Greenan Castle

📌 Ayr, South Ayrshire
★★

Several centuries ago it must have been every family’s dream to have a residence in a place like this. Greenan Castle’s clifftop location makes it the ultimate defensive stronghold… until it succumbs to wave erosion, anyway. The current tower house was probably built early in the 14th century for Thomas Davidson, with his family having been given the land decades earlier by John, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles. Originally the door would have been at first floor level but later upgrades included a ground-floor entrance. The castle has lain in ruins for the last couple of centuries at least, adding drama to what is basically the southern tip of Ayr‘s town beach. The best views are probably from beach level (especially in morning light, and hopefully not at high tide), but you can get up close and personal by following a track along the cliffs: more info below.

🌍 Location

📌 By the coast, west side of Doonfoot, 3 mi southwest of Ayr town centre

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 312193

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.438624,-4.670105

🚌 Bus stops on Greenan Road (0.5 mi)

🚗 Car park off Greenan Road at 🧭 NS 317193 / 🛰️ 55.438932,-4.661660 (0.5 mi)

📝 Key info

⌚ Exterior always viewable

🎫 Free

💬 From the bus stop / car park it’s a 10-min walk (each way) to the castle. The easiest way is to walk west along the beach, though this may be impassable at high tide. To get a close-up view, walk west along Greenan Road beyond the end of the houses. This becomes a country lane – follow an informal path (slightly overgrown in summer) right along a field boundary once level with the castle.