The Maguire Arboretum, Dumfries House

The Boswell Book Festival is being held this weekend at Dumfries House, Ayrshire. It is a beautiful stately home designed by the Adam brothers with a collection of 18th century furniture including some Chippendale. It sits  in 2,000 acres in Scotland’s rural Ayrshire. In 2007 Prince Charles famously brokered a deal to secure the house and its collection for the nation. Also, the idea was to create a sustainable business that would help regenerate the local economy. Many new local social enterprises have sprung up there in recent years creating employment and training for young people, including the Arboretum which was planted in 2014.