All along the coast, the visual evidence of prehistoric standing stones, Roman marching camps, Iron Age duns, Norman mottes, medieval castles attacked by Vikings from long ships beached on sandy strands, Cromwell’s fort, and nuclear power stations – coupled with its enduring links with Burns, Bruce, Wallace, and Mary Queen of Scots – all point to the richness of Ayrshire’s ancient and modern history.

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.