The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths. Keith Fergus
wonderful sandy beach leads towards Bennan Head (Day 8)
Ayrshire, is that where the poet Rabbie Burns was born?
If the question asked was ‘what do you know about Ayrshire?’ this may well be the answer. But there is more, so much more. The fantastic Ayrshire Coastal Path strikes its course for 94 miles from Glenapp in the south to Skelmorlie in the north. Add to this the Arran Coastal Path, which circumnavigates its way round that magical island for 60 miles, and what you have is a truly magnificent coastal walk.
But coastal walking is just along beaches is it not?
Well, yes and no. Yes, the Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths travel over beaches (and beautiful beaches at that) but this route also journeys across a magnificent and diverse landscape that is home to some remarkable scenery, while a substantial portion of the route takes you away from the well-beaten track and enables walkers to observe the rugged beauty of the coastline and enjoy its peace and quiet. Furthermore, the coastline has a wealth of wonderful architecture: from the instantly recognisable castles Culzean and Brodick to smaller, hidden gems such as the Kennedy Mausoleum and Glenapp Church. Add to the mix a series of sublime beaches, secluded coves, fantastic wildlife, erratic rocks and boulders, a historical legacy of huge importance, world famous golf courses, old paths and roads and, yes, Scotland's most important literary figure Robert Burns, and you have an enormously rewarding long-distance walk.
The route can be walked in 11 days by an average walker but, despite it being well waymarked, a substantial portion crosses some surprisingly remote ground, open moorland and rocky terrain, so reasonable map and navigational skills are a prerequisite. The route is well served by an excellent public transport infrastructure and therefore it can also be broken down into lovely one or two-day sections.
The Ayrshire & Arran Coastal Paths begin in the tiny hamlet of Glenapp and cross wild, open moorland to reach the village of Ballantrae. Travelling north, the route passes through the bustling towns of Girvan, Ayr and Troon to reach Ardrossan, where the ferry crosses the Firth of Clyde to Brodick. Four wonderful days are then spent circumnavigating the coast of Arran, taking in Brodick, Lochranza, Blackwaterfoot and Kildonan. Back on the mainland, the route's beautiful coastal scenery continues on its way to Largs and its culmination at Skelmorlie. This is Scotland's celebrated wild and windswept west coast at its finest.
A Short History of Ayrshire
Like much of the British Isles, evidence shows that there has been human activity in the area for many thousands of years but it was not until the early part of the 12th century that the historic shire of Ayr, with borders stretching from Inverclyde in the north to Galloway in the south, was established. The ancient districts of Kyle, Carrick and Cunninghame were amalgamated at this time to form the shire and Ayr became (as it still is today) the area's main town. Prior to this Carrick belonged to Galloway while Kyle and Cunninghame were, surprisingly, part of Northumbria. Going back even further to the second century, southern Scotland was home to the people known as the Damnonii. Very little is known about the tribe but they settled in the likes of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and as far north as Stirlingshire, possibly occupying the landscape in and around the fort of Dumyat.
Largs, at the northern end of the Ayrshire coastline, played a momentous role in Scotland's development when the Battle of Largs was fought on the outskirts of the town on the 2nd of October 1263. The battle was crucial in bringing to an end the Scottish-Norwegian War and settling disputed lands along much of Scotland's western seaboard, which had been in Norwegian possession since the 12th century.
Ayrshire also lays claim to being the birthplace of both Robert the Bruce (in 1274 at Turnberry) and William Wallace (in around 1272 at Ellerslie), although both Dumfriesshire and Renfrewshire (the Bruce and Wallace respectively) have always contested this. What is definite is that much of the early lives of these two national icons were played out in Ayrshire. The Bruce held the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament at the Church of St John in Ayr, the year after his famous 1314 victory over Edward II's English army at Bannockburn. Wallace torched an English garrison at Ayr in 1297 in what has since become known as the ‘Burning of the Barns of Ayr’.
Beautiful dusk reflections at Largs Marina (Day 10)
During the early 13th century much of the land along the mainland Ayrshire coastline was owned by the Kennedy Clan, which had separate factions including the Bargany and the Cassillis Kennedys. The history of the clan is a hostile one, with much blood shed over the centuries. Other major landowners within Ayrshire included The Wallaces of Craigie and the Montgomerys of Eglinton. The first traceable Kennedy ancestor is John Kennedy of Dunure, who was granted the lands of Carrick in 1358 by King David II and, as land equalled power, John Kennedy became one of the most influential men in the southwest. In 1360 he made the crucial acquisition of Cassillis House near Maybole, which would eventually become the seat of the Kennedys. In around 1457, the head of the family at the time, Gilbert, took the title 1st Lord Kennedy and this title was thereafter handed down to future generations. Later, in 1509, the title Earl of Cassillis was created for the clan and the first to bear it was David. Succeeding him as the 2nd Earl of Cassillis was his son Gilbert (simultaneously he became the 4th Lord Kennedy), who seemed to set the tone for the family's successive generations by being involved in several unlawful deeds, which would then typically necessitate acts of retribution, usually by the Bargany faction of the Kennedy clan.
Almost six miles of uninterrupted sand lie between Barassie and Irvine (Day 5)
The 15th and 16th centuries saw Ayrshire under control of the shire's churches and abbeys, but with the religious upheaval of the Protestant Reformation in 1560 the ownership of land instead came under the control of local landowners. Roman Catholic attempts to regain control of Scotland after 1560 gave rise to the Covenanters, whose supporters fought to uphold the Reformation. The turbulence of the time led to much infighting and many deaths in Ayrshire.
Agriculture, mining, fishing, steel-making, shipbuilding and manufacturing textiles such as cotton and cloth have all played an important part in the development of Ayrshire in recent times, although with the decline of heavy industry within the region (and more recently the closing of the Johnnie Walker whisky plant in Kilmarnock) it has relied somewhat on 20th century industries like computing and chemicals.
However, tourism has come to play a major role in Ayrshire's economy and this is mainly due to one particular sport and to one man. The sport is golf. Ayrshire is the only county in Britain to contain three golf courses that have played host to an Open Championship, with Prestwick holding the very first in 1860, followed by many more. Prestwick has now been taken out of the tournament's rotation but many have also been held at Turnberry and at Royal Troon, which both remain choices for the organisers. The one man who has created a cottage industry in his own right is Robert Burns. Born on the 25th of January 1759 in Alloway near Ayr, Burns' poems are renowned world-wide. He has become a cultural icon for Scots, both in Scotland and in the many expat communities around the world.
A Short History of Arran
Lying some 15 miles off the Ayrshire mainland, Arran translates (depending on the source) either from the Gaelic Ar Rinn as ‘place of the peaked hills’ or from the Irish Arainn, meaning kidney-shaped. Certainly, both make sense. Gaelic plays a large part in the names of Arran's spectacular mountains (Cir Mhòr and Caisteal Abhail, for instance) while Old Norse has left its mark on Glen Rosa, Glen Sannox and the island's highest peak, Goat Fell, which climbs to 2866ft (874m) above Brodick Bay; itself a translation from the Old Norse Breithr Vik, which means Broad Bay. This association with the Old Norse language stretches back to around the 9th or 10th centuries, when Arran was under the ownership (as were many of Scotland's present islands) of the Norwegian crown. It was not until after the Battle of Largs in the 13th century that it fell into Scottish hands. In fact it was at Lamlash Bay on Arran's eastern side that Norway's king, Hakon IV, reassembled his defeated army after the battle.
Again, like the Ayrshire mainland, people have left