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Ardrossan, Saltcoats & Stevenston

These towns form a trio of holiday resorts along the Ayrshire coast. Ardrossan is the most industrialised and is the ferry terminal for Arran. It is a planned town, with its core being laid out in the early 19th century by the 12th Earl of Eglinton. The ruins of 15th century Ardrossan Castle stand on Castle Hill overlooking the main streets. Cromwell is said to have plundered some of its masonry to build the Citadel at Ayr. The ruins and the land surrounding them were given to the town by the Earl of Eglinton as a public park. The Obelisk at the highest point on the hill commemorates a local doctor, Alexander McFadzean, who promoted piped water and gas supplies in the town. At the foot of the hill stands St Peter in Chains, designed by Jack Coia, one of Scotland’s best-known architects, and built in 1938. It is reckoned to be one of the finest modern churches in Ayrshire.

Up until the 1930s, Ardrossan Docks, was one of the main supply ports for the Hudson Bay Company. The harbour then was crammed with ships loading supplies for North America and unloading furs, fish and sometimes animals.

Just off the coast is Horse Island, an RSPB reserve. Though it looks peaceful enough, it has been the scene of many shipwrecks over the years, and many sailors have found themselves marooned on it after their ships struck its submerged reefs. At the Clyde Marina is a sculpture park featuring works by the Japanese artist Hideo Furuta, who lives and works in Scotland.

In the 1500s, King James V dipped into his own pocket to establish the salt panning industry here from which the town takes its name. Saltcoats today is much better known for its picturesque harbour and golden, sandy beaches set around Irvine Bay. Visitors interested in the history of the area will find a comprehensive overview at the North Ayrshire Museum which is housed in a former church. The small harbour dates from the late 17th century with later alterations, and at low tide fossilised trees can be seen on the harbour floor. It was in Saltcoats, in 1793, that Betsy Miller, the only woman ever to have become a registered ship’s captain, was born.

Stevenston is a straggling town with a High Church that dates from 1832. It has a good beach, though it is some way from the centre of the town. Nearby, at Ardeer, the British Dynamite Company established a factory in 1873. It later became Nobel’s Explosives Company, and in 1926 became part of ICI.

On the seawall of the beach is a portrait of Robert Burns which is 25 feet high and about 16 feet wide.