Ayr

The historic port and county town of Ayr lies on the Clyde coast in Ayrshire. The largest town in the south west of Scotland (outside the Glasgow urban area), it grew up around the docks at the mouth of the River Ayr, and there is still a large industrial area on the north bank at the mouth. The town centre lies along the rivers south bank, but the town has grown north and south along the coast, consuming Prestwick and a number of smaller villages. The town is also a resort, with beaches stretching away to the south from the river mouth, backed by parks and huge interwar developments of bungalows, the lucky few enjoying sea views.

The main road past Ayr is the A77, which bypasses to the east. The dual carriageway only runs around Prestwick, ending at Whitletts Roundabout, from where the A719 runs into the town centre. The old route of the A77 through the town is now mostly the A79, although the development of Prestqick Airport means that the northern end has been re-routed. The A719 runs loosely parallel to the A77 from the M77 north of Kilmarnock, down to the bypass, and then after a short multiplex, it passes through the town centre and follows the coast south, to rejoin the A77 towards Girvan.

The A70, having crossed southern Scotland from Edinburgh, terminates in the town centre, its route almost unchanged except for the addition of a roundabout here and there. The only other A road in the town is the A713, which heads south to Galloway, passing through Dalmellington and New Galloway to Castle Douglas. However, in the past the A758 forked off the A719 on the edge of the town and headed east to Mauchline. This is now entirely an extension of the B743.

Within Ayr itself the B748 provides a short link to the south docks area, whilst the B747 runs past the race course to the east of the centre. It previously crossed the river, but the A79 was re-routed over the bridge to avoid the town centre. Further north, the B743 extends beyond the old A758 route to meet the A79 near the coast in Prestwick, and to the south of the town the B7024 follows the A77 south to Maybole.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A77	Stranraer	Accessed via A79
A77	Kilmarnock, Glasgow	Accessed via A719
A78	Irvine	Accessed via A77
A70	Cumnock
A79	Prestwick	former A77 route
A79	Laigh Glengall	former A77 route
A713	Dumfries
A719	Doonfoot
A719	Galston	Access road to A77(North)
B743	Mauchline	Former A758
B747		Craigie Road
B748		South Harbour Street
B7024	Alloway, Maybole

Links

• Undiscovered Scotland