Four Legged Pal

The weather wasn’t really good enough for hill walking at the weekend so instead we paid a visit to Culzean Castle.

In reality the “castle” is more of a stately home than a rugged fortress, and the surrounding land has been turned into a dog friendly 600 acre country park.

Shortly after parking we were heading along a peaceful tree lined path with our two hooligans sniffing intently. As we turned the corner we ran into a rider on a huge horse, and once Beanie & Biggles managed to lift their noses off the ground enough to see it, there was much woofing. The horse’s response to all this noise was to empty it’s bladder. This was not a trivial process. It seemed to go on for several minutes and could probably have filled a bath. Beanie wasn’t impressed by it; she’d have been much happier if the horse had opted to produce a tasty number two. Biggles on the other hand seemed a little overawed by this world class peeing demonstration – it completely put his territory marking efforts to shame. What’s worse, he couldn’t draw any consolation from his farting ability because he’s been a bit short on gas recently. Fortunately Culzean had a remedy for that:

Time for a refill

Beyond the gas house was a stretch of beach, perfect for a relaxed sniffy stroll.

On the way back the gray clouds parted briefly to let a bit of sun and blue sky through..

A little further on we encountered this grim reminder to hungry Beagles that speed swallowing can be bad for your health:

Apparently even the Bigglet thought this was an unsavory find

We had some food and refreshments back at the visitor center while our two doglets did their best to tie their leads in knots around the table, and then we walked around the park a little more.

A gazebo built around an old tree now has some Biggle-nibbles on it

Castle builders had the sense to place these windows at just the right height for nosy Beagles

All too soon it was time to head back home. We saw only a fraction of what the park has to offer – it should be worth a second visit at some point in the future.

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