Mr Charles John Cathcart Douglas handed over the upper lands of Haylie as a gift to the Town Council for the benefit of the residents and the visitors to Largs, and this was followed after the war, by a gift of the more valuable lower lands, as an expression of thanksgiving for the preservation of his son in the perils of the great war.
Now there are formal gardens, a bowling green, a Robert Burns memorial garden behind the pavilion, tennis courts and a nursery.
Also of interest is a Neolithic tomb behind Douglas Park. Known as the Haylie Chambered Tomb, it was once covered by a cairn of stones (known as Margaret's Law). When it was uncovered in the early twentieth century the tomb was dated to around 3000 to 2000 BC.
Douglas Park nursery is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013.