South West Scotland is in Scotland, one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is that part of Scotland which is south west of the Central Belt and closest to Northern Ireland.

Regions

South West (Scotland) regions - Color-coded map

Ayrshire

Clydesdale

Dumfries and Galloway

Isle of Arran

Towns

• Annan
• Ardrossan
• Ayr
• Castle Douglas
• Dumfries
• Kilmarnock
• Kirkcudbright
• Lanark
• Saltcoats
• Stranraer
• Troon

Other destinations

• Holy Island

Get in

By plane

The only airport in the region is Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (PIK), which is primarily a destination for a number of low-cost airlines. Prestwick airport can be reached directly from European cities including Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Rome and Stockholm. The airport has its own railway station, with direct links to Glasgow Central Station (a 45 minute journey) and to Ayr (7 minutes). See below for further information. Ryanair passengers can get a discount by showing their flight paperwork to the ticket inspector when you purchase on the train.

• Glasgow Prestwick International Airport [1] - Airport information and live flight times.
• Ryanair [2] - Online ticket sales for flights to/from over 15 European cities.

By train

Like most of the central belt, the south west is well served by Strathclyde Passenger Transport, with train stations in most towns. There tend to be two trains per hour on most routes, though be sure to check ahead, especially on holidays and Sundays where there may be scheduled engineering work. Most places here can be reached via Glasgow Central station, with a journey down to Ayr taking about 55 minutes and costing around £7 return. Glasgow to Stranraer typically takes 2 hours and 15 minutes, costing £16. From England, trains tend to head straight into Glasgow Central, though there are routes leading to Kilmarnock, from where more local destinations can be reached.

Tickets should be purchased at stations where available, but can be bought on board too. Single day return tickets generally cost very little more than a single ticket and so you should buy a return ticket if you'll be travelling back on the same day. Purchasing a "Daytripper" ticket from any station (£15 for a family of four) allows virtually unlimited travel across the Strathclyde network of trains, buses and the Glasgow subway for one day. Bicycles are accommodated freely on most train journeys, though space is not guaranteed.

• Strathclyde Passenger Transport [3] - Route maps and ticket offer information.
• Scotrail - Timetables and online ticket sales for journeys across Britain.

By boat

Being near Northern Ireland, there are a number of ferry routes into the south west of Scotland. There are typically at least two sailings a day and a single passenger ticket costs from around £25 to £40, depending on the time of year. Taking a car on the ferry costs from £70, again depending on the time of year and ticket type.

The ferry operators regularly have special offers and online discounts, so check all of the websites before booking.

• P&O Irish Sea [4] - Ferry timetables and ticket sales from Larne to Troon and Cairnryan.
• Stena Line [5] - Ferry timetables and ticket sales from Belfast to Stranraer.

See

• Robert Burns, the famous poet, was born in and has many links to the region, so there are a number of attractions to see, many of which are in the Burns National Heritage Park [6] in Alloway, Ayr and his later home Dumfries.

Do

• The region is famed for its numerous golf courses (over 60). Indeed, the first Open Championship was held at Old Prestwick in 1860, with Royal Troon hosting the 2004 tournament.