Cairn Table

Location and Access Muirkirk is a small town which lies 24 miles inland from Ayr close to the Lanarkshire border. Cairn Table is the highest of the hills which dominate the moorland landscape to the south of Muirkirk, rising 593m above sea level. The hill takes its name from the two large prehistoric cairns which […]

Loch Doon

Location and Access Loch Doon is a major reservoir for Ayrshire and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the Arctic Charr which breed there. It is 9km long and set high in the Ayrshire part of the Galloway hills. The beautiful vistas of moorland and forest attract the outdoor enthusiasts – walkers, […]

Shalloch on Minnoch

Location and Access Shalloch on Minnoch (NX 405 907) is the highest hill in Ayrshire and is the focal point of some fine moorland and hill birding for those fit and energetic enough to explore the tops. From Straiton, take the hill road south towards Newton Stewart. This road is part of the South Ayrshire […]

Glen App

Location and Access About 8km south of Ballantrae,the main A77 trunk road south enters the lower reaches of the valley of the Water of App. Along the main road there are two safely entered laybys from which the slopes of the glen can be scanned. Near the mouth of the river (at NX 052 724) […]

Straiton

Location and Access There are a number of good birding possibilities in the vicinity of the village of Straiton (NS 8 04) on the edge of Galloway Forest Park in the Southern Uplands. Buses run regularly betweenAyr and Straiton and one companycarries cycles. The village lies on the local cycle byway network (see Ayrshire Paths […]

Loudoun Hill

Location and Access Rising up from the surrounding farmland, the volcanic remains of Loudoun Hill (NS 609 79) provide an impressive landmark at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley. It was in the shadow of this hill in 1297 that William Wallace and his men ambushed an English baggage train bound for Ayr and […]

Portencross to Hunterston

Location and Access Portencross (NS 175 488) is at Farland Head which projects into the Clyde Estuary just south of the Cumbrae Islands. At the cross roads on A78 on the northern edge of Seamill, take B7048 west for 2km to the road end where there is a large free car park and seaside picnic […]

Fairlie Sands

Location and Access The main site is a shallow, tidal bay on the southern outskirts of Fairlie where the burn down Fairlie Glen enters the sea. The bay can be viewed from a roadside car park on the A78 (NS 207 543) or from the car park and picnic area, with toilets, on the promontory […]

Lochwinnoch RSPB

(Editor’s Note: Lochwinnoch is in Renfrewshire but has been granted honorary inclusion in Ayrshire due to the support they have given over the years to the Ayrshire Bird Report: buy a copy the next time you are in the shop.) Location and Access Lochwinnoch RSPB Nature Reserve, founded in the early 1970’s, is situated approximately […]