To the seaside from Glasgow!
2nd July 2022
In less than an hour, one can drive from Giffnock South west Glasgow) to the seaside, but this is not the sandy beaches and blue seas! The photo above is of the beach at Troon and you can see the stormy clouds hovering over the Isle of Arran in the far distance. The photos below are looking south and north, respectively.
We walked a while along the beach at Troon and decided it was too cold and blustery to enjoy. So it was back into the car and down the coast a bit further to Irvine. The main harbourside road was lined with charming houses and we walked to the far end to see the Maritime Museum.
We only looked at the boats on display in the harbourside rather than go into the museum itself as there was plenty to see outside. There were pavement slabs with Scottish words for us to ponder over their meaning. And this striking statue of a working man with his horse. This statue is called 'The carter and his horse' and was created by David Annand in 1996. The carters transported coal to Irvine harbour from the surrounding collieries in their small carts. By the late 18th century Irvine was one of the busiest ports in Scotland for imports and exports. But when the River Clyde was dredged, the larger vessels could dock directly in Glasgow, then Irvine's fate was sealed.
The role of the working horse in Scotland is celebrated by The Kelpies in Falkirk. Here in Irvine is one of two one-tenth scale versions of The Kelpies. They be relatively small but they are still powerful statues, and made us keener to see the real things later in the week.
Now if you have the chance to visit this west coast region, please do try out the GRO Coffee cafe on the harbourside. It sells the most delicious lunches and cakes, and of course great coffee too!
On our drive back to Giffnock, we stopped off at the ruins of Dundonald Castle. This hilltop fortified tower was built in the 1370s by Robert II on his accession to the throne of Scotland in 1371. We arrived too late to look inside the ruins or visit the visitor centre, but the advantage of the hill top position looking over the Firth of Clyde was obvious.
