Irvine

Scotland > South of Scotland > Ayrshire > Irvine

The old burgh of Irvine was in the 18th century the chief port for Glasgow, before the River Clyde was deepened to allow shipping further up the river.

It was one of Scotland's "new towns" on the sea and housed the overspill from Glasgow in the 1960's.

Robert Burns lived in Irvine in 1782 and the town's Burns Club is one the oldest in the world, dating from 1826.

The modern town has a busy shopping mall - Rivergate, a sports and swimming complex - the Magnum and is home to the Scottish Maritime Museum as well as having a great sandy beach with terrific views over the Firth to the Isle of Arran.