Troon

Reaching Troon by public transport usually involves travelling via Glasgow.
By plane: The best local airport is Glasgow GLA, with flights within UK, across Europe, and to Canada; places beyond (eg USA and Asia) are better served from Manchester MAN and London Heathrow LHR. To reach GLA, travel via central Glasgow. The other airport, Prestwick PIK, is much closer but only has budget flights to the Med, so few visitors arrive this way.
By train: Trains run from Glasgow Central every 30 minutes daily, taking 40-50 mins, and continue south to Ayr (11-15 mins).
By bus: There are frequent Stagecoach buses from Glasgow, but usually involving a change and taking 90 mins: the X77 changing at Prestwick for the 14, the X76 changing at Kilmarnock for the 10, or the X44 changing at Irvine for the 14.
From Ireland, get off the bus at Ayr and change to local transport.
By car: From Glasgow and east / central Scotland follow M/A77 to Hurlford roundabout just outside Kilmarnock, then follow A71 and A759 into Troon. From England head for Carlisle, then A75 to Dumfries, A76 to Hurlford roundabout then as above.
By boat: Troon is near the ferry ports for Arran and Cumbrae. There used to be a P&O ferry between Troon and Larne in Northern Ireland, but this ended in 2016 – sail via Cairnryan instead.
With your own boat, sail in to Troon Yacht Haven, sheltered and accessible at all tides. Call 01292 315553 to book your berth or check in via www.yachthavens.com/troon

The town is compact and can easily be explored on foot. The 14 bus (every 30 mins) passes through Troon north to Irvine and south via Royal Troon Golf Club and Prestwick Airport to Ayr; change there for buses to the Burns Heritage Centre at Alloway.

• See the beaches, with grand views over the Firth of Clyde, and the harbour. South Beach (ie south of the harbour) is the more sheltered, and has always been the main visitors' beach. Barassie or North Beach is breezy and exposed. Further out, the sand dunes north and south of town are designated SSSIs: Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

• Dundonald Castle

  phone: +44 1563 851489
  address: Dundonald KA2 9HD
  There’s probably been a fortification here since the Stone Age, but the present structure was built by Robert Stewart around 1371 when he became King Robert II. So it’s over 600 years old and looks it: basically just a masonry shell, and an hour here will be plenty. The castle has the usual hoaky legends of buried gold, secret tunnels and the inevitable ghost: Jules Verne added to these by setting part of his novel “The Underground City” here.

• Royal Troon Golf CourseTwo famous 18-hole golf courses, the Old Course and the Portland, and the 9-hole Craigend. The Old Course is used for the PGA Open Championship and is machair ie sandy links near the sea-shore. As a private club, the members have wide discretion over who they do & don’t admit, and until 2016 they didn’t allow women full membership. They risked losing their PGA tour status over this, so they changed the rules and hosted the Open that year.

• Open Links of Ayrshire is a combi-package with Royal Troon, Prestwick Old Course and Trump Turnberry south of Ayr. Reckon £2000 for a couple playing all three, plus accommodation and meals at Turnberry. You can't book this online, call +44 1655 333 991 or email reservations@trumpturnberry.com.
• As well as the Royal, there are at least half-a-dozen decent golf courses around town.
• Live at Troon is a music festival in mid-Sept. The next event is probably 11-13 Sept 2020 but tbc.

• The Herbary

  phone: +44 1292 313489
  address: Ayr Street
  jewellery and fine gifts.

• Lady Par

  phone: +44 1292 318020
  address: Ayr Street
  golf boutique

• Pandora of Troon

  phone: +44 1292 310888
  address: Portland Street
  home fragrance, jewellery & gifts

• Words & Music

  phone: +44 1292 312248
  address: Portland Street
  cards, cds & DVDs

• The Frame Work Gallery

  phone: +44 1292 316144
  address: Portland Street
  contemporary Scottish art

• Fairways Restaurant: in Marine Hotel by golf course, see "Sleep".

• Jade Dragon

  address: 9 Templehill KA10 6BQ
  Oriental restaurant with a contemporary twist.
• Lochgreen House Hotel: fine dining, see "Sleep".

• Maharani Indian Restaurant

  phone: +44 1292 311797
  address: 42-46 W Portland St, KA10 6AB
  Indian food.
• McCallums Oyster Bar beside the fish harbour is a must for seafood fans. 01292 319339

• Scotts

  phone: +44 1292 315315
  address: Harbour Rd KA10 6DJ
  Bar and restaurant which looks out towards Arran and Ailsa Craig.

• Anchorage Hotel

  phone: +44 1292 317448
  address: 149 Templehill KA10 6BQ
  Decent enough for a bar meal and drinks. It has rooms but they're tatty.

• Bruce's Well

  address: 91 Portland Street

• Cheeky Charlies

  address: 47 Templehill

• Dan MacKays

  address: 69 Portland Street

• Harbour Bar

  address: Templehill

• Lonsdale Bar

  address: 15 Portland Street

• Lochgreen House Hotel

  phone: +44 1292 313343
  address: Monktonhill Road, Troon KA10 7EN
  32 bedroom hotel near Royal Troon Golf Course, amidst quiet woodland & gardens. With good restaurant.

• Marine Hotel

  phone: +44 1292 314444
  address: 8 Crosbie Rd KA10 6HE
  89 room hotel with swimming pool & gym, overlooking golf course. Tired run-down rooms, needs refurbishment. With Fairways Restaurant.

• Old Loans Inn

  phone: +44 1292 315976
  address: 31-33 Main Street, Loans KA10 7EX
  20 contemporary rooms, good restaurant with local Scottish produce.

• Piersland House Hotel

  phone: +44 1292 314747
  address: Craigend Rd KA10 6HD
  Country house style hotel once owned by a member of the Johnnie Walker whisky firm. Generally good reviews, but they often have wedding parties, which get noisy.

• South Beach Hotel

  phone: +44 1292 312033
  address: 73 South Beach KA10 6EG
  Family run hotel with 32 rooms, gets great reviews for cleanliness and welcome.

Day-trips from Troon include

• Largs a similar seaside town, with a short ferry crossing to Great Cumbrae.
• Ayr, where the main attraction is the Burns Heritage Centre at Alloway, and a few miles further south is Culzean Castle.

The Isle of Arran can easily be done as a day-trip, by ferry from Ardrossan, but you’d miss the essence of the place, stay longer.
Top destinations further afield are Glasgow and Edinburgh.