2026 Reunion of the 35th ACABM, by Liveryman Peter Bennett
Posted on Fri, Aug 21, 2026 4:00 PM
In June this year, nineteen of us held our 42nd Advanced Course in Agricultural Business Management (ACABM) Reunion in Ayrshire. Our first visit was to Dumfries House, where HM The King has restored this fine 1748 house to its superb former glory. The restoration took three years once the purchase was completed in 2007, and it is clear to see the wonderful skills in the restoration of the stonework, paintings, fabrics and the vast collection of Chippendale furniture.
Our fascinating tour included all the living rooms on the ground floor, which were linked by double doors or connecting elaborately decorated arched ceilings and the recreation rooms and one elaborate bedroom on the second floor. Every aspect of the restoration had been carried out with painstaking care to restore it to the original 18th-century elegance.
We walked on covered Axminster carpets dating to 1759, but we could envisage the house being a small family house. To conclude, we had a simple lunch in the kitchen parlour in the basement where the servants' quarters were - now used as offices.
The Estate totals 2500 acres, and since 2013 various educational enterprises have been started. Our tour in two minibuses started at the farm where the MacRobert Trust in 2017 has helped to provide excellent teaching facilities for farming and rural skills.
The concept is to involve young people aged 5 up to 20-year-olds with taster courses, showing where food comes from for all school stages. The magnificent walled garden (restored by volunteers) opened in 2014 consisted of a formal garden and a teaching garden with classrooms in the old outbuildings.
We were driven over the Chinese Bridge, through part of the Arboretum and to the Tamar Manoukian Outdoor Residential Centre, opened in 2015, supporting all residential courses. Our final stop was to a centre where introductory days were provided by a wonderfully knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff.
We were so impressed by the young staff, and we know that our Leadership Course would be of benefit to the top members of staff. The course members also saw a synergy of what the City farm is achieving compared with the educational centre under the King's Foundation, and we would like to take forward the conversation with the Livery to see what common ground might be achieved.
On day two, we visited the only curling stone factory and had a fascinating demonstration of granite rocks being turned into the stones which were sent to around 70 countries in the world and supplied the stones to each of the Olympic Games' venues.
Our final visit was to a coastal farm owned by the cousin of one of our group, and we saw how they fattened 5000 head of beef cattle per year using exact technology to get the high level of daily weight gains. We saw how the Gulf Stream affects Ayrshire when early potatoes and carrots were being lifted in June. Their AD plant completed our visits and our memorable visit to Ayrshire.