The GoGirvan community group has waymarked a town trail linking the burgh's historic sites, and a free leaflet from the Tourist Information Point on Dalrymple Street tells the stories properly. It takes an hour, it is flat, and it is the best way to understand why the town looks the way it does. Our summary of the route follows.
The route
- Dalrymple Street — the main street, which is also the A77. The red sandstone McKechnie Institute of 1889, the Victorian bank and shop fronts, and the site of the legendary 'Hairy Tree'.
- Stumpy Tower — the 1827 jail and courthouse at the Knockcushan Street corner, with its unfinished steeple. Climb it if it is open; it is free.
- Knockcushan Gardens — the old court hill where Robert the Bruce is said to have granted the town its charter in 1328, with the memorial stone and the aviary.
- The harbour — Harbour Street and the fish quay, the boatyard across the river, the RNLI station and the Quay Zone.
- Old Street and the Old Kirk — the medieval heart of the town and its kirkyard, and the oldest ground in the burgh.
- Montgomerie Street — the North Parish Church spire and the best of the Victorian villas.
- The seafront — the Victorian resort in one view: promenade, boating pond, shelters and the villas built for the Glasgow holiday trade after the railway arrived in 1860.
Making a morning of it
The trail passes two free museums, and if you go into both it becomes a half-day rather than an hour. Stumpy Tower has four floors and the old cells; the McKechnie has local history, fossils and the Ailsa Craig exhibition. Neither charges, and both are worth the time — see Girvan on a rainy day, because this trail works surprisingly well in drizzle.
Finish at the harbour with a coffee or a fish supper, or extend along the promenade to Ainslie Park for another flat mile with Ailsa Craig in front of you.
Practical notes
Free, and no booking. The walk is flat and on pavements throughout; Stumpy Tower's steep original stairs are the only steps on the route, and they are optional.
Pick up the leaflet first — the trail is waymarked but the stories are the point, and they are in the leaflet rather than on the signs. The Tourist Information Point is volunteer-run, so check it is open, or ask at the McKechnie Institute. See the history of Girvan for the fuller story.
