Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a large traditional county in the west of Scotland. Since 1996 it has been split into 3 Unitary authorities - East, North and South Ayrshire. Whilst they respect the counties border, they largely ignore the more traditional divisions, or bailieries, of the county, which are (From North to South) Cunninghame, Kyle and Carrick. North Ayrshire also includes the isles of Cumbrae and Arran, which are in traditional Buteshire.

Geography & Economy

The A719 coast road

Due to the size of the county, the majority of it is rural, however there is a dense urban area stretching along the coast and inland at the heart of the county which is loosely included in the 'Central Belt' urban area of Scotland. This stretches from Ardrossan in the north to Ayr in the south, and includes the large town of Kilmarnock. In contrast, much of the landward part of the county is hilly, climbing up to the Galloway Hills and Southern Uplands, so little used for farming or settlement. The northern area is part of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Country Park, which offers a range of landscapes and activities on the edge of Glasgow, but the south and east are more remote and given over to Forestry and wind turbines.

The coastal strip has a variety of industries. Several of the towns grew as resorts for the Victorian day trippers from Glasgow, others are old ports and harbours, with ferries still crossing to Arran from Ardrossan. In the past Irish ferries have operated from Troon, although these are currently suspended. Tourism is still important in the county, with holiday parks, golf courses and the wilder landscapes inland offering a range of destinations for visitors. Many of the more traditional industries have gone, but there is still a wide economic base across the county.

Roads

Leaving the county on the A77

The M77 - A77 corridor is the most important route in the county, running from Glasgow in the north to the coast and on to the Irish ferries in Galloway. A good network of routes stretch through the glens and valleys inland, although they diminish as they climb into the hills. To the north, the A78 and A737 are both good qaulity routes offering alternative, if longer ways to Glasgow. The A76 is another good road which stretches south east to Dumfries, and so giving access to England.

Whilst many of the counties roads are high quality, fast routes, those which lead into the more rural areas can be lightly trafficked and so have seen little, if any upgrade in recent years. The A714 is one such route which, whilst enjoyable for the visitor, must be frustrating for the local. Most non-trunk roads within the traditional county are maintained by North Ayrshire Council, East Ayrshire Council & South Ayrshire Council. The trunk roads include the A76, A77, A78, A737, A738 and motorway, which are maintained by Transport Scotland.

