Prince Charles may be expecting his second grandchild any day now but the heir to the throne proved he is still young at heart on Wednesday as he opened a new sports centre. The 66-year-old went for a spin on a spinning bike, joined local Scottish children in a game of badminton and took on table tennis at Dumfries House Estate.
© Photo: PAPrince Charles took on the notoriously difficult spinning class
The active Prince couldn't keep the smile off his face as he enjoyed the fun day at Dumfries House Estate in Ayrshire. The estate had previously been up for closure, but as great steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust, Charles was able to save the house after buying the land in 2007.
Charles took a tour of the new gymnasium, and spoke to climbers who were attempting the brand new climbing wall. Speaking to staff, Charles revealed that the wall "looks unbelievably scary to me".
He later hopped on to an exercise bike during a class involving dozens of local women.
© Photo: PACharles appeared to be quite skilled at table tennis
Spin class instructor Sharon McQuillan said: "I can't believe he got on the bike - that was great. I was really surprised because it's a hard class and it's even hard just to get on the bike. Maybe he'll come back soon and do a full class, I'm sure he could last it, no problem, although I don't think he should wear his suit.
"When you've got young grandchildren you need to be able to get down on the floor and back up again so it'll be good for him to take part."
Charles's bike was next to local resident Sheree Bell, who added: "It's a great facility and all the classes are popular with local people wanting to get fit so I think he's done really well for this area."
© Photo: PACharles was welcomed in to a game of badminton by local schoolchildren
The two-day trip to the Scottish town of Cumnock began on Tuesday, when Charles opened a new engineering education room at the Dumfries House.
Speaking at the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, Charles said: "The point about this centre, which is really exciting, I think, is that not only is it helping to enthuse young people with the idea of engineering in due course, it also has this engineering 'playground' here which is going to be the only centre of its kind in Scotland.
"I hope it will provide a particularly vital resource for teachers and pupils to promote the importance of engineering."
He added: "I'm so delighted that Dumfries House has yet another really excellent educational resource on its estate, providing further opportunities for heritage-led regeneration for East Ayrshire and indeed beyond."
