2 Days in Ayrshire Simply Wasn’t Enough – A Longer Visit is Recommended

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I recently returned from 2 days spent in Ayrshire and have come back feeling very much like I need waaaaaaay more time there to explore this area further! There is just so much to see and do. I really feel like I only just scratched the surface of what Ayrshire has to offer!

One of the difficulties sometimes of travelling I find (in general) is when you only have a finite number of days to explore… You don’t want to miss out on anything or anywhere, but at the same time you want to take your time in each place and properly explore it. Trying to find that balance between spending enough time in each place to properly experience it versus not missing out on something can be a difficult one to get right. I certainly enjoyed every moment I had in Ayrshire so I think for this visit I was right to spend more time in the destinations I was in, but I most certainly want to go back and delve much further and deeper than I did on this particular visit!

Highlights of the 2 days in Ayrshire…

Part of the reason I didn’t get as much time to explore as many parts of Ayrshire as I would have liked was because I was enjoying my time at the beach so much that time sort of passed me by! I suppose it’s a good problem to have…

A Day at Ayr Beach

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Ayr Beach

All in all, I visited 3 beaches as part of my time in Ayrshire. As I was staying in a hotel in Ayr, Ayr Beach was the first I visited. At first with many cars parked along the Esplanade we were worried it would be too busy for these times, what with Covid19 still lurking about, but actually once you were on the beach there was plenty of space on Ayr Beach because of the sheer size of it. It also looked like a great beach for taking your kite out on or for wind surfing – both of which I some people doing whilst there. That and there was plenty of space to take your dog out for a walk should you be travelling with one.

Sunset on Prestwick Beach

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Prestwick Beach
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As the sun was setting at Prestwick Beach

Later on (on the first day) to catch the sunset we wandered along to nearby Prestwick Beach, which I have to say surprised me a little. I’d never really spent much time in Prestwick before having only really been to the town to use the airport previously. The absolutely cracking sunset we saw – on what was a near-empty beach at the time – was therefore a wee highlight!

The Journey to Largs

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The town of Largs

After a stunning coastal drive from (roughly) Ardrossan to Largs, we stopped in Largs for a wee bit to get something to eat and go for a wee walk along the bay. The journey by car along the coastline had me making wee plans in my head on moving to an area like West Kilbride for a life by the seaside! It’s the sort of plans I know would probably never come to fruition due to work/life commitments elsewhere, but during our wee drive it was nice to dream haha!

Some Highlight Places to Eat in Ayrshire

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Window view of the terrace and river at The Waterfront Restaurant in Ayr

As I said in a previous post when talking about this trip to Ayrshire, I had plans on eating out the entire time and enjoying a good feed – and I was not let down! Some of the highlight places we ate at included The Waterfront Bar & Restaurant in Ayr which had a great riverside terrace to sit out on and fantastic seafood on offer. For some of the best Italian food I’ve ate in good while we went to Vito’s Italian in Prestwick which also had really friendly staff.  For some lunch in Largs by the waterside we also went to Nardini’s, which aside from having a really good location, also did fantastic food and although I was too full for dessert, I have been assured that I have missed out by not indulging in one! FYI though, some of the desserts looked humongous at Nardini’s so you may want to share them between 2 people!

My 2 days in Ayrshire for me on this trip were just about enjoying some time at the beach and scoping out where to go on a longer venture when I have more time. I’d love to visit some more areas of historical significance in future visits to Ayrshire as well as going over to experience some of the islands. I guess you’ll have to watch this space!

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