page_title: Monkcastle, North Ayrshire
section_title: Monkcastle Glen
hierarchical_section_title: Monkcastle, North Ayrshire / Monkcastle Glen
caption_attribution_description: English: A Plucking Post at Monkcastle, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
context_page_description: Monkcastle, sometimes known as Old Monkcastle formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire lying between Kilwinning and Dalry on the A737. The property was originally held by the Tironensian monks of Kilwinning Abbey and was probably the site of the abbot's country retreat. The 17th-century Monkcastle is a category B listed ruin, although it has been consolidated and stands next to a private house, constructed from the converted old home farm buildings. The 19th-century mansion of Monkcastle House is nearby, and is also category B listed. The castle may have been used as a dower house or retreat.
context_section_description: A rocky glen runs up from Monkcastle with a significant waterfall and a listing as part of a Scottish Wildlife Trust local site for nature conservation. The glen was partly formed from quarrying work for freestone. A previous course of the Monkcastle Burn can still be followed and this probably resulted from the quarrying intruding into the original course of the burn at the head of the glen resulting in a waterfall and the burn then following the bed of the glen itself. The geology consists of Carboniferous limestone, macroporphyritic basalt, and an overlay of basalt and boulder clay. The quarry workers are thought to have made used of Old Monkcastle as office space for storage, etc. The OS maps show that quarrying had ceased by the start of the 20th century.
  The woodland policies at Monkcastle are classified as one of the relatively few North Ayrshire 'Ancient Woodland' sites. Aspen (Populus tremulans) has been recorded here; liverworts, ferns, and mosses are common due to the conditions of continuous high humidity. The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) have designated Monkcastle as part of Listed Wildlife or Local Site for Nature Conservation (LSNC) number 27, together with Monkcastle House, Dalgarven and Smithstone. Aspen (Populus tremula) is the most notable species present, however the presence of Broad-leafed Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) indicates a woodland containg many mature deciduous trees of some habitat value, together with wet flushes containing yellow flag iris, soft rush, lesser spearwort and golden saxifrage.
caption: A Plucking Post in the Monkcastle Glen
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