Kilbirnie to Fairlie via West Kilbride & Portencross

From Kilbirnie train station head through the town and down the back-road to Dalry entering Dalry from the north, and then taking the bottom orange route westwards towards West Kilbride.

The route to West Kilbride is quiet and good with some real country freshness along the way, and plenty of spots to stop and open that flask of coffee! From WK it's straightforward enough to follow the coastal path around to Portencross and beyond.

A quiet Kilbirnie main street, this late summer Sunday morning, with some old world flavour.

The view across Munnoch Reservoir to Knockewart Hill.

The serene back-road to West Kilbride.

West Kilbride, another quaint little town with some fascinating architecture, old and new.

 

 The coastal path towards Portencross. 

The wonderfully restored Portencross Castle, dating originally from the mid 1300s.

Fishermen on the pier.

And the view across the firth to Arran et al.

From Portencross, the path follows the coastline around to Hunterston Power Station, and then onwards to Fairlie. You can, if you have time, check out Hunterston House and Castle just off the beaten path. But maybe we have taken in too much already today. All that sea air is going to the brain, and I'm dying for a seat on that train back to Glasgow ;)

Route distance: a little less than 20 miles

Time taken: about 4 hours with 3 or 4 stops

The West Coast Route: Irvine to Maybole via Ayr, Dunure Castle, & Electric Brae

The west coast route from Irvine to Ayr and beyond is sublime. So sublime that you may think yourself travelling some French riviera! It's a fairly taxing route with a fair few hills from Ayr to Maybole, though this elevation does afford us some spectacular views across the Firth to the pyramidal silhouette of Ailsa Craig. The good news is that most of this route is part of the sustrans cycle route and so is marked along the way. I've just highlighted the dotted green line on the maps in purple. Historically, Irvine, Troon, Prestwick & Ayr have all something to offer the visitor, and really you could spend a whole day working this route if you make stops along the way. Even without stops however it's a good afternoon's cycle, with the train station at Maybole a welcoming sight to boomerang us back to Glasgow :)

The Troon to Ayr section is well-marked and straightforward with some nice seafront cycling.

From Ayr to Maybole the marked sustrans route skips over the hills but we are going to cling to the coast. A couple of kilometers on from Ayr there is a small detour into Dunure, an ideal place to have a rest and soak up the views. There is a castle here and a lovely harbour and of course wide-sweeping views across the sea.

Just around the corner from Dunure is one of Scotland's most bizarre phenomena - Electric Brae - which is always worth a stop just to test it out. Being on a bicycle as opposed to a car means that we can really put it to the test. Just watch out for the passing tour buses!

Entering Ayr by bicycle - a real eye-opening experience! (Personally, I don't think you've seen a town until you have entered it on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback).

From Ayr's promenade this crumbling castle (Greenan Castle) can be seen clinging to the edge of the fairly steep cliffs called the Heads of Ayr. I took the short path across the field and went in, but be careful if you do, there are some dangerous drops to be had! Moreover, this whole edge is subject to landslip and it'll be interesting to see if the castle is still there in a decade's time.

The idyllic Dunure harbour. The castle is just to the right, out of picture. A beautiful little place 
that I never knew about until my father mentioned it. So, I went there to find out for myself...

Spectacular colours this overcast September day in 2012, with the lofty adumbration of Ailsa Craig hugging the horizon. Epic!

Downhill you say? Try again ;) [The magical and somewhat bizarre Electric Brae, which, if the truth be told, has more to do with the way that hedgerow has been cut than any electrical phenomena].

An explanation of the magic, but sometimes it's better not to know why.... ;)

From Electric Brae, it's not far to Maybole train station, maybe 5kms or so, and most of it is downhill, especially the last part which is very steep and rushes into Maybole's town centre. All told, it's about 27 miles distance, which took me, as slow as I am, about 4-5 hours, with several stops along the way. From Maybole, the train will take you straight back to Glasgow in an hour or so.