The Ayrshire Coastal Path is a coastal long-distance hiking path in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The route, which is long, runs along the coast from Glenapp,

Ballantrae Ballantrae is a community in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The name probably comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Baile na Tràgha'', meaning the "town by the beach". Ballantrae has a primary school. The beach consists of shingle and sand an ...

Skelmorlie Skelmorlie is a village in North Ayrshire in the south-west of Scotland. Although it is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire, it is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly B ...

. South of Glenapp, the route links with the Mull of Galloway Trail to

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

. The path was developed by the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Ayr, and opened in June 2008. It is now designated as one of

Scotland's Great Trails Scotland's Great Trails are long-distance "people-powered" trails in Scotland, analogous to the National Trails of England and Wales or the Grande Randonnée paths of France. The designated routes are primarily intended for walkers, but may have se ...

NatureScot NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

, and also forms part of the

International Appalachian Trail The International Appalachian Trail (IAT; french: Sentier international des Appalaches, SIA) was originally a hiking trail which ran from Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, in Maine, through New Brunswick, to the Gaspé Peninsula of Q ...

. The route is primarily designed for walkers, and as much of the middle and north sections are alongside beaches it is also suitable for

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

. The northern section, between Ayr and Largs, is coincident with

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

routes 7 and 73 and is suitable for cyclists. About 3,000 people use the path every year.

References

External links

Ayrshire Coastal Path Official Website
{{Coastal paths of Britain Coastal paths in Scotland Scotland's Great Trails Ayrshire Footpaths in South Ayrshire Footpaths in North Ayrshire 2008 establishments in Scotland

See also

References

External links