Route	From	To	Length
M77	Glasgow	Fenwick, Ayrshire	18 miles	View
A70	Edinburgh	Ayr	75.5 miles	View
A71	Edinburgh	Irvine	67.6 miles	View
A76	Kilmarnock	Maxwelltown	56.2 miles	View
A77	Glasgow	Portpatrick	91.7 miles	View
A78	Greenock	Monkton	40.60 miles	View
A79	Monkton	Doonholm	7.7 miles	View
A713	Ayr	Castle Douglas	49.2 miles	View
A714	Girvan	Braehead	38.0 miles	View
A719	Laighmuir	Turnberry	38.2 miles	View
A733	Raithburn	Whitletts, near Ayr	19 miles	View
A734	Hurlford	Riccarton	2 miles	View
A735	Lugton	Kilmarnock	12.0 miles	View
A736	Braehead	Irvine	24.1 miles	View
A737	Glasgow Airport	Shewalton, near Irvine	25.4 miles	View
A738	Ardrossan	Kilwinning	5.4 miles	View
A739	Ardrossan	Ardrossan Harbour	1.1 miles	View
A758	Whitletts	Mauchline	9.2 miles	View
A759	Kilmarnock	Troon	10.0 miles	View
A760	Largs	Auchengrange	13.2 miles	View
A765	Ballantrae (N)	Pinwherry	7.2 miles	View
A778	Monkton	Monktonhead	0.6 miles	View
B77	Smithston Roundabout	Broomknowes	5.41 km	View
B705	Mauchline	Auchinleck	5.7 miles	View
B706	Dunlop	Beith	5.2 miles	View
B707	Auchentiber	Highfield, Dalry	4.2 miles	View
B713	Catrine (SW)	Sorn	2.6 miles	View
B713	Monkton	Mossblown	3.6 miles	View
B714	Dalry	Saltcoats	5.6 miles	View
B714	Dalry	Saltcoats	5.6 miles	View
B728	High Road	South Crescent Road	0.4 miles	View
B730	Patna	Dreghorn	21.0 miles	View
B734	Girvan	Ballantrae (N)	21.8 miles	View
B739	Raith	Prestwick	3.5 miles	View
B739	Pinwherry	Corseclays Farm	7.1 miles	View
B739	Glencairn Street	Townhead Street	0.6 miles	View
B741	New Cumnock	Girvan Mains	30.7 miles	View
B742	Smithston, Maybole	Sandyford	14.9 miles	View
B743	Prestwick	Strathaven	36.4 miles	View
B744	Belston	Galston	14.0 miles	View
B744	Muirkirk	Rutherglen	27.5 miles	View
B746	Troon	Loans	4.0 miles	View
B746	Ayr	Galston	15.1 miles	View
B747	Whitletts Road	John Street	0.5 miles	View
B748	New Bridge Street	Ayr Harbour	0.4 miles	View
B749	Troon Harbour	Monkton	4.0 miles	View
B750	Dundonald	Palmer Mount	0.7 miles	View
B751	Bogend	Fenwick	9.4 miles	View
B752	Shore Road, Stevenston	Ardeer Mains	1.0 mile	View
B769	Crossmyloof, Glasgow	Irvine	21.2 miles	View
B775	Paisley	Lugton	8.2 miles	View
B777	Kilbirnie	Lugton	7.6 miles	View
B778	Kilwinning	Fenwick	12.0 miles	View
B779	Kilwinning	Irvine	3.3 miles	View
B780	Kilbirnie	Stevenston	14.7 miles	View
B781	West Kilbride	Munnoch	4.3 miles	View
B782	West Kilbride	Millstonford	1.1 miles	View
B783	Dalry	Kilbirnie	3.8 miles	View
B784	North Hourat	Burnside Bridge, near Dalry	2.2 miles	View
B785	Kilwinning	Doura	2.7 miles	View
B785	Largs	Lochwinnoch	13.3 miles	View
B7013	High Main Street	Carsphairn Road	0.5 miles	View
B7022	Vicarton Street	Knockcushan Street	0.28 miles	View
B7023	Pennyglen	Crosshill(S)	5.9 miles	View
B7024	Ayr	Maybole	7.4 miles	View
B7025	Irvine Road	Main Street	0.6 miles	View
B7027	Challoch	Barrhill	15.2 miles	View
B7034	Auchendrane	Hollybush	4.1 miles	View
B7035	Girvan	Dailly	5.6 miles	View
B7035	Highfield	Auchincruive	0.6 miles	View
B7036	Ochiltree	Auchinleck	3.2 miles	View
B7037	Galston	Sorn	7.1 miles	View
B7038	Fenwick	Spittalhill	5.8 miles	View
B7044	Ballantrae	Knockdolian	3.5 miles	View
B7045	Minishant	Straiton	8.1 miles	View
B7046	Drongan	Cumnock	9.6 miles	View
B7047	West Kilbride	Chapelton	1.47 miles	View
B7048	West Kilbride	Portencross	2.0 miles	View
B7049	Manrahead	Knowehead	1.34 miles	View
B7061	Stewarton Road	Laigh Fenwick(S)	1.0 mile	View
B7064	Moorfield Industrial Estate	Western Road / Glasgow Road roundabout	3.4 miles	View
B7072	Riccarton	Bellfield	0.83 miles	View
B7073	Kilmarnock	Haining Mains	3.0 miles	View
B7080	Eglinton	Shewalton	5.1 miles	View
B7081	Irvine	Kilmarnock	6.9 miles	View
B7082	Kilmarnock	Grassyards Interchange	1.4 miles	View
B7083	Netherthird	Auchinleck	3.5 miles	View
C4	Saltcoats	Dalry	5.6 miles	View
C491	Ayr Street	Elm Gardens		View
C1-52	High Street	Burns Street	0.3 miles	View
U11	B706 Barmill Road	Dirt Track	0.5 miles	View
U19	C56 Fairlie Moor Road	Baidland Farm	2 miles	View
U20	U62 Windyedge	Brodoclea Farm	3.6 miles	View
U35	South Pillars	Hunterston Roundabout	2 miles	View
U60	A78 Highthorn	House Number 11 before the dirt track	2 miles	View
U62	C56 Fairlie Moor Road	First Farm	1.4 miles	View
U66	A737 Three Staines Roundabout	A78 Meadowhead Roundabout	1.5 miles	View
U88	A841 Sannox	Carpark at End of Road	1.4 miles	View
T28	Gretna	Stirling		View
T88	Dumfries	Kilmarnock		View
T91	Glasgow	Monkton		View

Key

Motorway

Primary Route

Non Primary Route

Former Motorway

Defunct Route

E Road

Future Motorway

Future Primary

Future Non Primary

Historical Route

Tourist Route

Roman Road

Unbuilt Motorway

Unbuilt Primary

Unbuilt Non Primary

National Cycle Network

Cycle Route

Eurovelo Cycle Route

Junctions

Main Article: Junctions in Ayrshire

Bridges, Tunnels, and other Crossings

Main Article: Crossings in Ayrshire