Dean Castle Estate in the northern end of Kilmarnock is a great day out! The castle is in fantastic condition and the free tours are informative and fun! Toilet facilities, hot and cold food and of course the park itself is huge! It is so easy to spend a full day here for the whole family.

As well as the children’s play area which is well laid out and has separate areas for the toddlers and the older kids, there is a large animal park and various pathways leading into the dense forest and many routes also take you down to the river.

The chipmunks are absolutely hilarious and be careful getting too near the goats – they seem to prefer eating handbags and clothes!

There are a large selection of budgies in the animal park together with a Ranger Station which has detailed information on all the local wildlife. A family of field mice have moved into one of the aviaries and are cheekily helping themselves to the bird food! See if you can spot them!