Kilmarnock is in South West Scotland and is the home of "Johnnie Walker", the world famous brand of whisky. It is also associated with the poetry of Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns as his first collection of poems -the famous "First Edition"- was printed in the town. The town's Dean Castle is the home of the "World Burns Federation". Kilmarnock is the only school in Scotland to have produced two Nobel Prize winners. Lord John Boyd Orr and Sir Alexander Fleming both attended Kilmarnock Academy. The only other school in Britain to have achieved this is Eton College.

Get in

It is around 7-8 miles away from the coastal towns of Irvine and Ayr.

Kilmarnock can be accessed via the A77 from the north and south or alternatively, the M77 from the north. The town also has a local rail station from which there are trains to Glasgow, Carlisle, Newcastle, and down the west coast past Prestwick Airport and Stranraer. Trains leave for Glasgow every 30 minutes during weekdays.

Get around

Stagecoach buses run services into most of the town's areas on a regular basis until around 11pm at night. Regular buses also run to Glasgow, Irvine, Ayr, Stewarton and various other outlaying villages and towns.

See

• Dean Castle Country Park. 200 acre country park and 14th century castle. 

• The Dick Institute, London Road. Museum Tue - Sat 11am - 5pm. Library and Museum, opened in 1901. 

• Burns Monument Centre, Kay Park. Tuesday – Saturday 9.15am – 4.30pm. Local History & Archives 

• The Palace Theatre, Green Street. Landmark building built in 1863 and converted to a theatre in 1903. 

Do

• West Coast Karts, 70 Second Avenue, Stevenston Ind Est, Stevenston. KA20 3LR, ☏ +44 1294 603505. 10AM-10PM. Scotland's newest indoor karting centre. various. 

• Galleon Leisure Centre. Titchfield Street 

• Rowallan Castle Golf Club. Just outside Kilmarnock 

Buy

King street is the main shopping street and is populated with the usual mix of stores you'd expect to find in a town this size. The town is also host to several retail parks just on the edge of the town centre; Queens Drive Retail Park & Glencairn Retail Park being two of them. These retail parks contain larger versions of the usual chain stores, supermarkets and retailers.

Eat

• "Merchants" - Is located just behind Wilkinson's off King Street (Queen street). It was recently named one of Tam Cowan's top picks in his restaurant guide in the Daily Record.

• "First Edition" in Bank Street serves a delicious meal at reasonable prices. Very nice atmosphere as well!

• "Riverbank" on Bank Street serves the best in locally sourced produce. Affordable, casual, gourmet food.

• "Mamitas" in Bank Street serves delicious food and coffee. Great service and a very friendly atmosphere.

• "The Longhouse" on Titchfield Street.

Drink

Kilmarnock has many pubs and restaurants to choose from. Most pubs screen live football matches and serve basic pub grub until around 8pm.

• "Fanny by Gaslight" on West George Street
• "The Goldberry" on Bank Street
• "The Hunting Lodge" at Glencairn Square (Former winner of the Tennents "Best Pint in Scotland" competition)
• "The Bellfield Tavern" at Welbeck Street
• "The Auld Hoose" on Titchfield Street
• "Paris Match" just off King Street, behind Tesco
• "The Howard" at Glencairn Square (where you will get more than a pie and chips for lunch)
• "Riverbank" on Bank Street serves a massive range of malt and blended whiskeys as well as a huge variety of spirits and liqueurs.

Sleep

Kilmarnock has a wide mix of accommodation from homely B&Bs/guest houses, to high class hotels.

• The Park Hotel, Rugby Road. (4 Star) 
• Fenwick Hotel, Ayr Road. (3 Star) 
• Old Rome Farmhouse, Gatehead. (3 Star) 
• Tamarind B&B, Arran Avenue, info@bedandbreakfastonline.co.uk. (3 Star) 

Stay Safe

The police station is in the town centre on St Marnock Street.