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The Ayrshire coast is about 65 miles
long from Ballantrae in the south to Largs
in the north. The Ayrshire coast has a
large number of beaches that are known as
some of the finest in Scotland.
When the weather hits the 70s and 80s,
the beaches can get very busy, especially
at weekends or school holidays.
The beaches below are listed with the
busiest beach at Ayr first then from the
south to north.
Road Map
.
Ayr Beach, as seen below, is probably
the best all round beach in Scotland. This
view shows the vast Low Green grassland
with the large white building in the
distance being Pirate Pete's kids indoor
and outdoor play area.
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Ayr Promenade that runs for about 1 mile
is always busy throughout the year. When it
is hitting the 80s, as when these images
where taken, the promenade is packed.
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Ayr Beach on a Sunday in May 2012 when
it was hitting the 80s. This beach used to
be as busy as this regular throughout the
summer before inexpensive flights to Spain
began escalating in the 1970s. The weather
was warmer here than in the Canary Islands
this week. Large Image .
Ayr
Page . Ayr Google
Map
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The beaches are now listed from furthest
south to north.
Sawney Beans Beach is in South Ayrshire
about 2 miles north of Ballantrae. There is
a car park high above the beach next to a
new wide section of road over Bennane
Head.
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The best way down is to follow the
winding path down from the north side of
the car park, as seen in the image below.
The beach is mainly shingle and the
cannibals cave can be seen in the rocks in
the image below. If exploring the cave,
best take a good strong torch.
Sawney Bean Page . Ballantrae
Map
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Lendalfoot Beach, as seen below, is next
to the small village of Lendalfoot, mid way
between Girvan and Ballantrae. This village
is mainly holiday homes so there are no
shops of bars. The view below is from
Lendalfoot Hill known as Balsalloch Hill, a
good scenic climb.
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Lendalfoot Beach is long, sandy and
normally quiet. There is a large monument
and car park at the south side of
Lendalfoot in honor of a Russian Cruiser
warship that sunk just off the coast here
in the early 1900s. The Varyag Monument area is a
popular picnic spot. There are a number of
small beaches between Lendalfoot and Girvan
with car parks by them that are popular
with families wanting a beach to
themselves.
Lendalfoot
Google Map
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Girvan Beach, as seen below, is one of
the main beaches in Ayrshire with the town
having many cafe's, bar/diners, amusements,
vast grasslands by the beaches and kids
play areas. The image below is from the
Byne Hill, a popular walk from Girvan.
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The main section of Girvan Beach is from
the pier to about half of a mile south. The
beach continues south for about another
mile with a popular section on the south
side of Girvan that has a snack bar, large
grassland park and toilets. The main
section as seen below has two large
grassland parks and a large kids play
area.
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Girvan Pier is used by some locals for
diving in warm spells. Diving off the pier
can only be done when it is a really high
tide and there are many people there to
oversee. You can fish from the pier, take
sea fishing trips from the harbour or take
a boat trip to the Island of Ailsa
Craig.
Girvan Page . Girvan
Map
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Turnberry Beach, as seen below, is next
to the scenic village of Turnberry and
world famous golf course and hotel, about 3
miles north of Girvan. This beach rarely
gets busy as it is mainly only used by
hotel guests. The lighthouse at the north
end of the beach is on the ruin of the
castle where Robert the Bruce was born,
Scotland's legendary king.
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The view below is from Turnberry Beach
towards Turnberry Hotel left and Spa right.
There is a car park a few hundred yards
south of the hotel at a small shop. There
is a road to the beach down the side of a
large white House across the road from the
car park.
Turnberry Page . Turnberry
Map
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Maidens Beach, as seen below, is 2 miles
north of Turnberry Beach. Maidens is a
popular holiday village with about 5
holiday parks around it. There are a couple
of small shops, Wildings Hotel with a good
restaurant and a harbour for leisure
vessels.
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Croy Beach, as seen below, is between
Maidens and Dunure, 9 miles south of Ayr.
