be down for our anniversary.”

May – Wedding
“We had the most wonderful experience at Blairquhan and the Bride and Groom have had the wedding of their dreams.  Once again I would like to thank you all for your hard work. You have all been brilliant!!”

May – Wedding 
“Just to say thank you very much for all your help and hard work in making last weekend such a fab onel.  Everyone loved it.  I gather we were so lucky with the weather  - it was tropical!”

May – Wedding
“THANK YOU THANK YOU  -  We just wanted to say a massive thank you to you all for helping to make our wedding one of the most memorable, wonderful weekends ever. All the guests were so impressed with it all- I think we’ll be talking about it for years to come! “

March 2009 – Corporate
"Just to say thank you to the staff for our memorable stay at the Castle. The setting was just perfect and the group were overwhelmed by the surroundings – thank you also for the first class service and friendliness."

May 2009 – Wedding
"What a fabulous day – still talking about it. Our thanks to you all at “Blairquhan” – everything was fantastic – what a happy day!"

May 2009 – Corporate Group
It was a pleasure to have, once again, enjoyed Blairquhan. We were all extremely well looked after and our every need catered for. Thank you for making us so welcome and we hope to see you again."

May 2009 – Corporate Group
The group really enjoyed our stay at Blairquhan. The food was excellent and al the staff very helpful. The house and bedrooms were beautiful. The group managed to get a lot of work done in a very conducive atmosphere."

June 2009 – Wedding
Thank you!
We are well and happy and just thrilled with how our wedding came out. We could not have been happier at Blairquhan.

We keep reminiscing about that idyllic week at Blairquhan and cannot thank you all enough for making our stay so wonderful. I cannot wait to return……."

June 2009 – School Prom
Thank you very much. The evening was enjoyed by all. A huge thank you from the Committee."

August 2009 – Wedding
You have been superb in facilitating our whole wedding experience and we really appreciated all your help. All of our guests felt welcome and really enjoyed their stay and loved the Castle and beautiful grounds."

September 2009 – Corporate
Just to say a big thank you for all your help – everyone was raving about the food and accommodation (not to mention the setting!). Please pass on our thanks to all your staff."

September 2009 – Wedding
It was an amazing day. Thank you so much for all your help and please pass our thanks on for making sure all the pieces tied together. "

2009 has been another busy year at Blairquhan.  After another very successful Snowdrop Day we had a fantastic Run for Chest Heart and Stroke.  Almost 500 runners and supporters cheered on the Happy Feet Event.

The St. Cuthbert’s Burns Supper Homecoming Bash organised by Mrs. Miller and the Staff of St. Cuthbert’s Primary was the most memorable homecoming event at Blairquhan.

The Flying Display in May accompanied by the Ayrshire Group of the Scottish Bonsai Association, Ayrshire Classsic Cars, Harley-Davidson Club encouraged another 500 visitors on to enjoy the beauty of Blairquhan in May.

We had a very busy summer season with weddings, a film documentary and Rolex in residence for the Open Golf at Turnberry.

The highlight of the Autumn season was celebrating our Silver Wedding,  after a particularly memorable pilgrimage to Rome with some particularly memorable pilgrims from Maybole!!!

Our eldest daughter is happily away at Vet School and Caoimhe thoroughly enjoyed her hockey tour in Italy.  Ronan is rugby mad as ever and enjoyed his season with the Kestrels in the summer.  The twins are designing a new hen house funded by proceeds from their eggs and Romeo their Ryeland Lamb is off to the sales soon.

The fishing season is drawing to a close once again and the shoot has started their new season.

The Autumn colours are looking spectacular this year and well-worth viewing if you are passing through this way.

Many thanks to all of you who came to see us on our open days and our guides too as we had a record 1800 visitors this year.

Sir Patrick and Lady Hunter Blair

House & Gardens will be open on Sunday 24th May 2009 to host a spectacular aerobatic display performed by a group of professional flying enthusiasts.

Bring cameras and enjoy this display and other attractions.

Other attractions include:
CLASSIC CARS • BONSAI DISPLAY

First Tickets 2.00 pm Last Tickets 4.15 pm

Last Entrance to House 4.30 pm House Closes 5.00 pm

Grounds Close 6.00 pm

Adults £6.00 | Children (6-16) £3.00 | OAPs £5.00

Outdoor attractions include the Ice House, Tree Trail, delightful Walled Garden and walks through the extensive grounds.

Inside the castle browse through over 20 rooms: Visit two Picture Galleries with works by Eliza Hunter Blair; Family Museum; William Burn Exhibition; the Robert Burns/Hunter Blair connection; the Col.Hunter Blair of Inkerman display.

We have our Snowdrop Day for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme on Sunday, 22nd February from 12.00 – 4.00. £6.00 per adult including tea.

On 1st March we have a ‘Happy Feet’ Day in aid of CHSS – 10K & 5K runs Sponsored by Nike – applications online www.chss.org.uk.

After a successful fishing season (where the King Fisher award goes once again to Arthur), the shooting season got off to a slightly damp start on 4th October.

The Woodfuel business is thriving and nets of logs remain best value in the area at £2.80 per bag.

Our new website is virtually completed and operational from October 2008.

Many thanks must go to Christine Ottewill for much of the photography and to Ocean Agency, Ayr.

Amidst many corporate events and elaborate and stylish parties we had a very scary makeover of the Castle when it became “Spiderwick Manor” for the week. You will be glad to hear that the mission to find the book was successful and the goblins satisfactorily defeated.

Visitor numbers to the Castle on our open days were well up, possibly due to the fantastic air show which was held in July in collaboration with Adam Fergusson from Kilkerran and many of his talented winged friends.

Recent additions to the family include a gun dog, cats Tom and Jerry, hens including Lisa who won First Prize at Carsphairn Show, and two Ryeland sheep Harriet and Juliet!

We were delighted that Niamh passed her driving test and that Murphy (a horse) recovered from a serious injury. Caoimhe continues to enjoy her music and hockey (with her bright green and pink stick) and Ronan is as muddy as ever playing rugby for his school and Ayr Rugby Club.

In May the family held two very special parties, one to celebrate the Twins First Communion and the second their dad’s significant birthday!

A wide range of magnificent and completely stunning weddings followed. The Brides in May and June saw Blairquhan looking vibrant in the bright summer sunshine. After some much needed rain the Brides in June, July and August seemed to have the timing perfect to escape the odd shower that seemed to keep coming our way. At least two Brides had their ‘outdoor’ dreams come true when the weather cleared and the sun shone on their open air services in the walled garden.

In February it turned out that last year was not a one-off and we had about 400 visitors again for Snowdrop Day (in aid of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme charities and the Ayrshire Rivers Trust).

2008 has been Blairquhan’s busiest year ever.

January was great fun with friends from Northern Ireland hosting a Burns Supper for their friends and colleagues in the construction industry.