Ardrossan

The town of Ardrossan is an old harbour and ferry port on the Ayrshire Coast. It is one of the 'three towns', along with Saltcoats and Stevenston. The old harbour is now home to a marina, whilst Saltcoats has always been a resort, with a wide beach. All three towns are close enough to the larger Ayrshire towns such as Irvine, Kilmarnock and Ayr to be home to commuters, and even Glasgow is within range for a few. Ardrossan still retains a few reminders of its past as a port town, but is slowly being transformed into a busy modern town.

The main road through the town was formerly the A78, but since the construction of the Three Towns Bypass, the A78 now bypasses Ardrossan on a new dual carriageway. The old route of the A78 through the town is now the A738, which formerly ran closer to the coast. In turn, the old A738 route is now an extended B780, which includes the spur to the harbour. The B780 previously terminated on the A78 at the north end of town, having crossed from Dalry and Kilbirnie to the north. The B714 serves Saltcoats, having also crossed from Dalry, lthough this is a comparatively new route. Stevenston is served by the B752, which runs a very different route to its original line.

Ardrossan is also home to the Brodick Ferry, which crosses to Brodick on the Isle of Arran. In recent years it has also crossed to Campbeltown a few times a week in the summer as a trial. In winter storms, the Arran Ferry sometimes diverts to the more sheltered pier at Gourock.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A78	West Kilbride, Hunterston, Largs, Greenock
A78	Saltcoats, Stevenston, Kilwinning, Irvine
A738	Saltcoats, Stevenston, Kilwinning
B714	Dalry	Starts in Saltcoats
B780	Dalry
B780	Saltcoats
Ferry	Brodick and the A840 on Arran.	Limited summer service also to Campbeltown on the A83
A739		Link between main road and ferry terminal

Links

• Undiscovered Scotland