South West Scotland is the lowland region of Scotland bounded to the west by the Firth of Clyde and to the south by the Solway Firth. It’s mostly rural, but with a strip of resort towns along the Clyde coast and industry inland. Along the Clyde coast are Ayr (near the birthplace of Robert Burns), Largs, Ardrossan Troon and Girvan. Ardrossan is the ferry port for the Isle of Arran. Boat trips run from Girvan to the bird sanctuary of Ailsa Craig. The upper valley of the Clyde contains former mills and factories, many demolished but also Robert Owen’s New Lanark Mill. The Clyde’s upper reaches are lonely valleys and moors. Stranraer is near the ferry ports for Northern Ireland, and gives access to the scenic Rhins and Mull of Galloway, that jut out into the Irish Sea. From Dumfries, the road west along the Solway coast.to Stranraer passes through or by the attractive small towns of Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart and Castle Douglas.
