West Kilbride

West Kilbride is a town in Ayrshire on the Clyde coast, with a population of 4860 in 2022. Named for St Brigit of Kildare, it was traditionally a weaving, potato-growing and sheep-farming town. It expanded when the railway arrived in 1878 and grew into nearby Seamill and Portencross.

Hunterston 2 miles north is an industrial area. Its landmark Hunterston B was a nuclear power station from 1976 to 2022 and is now being decommissioned. Around 1830 a fabulous Celtic brooch was found in the area, dating to 700 AD and now in the National Museum in Edinburgh.

Get in

Hunterston B nuclear power station

By plane: Glasgow Airport (GLA ^IATA) has the best choice of flights. Take the airport bus to Glasgow city centre then train or bus as below; or you could take the local bus to Paisley on the Glasgow-Largs line. Prestwick (PIK ^IATA) is closer but only has holiday flights from the Mediterranean.

By train: Trains run hourly from Glasgow Central, taking 50 min via Paisley Gilmour Street, Kilwinning and Ardrossan, and continuing north to Fairlie and Largs. The last train leaves around 11PM. Change at Kilwinning for trains from Ayr, Prestwick, Troon and Irvine.

1 West Kilbride railway station is just east of town centre. It's just a platform halt with ticket machines but no staffed office or toilets. There is step-free access to the only platform.

By bus: Stagecoach Bus 585 runs every 30 min from Ayr via Irvine and Ardrossan, continuing north to Largs. It stops along A78, there isn't a bus station here. Change in Largs for Bus 901 / 903 to Gourock (for ferries to Dunoon) and Greenock. From central Glasgow it's usually quickest to travel via Ardrossan.

By road follow A78 the coastal main highway.

Get around

Stagecoach Bus 585 runs along the main coast road every 30 min from Ayr via Prestwick, Irvine, Ardrossan and Seamill to West Kilbride, Fairlie and Largs.

Taxi operators are Eddie's (☏ +44 1294 822812) and I & D Airport Transfers (+44 7821 568255).

See

• West Kilbride Museum, Village Hall, 1 Arthur Street KA23 9EN, ☏ +44 1294 823284. Tu Th Sa 10:30AM-12:30PM & 2-4PM. Small volunteer-run museum upstairs in village hall. Donation. (updated Dec 2024)
• St Andrews Parish Church at 45 Main St was built in 1882 and is still an active Church of Scotland.
• 1 Law Castle 200 yards east of the railway station was built in 1467 as a wedding gift for Princess Mary, sister of King James III. But the groom was attainted of treason while he was away on the Continent, where he wisely chose to remain, so the marriage was annulled. The castle fell derelict in the 19th century but was smartly restored in the 21st and is now luxury accommodation with six bedrooms. Admire the exterior, no tours within.
• 2 Barony Centre at 50 Main Street has changing exhibitions, art studios and events. It's open M-Sa 9AM-4PM.
• 3 Simpson Monument is the grandest of the funerary structures in the south part of the town cemetery. Robert Simpson (1687-1768) promoted the Grecian or neo-classical architectural style adopted in Glasgow.
• 4 Portencross Castle, Portencross Rd KA23 9QA (On coast 2 miles west of town). Apr Jul Aug daily, May Jun Sep Sa Su 11AM-4PM. First built in the 13th century, and replaced by the present bastion in the 14th. It was abandoned in 1739 when a storm ripped the roof off. Donation. (updated Dec 2024)
• 5 Biglees Waterfall is the lower of two falls in Glen Burn. It's the better of the two but takes some finding off Fairlie Moor Road, and then some scrambling.
• The beach stretches from Seamill by the Hydro to an outcrop of rocks by the golf course. It resumes along Ardneill Bay to Portencross. Good views southwest towards Arran.
• Little Cumbrae is the island seen a mile west of Hunterston. It's a religious retreat with no public access. Great Cumbrae further north is reached by ferry from Largs.

