Irvine
Irvine
Intrduction | Ayr | Largs and Great Cumbrae Island | Irvine | Troon
The next town heading north from Troon is Irvine, once one of Glasgow's main trading ports and now redeveloped as a new town. The Tourist Information Centre is on New Street near the train station and the huge shopping centre, Tel 678100 (open Easter-October, 1000-1600. Hours liable to change).
Down at the old harbour, by Gottries Road, is the 'Scottish Maritime Museum, a genuinely interesting exhibition of various ships which you can board. Amongst the assorted vessels moored at the museum docks is a Clyde 'puffer', an old tug and the Carrick, the world's oldest clipper (still undergoing restoration). There's also a reconstructed shipyard worker's tenement flat, a coffee shop and souvenir shop, and regular guided tours. Info: Daily 1000-1700. £2.50, concession £1.75. Tel 278283.
Nearby is the Magnum Leisure Centre, the largest in Scotland, with a pool, cinemas, ice rinks and much more besides. Info: Daily 0900-2200. On the Harbourside at Irvine is The Big Idea, the area's newest and brightest attraction. It celebrates a thousand years of inventions, with visitors interacting with the exhibits using an electronic key. Exhibits range from showing how levers and pulleys work, to giving you the chance to programme a robotic arm. Info: Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat, Sun 1000-1800. £7.95, concession £5.95. Tel 08708-404030.
Between Irvine and Kilmarnock on the A759 is Royal Dundonald Castle. This was the first home of the Stuart kings, built in 1371 by Robert II and much restored since. Info: Apr-Sep daily 1000-1700. £2, concession £1. Tel 01563-851489 (HS).
Sleeping in Irvine
E Harbourside Hotel, 86 Montgomery St, Tel 275515, is at the harbourside and handy for transport and pubs and restaurants. A good place for a pub meal is The Ship Inn, 122 Harbour St, Tel 279722. Transport: There are regular trains to Glasgow and Ayr. Stagecoach buses, Tel 01292-613500, leave from Irvine Cross on the High Street to Ayr, Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Largs. 7 miles north of Irvine is the dismal town of Ardrossan, from where Caledonian MacBrayne, Tel 0990-650000, ferries depart for Brodick on the Isle of Arran. Trains leave Glasgow Central (1 hr; regularly during the high season (Apr-Oct), to connect with the ferries.