By Gordon Irving

Within half-an-hour's drive from Glasgow you find yourself in one of Britain's most varied holiday playgrounds, the bonnie land of Ayrshire, made famous by its ploughman poet Robert Burns.

It has most of the holiday goodies (except perhaps guaranteed sunshine) that the average tourist wants - hill-walking country, seaside villages, great castles like Culzean on its clifftop near Maybole, the homely towns of Ayr and Kilmarnock, and the airport town and resort of Prestwick by the sea.

Largs (with its new Viking Centre), Irvine, Saltcoats and Ardrossan add to the variety.

If Burns could return today, he would, I'm sure, re-write the brochures in verse and sing the praises of his home village of Alloway and the splendid new Heritage Centre they have set up in his memory.

He would also write some worthy verse to commemorate the wee town of Maybole and a wheen of other visitor attractions.

2 Bonnie Ayrshire Americans make Alloway a natural centre for touring in this bonnie, bracing and always romantic part of Scotland. There's a nice choice of guest-houses, B&Bs and small homely hotels.

The Burns Centre, a modern showplace museum, has audio-visual tribute to the poet and a variety of Scottish souvenirs to take home.

I re-visited Burns Cottage in the village, then learned so much more about the poet and Ayrshire in this fine new heritage building.

Ayr itself, good for shopping, offers new and established restaurants, and , for evening entertainment, its own legendary theatre, The Gaiety, developing from its years as a "nursery" for Scottish comedians to hosting a variety of theatrical talent from all parts of Britain.

I like Ayr and Alloway because it's also a jump-off point to the superb links of Turnberry, a legendary name with golfers, then to the harbour town of Girvan and on to the bracing sea breezes of Ballantrae , a village loved by anglers. Take the hill road south from Girvan, and you are in yet another world . This is largely unexplored farming country stretching into neighbouring Galloway.

Tip: Watch at road-ends for friendly signs from farmers and their wives offering bed-and-breakfast. You get really good value and warm hospitality.

And there's no need to stick to the mainland only when you drive into Ayrshire. Take the ferry from Ardrossan and spend a few days on the island of Arran, often dubbed "Scotland in Miniature."

The little villages of Brodick, Lamlash and Whiting Bay, and many cottages, cater for an annual influx of knowledgeable holidaymakers. The island, 20 miles long and 10 miles wide, is circled by 56 miles of coast road. Take or hire a bike for a complete break from the car.

A peaceful place to live, a part of Scotland to enjoy the hills and shoreline, escaping the congestion of town and city. Dozens come for holiday and immediately earmark the island for the day they will retire or take redundancy.

Their happy lifestyle is the best advertisement for holidays on the Firth of Clyde island.

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Inveraray
Campbelltown
A Campbell Clan Tale
Dumfries & Galloway: Secret Caves & Forest Hills
Escape To Hills And Island Delights
The Orkneys: Scotland's Islands of Grandeur

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