South West Accommodation

Burns Cottage, Alloway, Ayrshire. Birthplace of Poet Robert Burns

Kirk Alloway, Inspiration for Burns in his Tam O'Shanter Poem

Troon Golf Holidays on the Ayrshire Golf Coast

Burnsiana - on display in the Burns Museum, Burns National Heritage Park, Alloway

Shipyard Workers on the Clyde. Photography at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, North Ayrshire Coast

Burns Heritage Centre, Alloway. A mecca for Burns Fans

Ayrshire, Ayr, Girvan, Ailsa Craig, Turnberry, Largs, Alloway Robert Burns

Ayrshire contains some of the most important sights on the Robert Burns trail, including the Robert Burns Heritage Park in Alloway which contains Burns' birthplace home and an extensive Burns archive at the Burns Museum. The North Ayrshire coast is linked strongly to Glasgow's shipbuilding heritage. Locations such as Irvine, Ardrossan and Saltcoats all have a fascinating history in shipbuilding. Find out more at the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine's Harbourside. For family seaside fun, with quick boat trips across to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, you won't find much better than Largs with its viking link giving it an extra edge.

Moving inland in North Ayrshire, Kilmarnock like Glasgow is blending contemporary art and its industrial and social history well at the Doon Valley Museum and the Dick and Baird Institutes. The South Ayrshire coast is peaceful indeed, and popular with bird watchers heading over by boat from Girvan Harbour to bird sancturary island Ailsa Craig.

Ayr, Alloway & Robert Burns, Troon & Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire

Ayr is the largest town in Ayrshire, centrally placed mid-county on the Ayrshire coast. Most visitors head to neighbouring Alloway, birthplace to Robert Burns and a mecca for Burns fans visiting the Burns National Heritage Park. Ayr in fact makes a superb base for hopping onto the Burns trail in Ayrshire. With a work-a-day feel and a bustling town centre which makes for rather good shopping, Ayr has its feet firmly on the ground and offers good family holiday seaside fun entertainment in the summer months. Ayr is well known for its famous Racecourse, home to the Coral Scottish Grand National held here annually in April.

The Burns National Heritage Park in Alloway, just to the south of Ayr is a mecca for Burns fans. Within the Burns Heritage Park sits Burns Cottage where the poet was born, the adjacent superb Burns Museum with its huge Burns archive which includes original letters, manuscripts and journels kept by Burns. A visit here to Alloway gives a real sense of the early influences on Burns, and the formation of his accessible humanity and human comradeship. Kids will love the Tam O'Shanter Experience, with audio visual show recreating the famous Tam O'Shanter story dervived from the Burns poem.

Troon on the Ayrshire coast, alongside Prestwick and Turnberry, is renowned for its place within the history of Scottish Golf. The Royal Troon golf course plays host to numerous world class golf competitions including the Open. Golf lovers will want to take a turn on the Old Course at Royal Troon, touching golf history and admiring the splendid views from the course across the Firth of Clyde.

Prestwick is both a gateway into Ayrshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond in Scotland via Glasgow Prestwick Airport. It also sits firmly within Scottish golf history - the first Open Championships were held at Prestwick Golf Course in 1860. Glasgow Prestwick Airport has superb transport links to both Edinburgh and Glasgow (Prestwick Airport has its own station), plus ample budget car rental companies based in the arrivals hall.

South Ayrshire - Girvan, Ailsa Craig Island, Culzean Bay, Turnberry & Ballantrae

The stunning and tranquil South Ayrshire coast includes relaxing seaside and harbour base Girvan, which offers easy access to boat trips across to off-shore volcanic plug island, Ailsa Craig. Ailsa Craig is a protected bird sanctuary, home particularly to breeding gannets.

The Culzean Bay area contains one of Ayrshire's most popular attractions - Culzean Castle and the Culzean Experience. With country park on-site, Culzean is one of the best fun packed family day outs in Ayrshire, if not Scotland! Turnberry, to the south of Culzean, is a renowned luxury Scotland golf base, with historic Westin Turnberry golf courses often the site for the Open Championships.

North Ayrshire - Largs, Kilmarnock, Millport & the Isle of Cumbrae

North Ayrshire and the North Ayrshire Coast, including popular seaside resort Largs, the off-shore Cumbrae Islands and daytrips to Millport, inland historic Kilmarnock and maritime hubs Saltcoats, Irvine and Ardrossan offer a choice of attractions.

Largs has remained for a long time a popular North Ayrshire seaside base for families. Boatrips across to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae are quick, frequent and easy during the summer months. Discover the Maritime and Shipbuilding history of the area at Irvine's Scottish Maritime Museum on harbourside. Ardrossan is the main port for ferries across to Brodrick on the Isle of Arran.

Along the lines of Glasgow, many of Scotland's industrial centres are seeing a renaissance both in contemporary arts and through exhibitions which dig deep into a social and industrial past. Kilmarnock (Killie) and East Ayrshire's industrial heritage in coal, textiles and cotton, lace (at Newmilns and Darvel) and shawl making and weaving are slowly coming to the fore in museums such as the superb Doon Valley Museum.

Cutting edge contemporary art is blended well with exhibitions on the industrial and social history of Kilmarnock and the Doon & Irvine Valleys at both the Dick and Baird Institudes. A couple of castles and country parks are well worth a visit in the area, including Dean Castle and Dundonald. Checkout the superb choice of knuckle rides too at Loudoun Castle Family Theme Park.

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