1904-1905-] Largs and its Sjirro2t.ndings. 211 



In addition to its well-merited repute for charming scenery, 

 the village of Fairlie enjoys a reflected glory as the seat of 

 Fife's boat-building yard, long famed for the excellence of its 

 racing yachts. So many prize-winners have been turned out 

 here, that the place has acquired a world-wide reputation. 

 Fairlie Eailway Station at the south end of the village and 

 Fairlie Pier Station at the north end are connected by a rail- 

 way tunnel, which runs parallel with the road all the way. 



Between Fairlie and Largs, the most attractive feature of 

 the landscape is the beautiful park which surrounds Kel- 

 burne Castle, enclosed within a semicircle of verdant hills. 

 A view is obtained of the mansion itself, the seat of the Earl 

 of Glasgow, which lies embosomed among fine old trees, in 

 proximity to a wooded glen and picturesque stream. The 

 Boyles of Kelburne trace their descent from a certain Eichard 

 de Boyle, who is said to have held these lands as early as the 

 reign of Alexander III. The earldom of Glasgow was created 

 in 1699, and the present peer is the seventh of his line. 



The views from the neighbourhood of the castle are very 

 beautiful, while the mansion and its immediate surroundings 

 afford many features of great interest. The structural details 

 of the house have been described by Messrs Macgibbon and 

 Eoss, in their well-known work on 'The Castellated and 

 Domestic Architecture of Scotland.' It consists of two dis- 

 tinct portions, bearing respectively the dates 1581 and 1700. 

 There are two fine sun-dials in the grounds ; also a small 

 garden divided into four little plots. On these plots, traced 

 out with an edging of box, have been preserved the initials 

 of the four children — the family of John, third Earl of Glas- 

 gow — for whose delectation the little garden was made. As 

 the youngest of the four (afterwards George, fifth Earl) was 

 born in 1766, it is evident that the boxwood initials must 

 have occupied their present position for about 130 years, re- 

 maining as a somewhat pathetic memorial of bygone days. 



Pont refers to Kelburne Castle as " a goodly building, weill 

 planted, hauing werey beutifull orchards and gardens, and in 

 one of them a spatious rome adornid with a christalin fontane, 

 cutt all out of the lining rock." The description is still 

 appropriate, except that the spacious room and crystalline 

 fountain no longer charm the visitor's eye. The salubrious 

 nature of soil and climate is evidenced by the number of 