This beach can get busy in hot spells.
There is a steep road down to the beach
where there is parking for hundreds of
cars.
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Croy Beach runs for over 1 mile south
towards Culzean Castle where you
get good views of the castle. The closer
you are to the north side, where the car
park is, the busier the beach gets. There
are toilets here but no shops so most
people take portable barbecues.
Croy Google
Map
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Dunure Beach, as seen below, is 7 miles
south of Ayr. Dunure has car parking at the
Kennedy Park just above the beach and
Dunure Castle. This area has a popular play
park and kids play area.
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Dunure Beach is mainly dark sand and
shingle with many rocks that kids like to
explore. There is a cafe and the popular
Dunure Inn for drinks and meals overlooking
Dunure Harbour, as can be seen in the image
below.
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Prestwick Beach, as seen below, is on
the north side of Ayr, or about one mile
south of Prestwick Airport. The promenade
runs from the large indoor KidzPlay on the north side
as seen in the image below on the left, to
well past St Nicholas
Golf Club as seen right on the image
below, over one mile long. There is a large
grass area that runs alongside the north
side of the beach with a childrens outdoor
play area.
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Prestwick Railway and Main Street are a
short walk from the beach with the Main
Street having a good selection of
Restaurants and Bar/Diners. This long sandy
beach even extends all the way to Troon
centre about 4 miles north, past Old Prestwick and
Royal Troon
golf courses.
Prestwick Page .
Prestwick
Map
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Troon Beach, as seen below, runs for
over 1 mile from Royal Troon Golf
Club to past the town centre. The
busiest part of Troon Beach is west of
Troon Cross, the town centre, where there
is a kids play area and snack bar. There
are many bar/diners and cafe's around Troon
Cross.
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Barassie Beach, as seen below, is on the
north side of Troon, round from Troon
Harbour. Barassie Beach does not get as
busy as Troon Beach, but the grassland here
can get fairly busy on warm weekends.
Barassie Beach is sometimes used for
windsurfing and jet skies.
Troon Page . Troon
Map
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Irvine Beach, as seen below, runs for
miles south of the pier. The grassland
alongside the beach and car parking areas
are huge. The beach itself may be the
finest sand of any Ayrshire beaches and the
beach is always immaculate. Irvine Beach is
half of a mile from Irvine train station so
is popular with day trippers from Glasgow.
There is a skateboarding park here and the
oldest Inn at Irvine, The Ship Inn, for
meals is a short walk from the beach.
Large Image
Irvine Page . Irvine Google
Map
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Saltcoats Beach, as seen below, is a few
miles north of Irvine. Saltcoats Beach is
long and wide with fine sand that is always
in good condition. The promenade runs for
miles to the harbour at the south side with
the harbour area having outdoor kids rides,
Large Indoor Kids Play, Cinema, and Oscar's
bar/diner. Website.
Large Image
. Saltcoats Page
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Saltcoats Beach Promenade, as seen
below, has a number of parking areas and
some kids play areas. The grasslands here
run for about 1 mile.
Saltcoats
Google Map
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Seamill/West Kilbride Beach, starts from
just north of Ardrossan and runs all the
way past the Seamill Hydro Hotel to the
West Kilbride golf course. There
are a number of roadside car parks for the
beach between Ardrossan and Seamill, such
as the one seen below.
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The image below is of the Seamill/West
Kilbride Beach with the village of Seamill
in the distance. There are a number of
cafes and restaurants on this stretch of
road, and two hotels in Seamill.
Web
Page.
Large Image
. Seamill Google
Map
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The image below is of Largs Beach with
the ferry to the Isle of Cumbrae at the
pier. Largs beach is mainly shingle with a
kids play area and rides by the large
church.
Fast Boat Tours around Largs Bay are at
times available in summer when the weather
is suitable. Boat Tours Image.
Large Image
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The image below is of Largs South
Promenade, just south of the ferry pier.
This area is extremely scenic with a number
of leisure activities. Large
Image
Largs Page . Largs
Map
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