Historic Sites
Souter Johnnie’s Cottage
Main Road, Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire, KA19 8HY
See Scottish literature come to life in this 18th-century thatched cottage in the heart of Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. The former home of cobbler – or souter – John Davidson, the real-life Souter Johnnie immortalised in the Robert Burns poem Tam o’ Shanter, it features a thatched tavern in the garden, complete with life-sized sandstone statues of the ...
Carrick Castles
Maybole Castle
High Street, Maybole, Ayrshire
Built about the middle of the sixteenth century, the Castle
is the oldest inhabited house in the town. It was the town house owned by the Earls
of Cassillis, the Kennedys, who spent most of the winter months in Maybole in
those days. It was also the largest and finest of the twenty-eight lairds’
houses which were written about by Abercrummie...
Historic Sites
Turnberry Lighthouse
Turnberry Point, Ayrshire, KA26 9LT
An icon of the area Turneberry lighthouse was built in 1873, standing 24 metres high, it takes 76 steps to reach the top.
The Northern Lighthouse Board commissioned the structure to warn boats about the nearby Bistro Rock which had wreck many ships throughout the years.
However, what makes this lighthouse so special is the site it was buil...
Natural Sites
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere
Biosphere Office
Kirroughtree Courtyard
Stronord
Newton Stewart
The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere is a new UNESCO Biosphere because of its combination of special wildlife areas, rich cultural heritage and communities that care about their environment. Biosphere designation will help people understand, define, sustain and enhance those special qualities. As an internationally recognised label for s...
Natural Sites
Ailsa Craig (Paddy’s Milestone)
Off the coast of Carrick
An iconic island, Ailsa Craig can be viewed from all along the Carrick coastline. Jutting 1,114 feet out of the sea, with a base circumference of about 2.5 miles, this mass of very hard granite takes a different shape from each view point along the coast. Though its form may change from each angle it is viewed, the breathtaking nature of the vie...
Historic SitesCrossraguel Abbey, Maybole, KA19 5HQFounded in the early 13th century by the Earl of Carrick the remains include the church, cloister, chapter house and much of the domestic premises....