Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TURNBERRY
POP 200
Turnberry's
Ailsa golf course
(
01655-334032;
www.turnberry.co.uk
)
hosted the British
Open in 2009 and is one of Scotland's most prestigious links courses, with spectacular
views of Ailsa Craig offshore. You don't need a handicap certificate to play, just plenty of
pounds - the standard green fee is £199. In summer though, you can take advantage of the
after-3pm 'sunset' rate and go round for £95 a head.
Opposite the course, the super-luxurious
Turnberry Resort
(
01655-331000;
www.luxurycollection.com/turnberry
;
standard/deluxe r £350/400; )
offers
everything you can think of, including kilted staff, an airstrip and helipad. As well as the
luxurious rooms and excellent restaurant, there's a series of self-contained lodges. Rooms
with sea views cost somewhat more.
KIRKOSWALD
POP 500
Just 2 miles east of Kirkoswald, by the A77,
Crossraguel Abbey
(HS;
www.historic-scot-
land.gov.uk
;
adult/child £4/2.40; 9.30am-5.30pm Apr-Sep)
is a substantial ruin dating
back to the 13th century that's good fun to explore. The renovated 16th-century gatehouse
is the best part - you'll find decorative stonework and superb views from the top. Inside,
if you have the place to yourself, you'll hear only the whistling wind - an apt reflection of
the abbey's long-departed monastic tradition. Don't miss the echo in the chilly sacristy.
Stagecoach Western runs Ayr-to-Girvan buses via Crossraguel Abbey and Kirkoswald
(35 minutes, hourly Monday to Saturday, every two hours Sunday).
AILSA CRAIG
The curiously shaped island of Ailsa Craig can be seen from much of southern Ayrshire.
While its unusual blue-tinted granite - famous for making the best curling stones - has
been used by geologists to trace the movements of the great Ice Age ice sheet, birdwatch-
ers know Ailsa Craig as the world's second-largest gannet colony - around 10,000 pairs
breed annually on the island's sheer cliffs.
To see the island close up you can take a cruise from Girvan on the
MV Glorious
(
01465-713219;
www.ailsacraig.org.uk
;
7 Harbour St)
. It's possible to land if the sea is
reasonably calm; a four-hour trip costs £20/15 per adult/child (£25 per person if you want
three hours ashore).
Trains going to Girvan run approximately hourly (with only three trains on Sundays)
from Ayr (30 minutes).
