Skip to main page content (AccessKey S)
 Irvine Harbourside |
 Millport Pier |
 The Weston Tavern, Kilmaurs |
The eastern shores of the Firth of Clyde mark the meeting of two very different worlds. Harbours, seaside resorts and golf courses line a coast whose hinterland includes the industrial heartland of Ayrshire and the southern fringes of Glasgow. Yet the settlements on this coast seem determined to face seawards rather than landwards. This may be because they share one truly defining characteristic: stunning views west to the magnificent mountain scenery of the Isle of Arran.
At Troon all the different elements of this coastline come together in one place. The town is best know for the Royal Troon Golf Club. Troon also offers the sandy beaches of a traditional holiday resort; a busy and long established commercial port; a fast catamaran ferry crossing to Belfast; and a large and active marina for leisure craft of all sizes. Troon really does have something for everyone: but being surrounded by six golf courses, it really excels in what it offers for the golfer. A little inland are the striking ruins of Dundonald Castle.
Further along the broad sandy sweep of Irvine Bay you come to the mouth of the River Irvine. Half a mile inland along the river lies Irvine, home to the Scottish Maritime Museum located at various sites across the beautifully redeveloped Irvine Harbourside.
Not quite connected to Irvine is Stevenson, which in turn runs into Saltcoats and Ardrossan, the latter the terminus for the Arran ferry. North again and the coastal settlements become slightly more scattered as the inland hills are higher and closer to the coast.
The first main settlement on this stretch of coast is Largs. Here you find the terminus for the ferry to Great Cumbrae Island. The island itself is well worth a visit, with its main town Millport being home to the Cathedral of the Isles.
North again is Wemyss Bay, the terminus for the ferry service to Rothesay on Bute.
Inland from the coast the biggest settlement is Kilmarnock, the centre of much of the area's industry. Kilmarnock lies at the meeting point of the A77, A71 and A76 main roads which link it respectively with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries, making it in many ways the focus for whole of Ayrshire.
Following the A71 east from Kilmarnock takes you along the Irvine Valley and through the traditional centres of the lace industry in Ayrshire, Newmilns and Darvel. Further on you come to the attractive town of Strathaven, complete with the ruins of its castle. Roads north from Kilmarnock tend to lead eventually to the Clyde, with the relatively minor A735 taking you through Kilmaurs with its attractive and largely white harled centre, to Stewarton, the "bonnet toun".
Further north, the A737 links Paisley to the coast, and a series of towns lie along its route, including Lochwinnoch with the nearby Castle Semple Collegiate Church.
