Crofthead - Fun Days Out

Burns Cottage is the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, who was born here in 1759. Built by his father, William Burnes, in 1757, it is a long, low, thatched building of clay with four rooms, set on the main street of Alloway in South Ayrshire. It forms part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.

Inside, two rooms were for the family and two for farm animals. A small kitchen and parlour are joined by a byre and barn. In the kitchen, an alcove holds the bed box where Burns was born, and it is also where he had his earliest schooling at home. The cottage has been restored to look as it did in his lifetime, so you can see how the family lived alongside their animals.

Tip: Head for the kitchen alcove first to see the bed box where Burns was born.

Dumfries House is a Palladian country house near Cumnock in Ayrshire, built in the 1750s by the architects John and Robert Adam. It is known for still holding much of its original 18th-century furniture, including pieces specially commissioned from Thomas Chippendale. The house was saved for the nation in 2007 and now serves as the headquarters of The King's Foundation charity.

Beyond the house, the wider estate spans around 2,000 acres of woodland, gardens and playgrounds. A guided tour is the way to see the art and furniture inside, while the grounds are there for walking and letting children burn off energy. It suits anyone who enjoys historic interiors, and those who like a long walk with a stately home at the end of it.

Tip: Check the Dumfries House website to book a house tour before you go, as the house is visited by tour rather than turning up.

Culzean Castle is a clifftop castle on the Ayrshire coast, designed by Robert Adam in the late 18th century for the 10th Earl of Cassillis. Inside, the dramatic Oval Staircase is the centrepiece, and there is a big collection of flintlock pistols and military swords. General Eisenhower was given an apartment at the top of the castle, and he stayed there several times.

The country park around it covers hundreds of acres of woodland, parkland, cliffs, sandy beaches and caves. You can wander to the Swan Pond, deer park, walled garden and ice house, and spot some of the estate's 40 buildings and follies. Families can let children loose in the Adventure Cove and Wild Woodland play areas. It suits walkers, history fans and anyone who wants a full day out by the sea.

Tip: The estate is big, so download the map or pick one up on arrival. Waymarked trails offer four different routes around the park.

M&D's is an amusement park in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, bordering Strathclyde Park. It has two roller coasters, including Runaway Mine Train and the children's Big Apple, plus thrill rides such as Air Raid and a pirate ship, and Moby's Revenge, a three-lane dinghy water slide. Younger children have their own junior rides, including trampolines.

Away from the rides, there's plenty more to fill a day. Amazonia is a temperature-controlled tropical house with monkeys, parrots, snakes, frogs and butterflies. Devil's Island is an 18-hole mini golf course played over water and in caves. Cosmic Bowl is Scotland's first glow-in-the-dark ten-pin bowling alley, Krazy Congo is a large indoor soft play area, and the Gamezone is an arcade with over 150 games. There's a bistro, a bar and restaurants on site. Families with younger children and groups who like a mix of rides and games are the best fit.

Tip: Check the park's website for opening times before you go, as hours differ between attractions.

Dean Castle is a 14th century stronghold in Kilmarnock, once home to the Boyd family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years. The keep dates from around 1350 and has walls two to three metres thick. Inside, the Great Hall displays collections of arms and armour, while the solar holds early musical instruments.

Other rooms are worth a look too. The banqueting hall shows the Kilmarnock Edition of Robert Burns's poetry, and the Laigh Tower has a large chest said to have held the head of the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock. The castle stands in the 200-acre Dean Castle Country Park, which is home to wildlife, so you can combine history with a walk outdoors. It is a good pick for history fans and walkers.

The Dick Institute in Kilmarnock opened in 1901 and houses the largest museum and gallery spaces in Ayrshire, alongside East Ayrshire's central library. Its main gallery hosts major touring exhibitions, often in partnership with national institutions such as the V&A and National Galleries Scotland, and it has been described as "Scotland's finest municipal gallery".

The museum rooms cover local history and nature. The South Museum and Loom Room tell East Ayrshire's social and industrial story, including a replica of the printing press behind Robert Burns's Kilmarnock Edition and a Johnnie Walker display. The North Museum has natural history and archaeology, with Brian the Lion, Samantha the dinosaur, a whale jawbone and a 400-million-year-old scorpion fossil. There is also a Young People's Gallery. Afterwards, the tearoom serves barista coffee and sweet treats. It suits history fans, art lovers and anyone curious about Burns.

Tip: The venue is signposted once you are in Kilmarnock, with car parking around it and town centre parking a 5-minute walk away.

Dundonald Castle is a fortified tower house on a hill above the village of Dundonald, between Kilmarnock and Troon in South Ayrshire. It was built for Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371, and he and his son Robert III used it as a royal residence. The tower still dominates the hill.

The tower house has three storeys: a ground floor used for storage, a lower hall (the laigh hall) that would have been used for feasting and the baron court, and a great hall above for the king and his family. Evidence suggests the hill was home to a hill fort long before. Models of the earlier castles on the site feature in the interpretive exhibition at the visitor centre at the foot of the hill, which also has a cafe and souvenir shop.

The Electric Brae is a famous gravity hill on the A719, south of Dunure and not far from Ayr in South Ayrshire. The road looks as though it runs uphill, yet a suitably free-running vehicle will slowly move off from a standstill, as if something were pulling it up the slope.

It is an optical illusion. The road does climb, at 1 in 86, over about a quarter of a mile from the bend overlooking Croy railway viaduct to the wooded Craigencroy Glen. But the lie of the land on either side makes it look as if the slope goes the other way. The name dates from when people wrongly believed electric or magnetic attraction was responsible. During the Second World War, General Eisenhower, who had a flat at nearby Culzean Castle, took visitors to see it.

Tip: The illusion runs between the bend overlooking Croy railway viaduct and Craigencroy Glen, so that quarter-mile stretch is the part to head for.