Irvine

This "new town" has been inhabited since the Stone Age and in the 13th century was capital of Scotland. Backed by fertile farmland and a lowland transport corridor through the hills, it was one of a series of ports along the Clyde coast. The river was shallow and prone to silting, but the Clyde at Glasgow was even worse. Industries such as linen developed, and (at a safe distance) explosives - but eventually after a fashion they blew the harbour away. In the 19th century Nitroglycerin and similar inventions of that clever Alfred Nobel made it possible to blast a deep channel up to Glasgow, which then prospered as the downstream ports declined.

In the 1960s Scotland's housing was in a poor state, and the response was to build a series of New Towns across the lowland belt. Four of these were greenfield: Livingstone, East Kilbride, Cumbernauld and Glenrothes. At Irvine the plan was to graft the new onto an existing town, producing an odd mixture of slabby burbs, Victorian provincial town and odd charming Georgian survival. A sixth New Town near Hamilton was never built, and the project was wound up in 1996.

Trains run every 30 min from Glasgow Central via Paisley, Glengarnock (for Kilbirnie) and Kilwinning, taking 40 min to Irvine, and continuing south to Troon, Prestwick Airport and town, and Ayr. The last train leaves Glasgow around 11:30PM; in 2022 an offpeak single is £8.50. Change at Kilwinning for Ardrossan (for ferries to Isle of Arran), West Kilbride and Largs (for ferries to Great Cumbrae).

1 Irvine railway station is central between the loops of the river. There is a staffed ticket office and machines, toilets and a waiting room.

Stagecoach Bus X34 / X44 runs every couple of hours from Glasgow Buchanan via Kilwinning to Irvine railway station, taking 90 min. (An occasional X44 continues to Ardrossan.) Late on Saturday nights, X76 is the drunks' bus home from Glasgow via Kilmarnock.

Bus 14 runs hourly from Ayr via Prestwick and Troon to Irvine. Bus 11 runs every 20-30 min from Kilmarnock to Irvine (30 min) and continues west to Kilwinning and Ardrossan.

Change at Ayr for the bus for Stranraer and Belfast.