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Buggy at Culzean
 Ayrshire
Members’ Centre have won their “Awards for All” lottery bid for
£10,000, enabling them to purchase an 8-seater electric buggy to
transport visitors with limited mobility between the Main Car Park,
Visitor Centre and Castle. They will organise and fund its operation
and will be fully up and running by the start of the new season at
Easter time.
 They
are aiming to establish a team of about 15 volunteer drivers so the
service can be maintained throughout the open season. The buggy will
operate on an approximately 2 Km route (shown in red in the map
below left) between the Main Car Park, Home Farm (Visitor Centre and
Restaurant) and Castle. There will be three “Bus Stops” (the black
dots on the map below) which will be clearly marked by A-board
signs. The plan is that the service will start at 10.00am when the
park opens and continue till 4.30pm to allow late comers to be
safely transported to their cars. A lunch break between 12.30pm and
2.00pm will allow the buggy to have a boost charge.
 In
addition to the day to day operation, tours will also be offered
around the Country Park as a whole exploring areas disabled visitors
would otherwise be unable to reach. It will need experimentation
with the buggy to see what kind of surface it can cope with. Like a
golf buggy, it has wide tyres suitable for driving on grass, but
with a greater load, it will need to be tested on different routes.
 The
map at the bottom right, however, shows a possible route that is on
narrow but metalled paths and should be within the capability of the
buggy and provide a most enjoyable experience for the passengers
involved, accessing areas of the Country Park they would never
otherwise be able to reach.
It might also be possible to link up with the park rangers and
gardeners to provide guided tours pointing out horticultural,
historical and other points of interest on the way - these are
already organised for walkers at regular times throughout the year.
If you or a friend would like to help operate this service or if
you know of a group with limited mobility who would like a tour of
the park please contact John, as he would love to hear from you.
Ring John on 01292 264344 or email
john@ntsayrshire.org.uk
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