Girvan is an inexpensive place to spend a day, and a genuinely inexpensive place to spend a week if you are self-catering. Almost everything that makes the town worth visiting costs nothing at all.
In the town
- The beach and promenade — a mile of sand, a west-facing sunset and Ailsa Craig on the horizon.
- The harbour — working boats, creels, and seals if you are patient.
- Stumpy Tower — free entry to four floors of the old jail, run by volunteers.
- The McKechnie Institute — free museum and gallery with changing exhibitions.
- Knockcushan Gardens and its aviary, on the site where Robert the Bruce is said to have held court, plus the town's other parks.
- Girvan prom parkrun — 5k every Saturday morning, free and welcoming to walkers.
- The heritage trail round the town's buildings and history.
- The pétanque court in the McKechnie garden, and the play park and boating pond on the front.
Walks and views
- Byne Hill — the best free view in Carrick, over the town to Ailsa Craig and Arran.
- The Ayrshire Coastal Path — north towards Turnberry or south to Lendalfoot; the bus back costs a couple of pounds.
- Kennedy's Pass — the shoreline geology south of the town, and rock pools at low tide.
- The Varyag memorial at Lendalfoot, to a Russian cruiser wrecked on this coast.
- Grey Hill ridge for a longer walk with the same views.
Free days out within half an hour
- Dunure Castle and harbour — open access, no charge, with a play park and turf labyrinth beside it.
- Turnberry lighthouse — the walk from Maidens across the links, past Bruce's castle.
- The Electric Brae — the hill where your car appears to roll upwards. Free, and takes five minutes.
- Culzean's country park — no charge to walk in on foot from the coastal path, though car entry is paid and the castle interior is ticketed.
- Alloway (35 min) — the Auld Kirk, Monument Gardens and Brig o' Doon are all free; only the museum and cottage are ticketed, so the whole Tam o' Shanter landscape can be walked for nothing.
- Ayr (30 min) — the beach and Low Green, the Auld Brig, and the free galleries at Rozelle.
Free after dark
Galloway Forest Park is one of the darkest places in Europe, and the country park and most forest drives are free to enter — the Carrick Forest Drive may carry a small seasonal charge. On a clear moonless night you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye from a lay-by. See stargazing.
Free to enter does not always mean free to park. Culzean, some forest sites and a few beach car parks charge, so carry a card for the cashless machines.
