On the route are many superb and famous sites, from the fabulous – like Tam o Shanter’s Auld Brig o Doon near Robert Burns’s Cottage – to the factual – historic castles at Turnberry, Culzean, Dunure, Greenan, Dundonald, Seagate, Ardrossan, Portencross and Kelburn – and the Maritime Museum in Irvine, and Vikingar in Largs.
Others only require a small detour – e.g. the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway; the Smugglers’ Path from Troon to Dundonald Castle; and Kilwinning Abbey. In Ayr, St John’s Tower, Cromwell’s Fort, Loudoun Hall, Lady Cathcart’s House, the Auld Kirk and the Auld Brig, are all within a few yards of the Tourist Office in Sandgate.