Do

• Kirktonhall Glen is a woodland footpath starting in town centre and following the Kilbride Burn for a couple of miles down to the shore at Seamill.
• 1 West Kilbride Golf Club, Fullarton Drive, Seamill KA23 9HT, ☏ +44 1294 823911. 18-hole links course between shore and farmland, flat but with a stiff sea breeze. Par 71, the "Arran" course is 6523 yards. May-Oct £70 pp round, Nov-Mar £50. (updated Dec 2024)

Buy

Portencross Castle

• Co-op Food at 12 Ritchie St is open daily 7AM-10PM. Spar on Orchard St is a smaller convenience store. For a big shop head to the supermarkets in Ardrossan.
• Fencebay Farmers Market is at Fencefoot Farm off Irvine Rd in Fairlie, last Sunday of the month 9AM-2PM.

Eat

• Bernie's coffee shop is at 39 Ritchie St, open Tu-Su 10AM-2PM.
• The Village Chippy is at 84 Main St, open Tu-Sa 4-8:30PM.
• Ayats Curry House is a takeaway at 93A Main St, open Su-Th 4:30-10PM, F Sa 4:30-11:30PM.
• Cita Bar & Grill, 1 Cubrieshaw St KA23 9AY (at railway station), ☏ +44 1294 822028. W Th 4:30-8PM, F-Su noon-9PM. Tapas restaurant in the station building. (updated Dec 2024)
• Seamill Hydro has a good restaurant, see Sleep.
• 1 The Catch at Fins Restaurant, Fencefoot Farm, Fairlie KA29 0EG (5 miles north of town on A78), ☏ +44 1475 568989. Th noon-3PM, 5:30-9PM, F Sa 10AM-3PM, 5:30-9PM, Su 10AM-3PM. Acclaimed seafood restaurant, it's small so booking essential. (updated Dec 2024)

Drink

• King's Arms at 46 Main St is open M and Th noon-10PM, F Sa 11AM-midnight.
• The Twa Dugs at 71 Main St is open Su and Tu noon-10PM, M 9AM-5PM, W Th 5-10PM, F Sa noon-midnight.

Sleep

Seamill Beach

• 1 Carlton Seamill B&B, 53 Ardrossan Road, Seamill KA23 9NE, ☏ +44 1294 822075. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 10AM. B&B in Victorian house with period furnishings. B&B double £80. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Seamill Hydro, 39 Ardrossan Rd, Seamill KA23 9ND, ☏ +44 1294 822217. Upscale hotel with leisure & gym facilities and pool. With Orangery restaurant plus Aura bar meals. B&B double £100. (updated Dec 2024)
• Seamill House Hotel is a separate mid-range establishment almost next door to the Hydro.
• 3 The Waterside, Ardrossan Rd KA23 9NG, ☏ +44 1294 824414. Clean modern hotel, great setting but you need the sunshine. Building work to spring 2025 will add 25 rooms and a spa. B&B double £110. (updated Dec 2024)

Connect

As of Dec 2024, West Kilbride and the coast highway have 5G from EE and Three, but a poor patchy signal from O2 and Vodafone.

Go next

• Ardrossan has ferries to the charming Isle of Arran.
• Largs is a pleasant small resort with ferries to Great Cumbrae.
• Wemyss Bay has ferries to the Isle of Bute.
• Ayr has Robert Burns' birthplace at Alloway, and further south is Culzean Castle.
• Famous golf courses hereabouts are Royal Troon, Prestwick Old Course, and Trump Turnberry towards Girvan.
• Nuclear reactors: you can no longer visit Hunterston B as it's being decommissioned. Other nuclear power plants in the UK that can be visited are at Torness near Dunbar, Dungeness B in Kent, West Burton B near Retford Notts, Heysham in Lancashire, Hinckley Point in Somerset, Hartlepool, and Sizewell B in Suffolk.