"in the heart of Ayrshire" Kilmarnock by iaint

Kilmarnock Travel Guide: 9 reviews and 23 photos

background...

For a few months in the 80s I was a regular visitor here - a romantic entanglement which disentangled itself after a couple of years.

The woman involved was posted to Kilmarnock for work, so I used to pop over for weekends.

More recently, my son plays ice hockey league games there once a year. That's fine, because we're only there a couple of hours.

More seriously, he has played in weekend-long tournaments there - 3 times now. That means a lot of time on my hands - I enjoy watching him play, but can't watch much of the other games and I get claustrophobic if I stay in a cold, dark ice rink all day in May.

the most recent trip...

Laigh Kirk

Turned out well.

It was sunny and very warm the whole time. Tough on the players - used to a cold rink and suddenly playing in the warmth on slushy ice, but great for me!

The hotel was fine, and his team mates' parents turned out to be a friendly bunch so we had a very "sociable" Saturday night (or to be more direct, we all got blootered).

The Youth enjoyed himself as his team got through the round robin stage unbeaten (draw with Kilmarnock, wins against Coventry & Blackburn), got to the final and lost narrowly.

He didn't get in any fights, but did provoke one of the opposition into flattening him - kid got kicked out of the tournament for his trouble.

verdict

close by...

The town centre is grimy and depressing even on a beautiful spring day.

However, you could spend a lot of time exploring the surrounding parts of Ayrshire with lots to see and do.

Pros and Cons

Pros:the surrounding area
Cons:the town centre
In a nutshell:mixed reviews...

Last visit to Kilmarnock: May 2009
Intro Updated Jun 1, 2009
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Reviews (5)

beach & Arran in background - Kilmarnock

Troon Things to Do (3)

The coast is only about 8 miles away, so it is easy to escape the town and get some sea air. Troon is the nearest... more travel advice

explore Things to Do (3)

Couple of times I just got in the car and ended up wherever the road took me. Kilmaurs north of the town. Troon to the... more travel advice

The Dick Things to Do (3)

The Dick Institute is the town's library, art gallery and museum (WHY...what did you expect?) It was opened in 1901,... more travel advice

Good... Hotels (1)

Stayed 1 night here in May 09. £52 (inc vat, but ex breakfast) per room, single or double occupancy. The brand is... more travel advice

Sports & Outdoors (1)
Galleon Centre

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Comments (2)

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victorwkf Sep 1, 2009 at 9:17 AM

Great tips, thanks for sharing!
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condorito Aug 12, 2009 at 12:02 AM

Nice page/Nice place. Thanks.