Holiday Cottages In East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire has around 50 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, set in the green inland country east of the Ayrshire coast. This is Burns country, a land of small market towns, the Irvine and Doon valleys and the moors running up towards the Galloway hills, and 40 of those cottages take dogs while over 20 have a hot tub.

Best areas and towns in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire reaches inland from the edge of Kilmarnock, its main town, south and east into farming and moorland country. The cottages are scattered among small towns and villages rather than gathered in one place, with a cluster in the Irvine valley and another down in the Doon valley to the south.

• Mauchline: a country town at the heart of Burns country, where the poet farmed and married
• The village of Dalrymple, on the River Doon in the green Doon valley to the south
• Stewarton, a former bonnet-making town in the north, near the Renfrewshire boundary
• The Craigengillan estate, a historic designed landscape in the upper Doon valley
• Darvel and Galston, neighbouring weaving towns strung along the Irvine valley
• The conservation village of Sorn, on the River Ayr with its old castle
• Fenwick, a village of Covenanting history north of Kilmarnock
• Kilmaurs and Crosshouse, villages just outside Kilmarnock
• Stair, set in a glen beside the River Ayr
• Smaller spots including Logan, Sinclairston, Bellsbank, Burnton and Gaswater

Kilmarnock itself makes a practical base for shops and services, with the quieter villages within a short drive in every direction.

East Ayrshire hills, glens and Burns country

This is inland Ayrshire, a country of low green hills and river valleys that rises steadily towards the moors and the edge of the Galloway Forest in the far south. Three rivers shape it: the River Irvine, with the weaving towns of Galston and Darvel along its valley; the River Ayr, winding past Sorn and Stair; and the River Doon, which runs down its own quiet glen through Dalrymple. Above the southern village of Dalmellington the land climbs into open moorland on the fringe of the Galloway hills, where the Craigengillan estate guards the upper Doon. The area is steeped in the life of Robert Burns, who farmed at Mossgiel near Mauchline, and in the harder history of the Covenanters, remembered at Fenwick and in many a moorland memorial. There is no coast here, the sea lies west in neighbouring South Ayrshire, but the valleys, woods and waterfalls give the inland country its own gentle character.

Things to do in East Ayrshire

The big draw is Dumfries House near Cumnock, a perfectly preserved Georgian mansion saved for the nation, with its Chippendale furniture, walled gardens and the Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden in its grounds. On the edge of Kilmarnock, Dean Castle Country Park wraps acres of woodland and riverside walks around the medieval Dean Castle, with a visitor centre and cafe by the keep. The town's Victorian parks, Kay Park and Howard Park, are pleasant for a stroll, and Craufurdland Castle sits in its estate just north of the town. Out in the Irvine valley, Morton Park and Gardens and the Spirit of Scotland Monument mark the textile town of Darvel. Add the Burns sites around Mauchline and quiet walking in the river glens, and there is enough to fill a relaxed few days.

When to visit East Ayrshire

Late spring and summer bring the kindest weather and the longest days, with the gardens at Dumfries House and the country parks at their best and the moors open for walking. Autumn paints the river valleys and is a quiet, good-value time for a cottage. Winter is calm and often grey, but a fireside base with the big houses and parks nearby still makes a restful break. As ever in the west of Scotland, rain can come at any season, so pack accordingly whenever you visit.

Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in East Ayrshire

More than 40 of the cottages in East Ayrshire take dogs, and more than 20 have a hot tub. Browse the dog-friendly cottages or those with a hot tub to narrow your search.

Getting to East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire sits inland in the south-west of Scotland, easily reached on the A77 from Glasgow, which runs down past Kilmarnock towards Ayr and the coast, with the A71 crossing east to west through the Irvine valley. Trains from Glasgow Central reach Kilmarnock in around forty minutes and carry on south towards Dumfries. Glasgow Prestwick Airport lies just over the boundary on the coast, a short drive away, with Glasgow Airport about forty-five minutes north.

Useful links

• Visit Scotland: Ayrshire and Arran
• East Ayrshire Council
• Dumfries House

East Ayrshire is a council area in the south-west of Scotland, an inland district of the historic county of Ayrshire that stretches east from the edge of the Ayrshire plain into hill and moorland country. It has no coast of its own, the sea lying to the west in South and North Ayrshire, and its largest town and administrative centre is Kilmarnock, set on the lowland in the north.

The land falls into two broad parts. In the north and centre is gentle farming country, drained by the River Irvine and the River Ayr, where small textile towns such as Galston, Darvel and Newmilns line the Irvine valley and villages cluster around Kilmarnock. To the south the ground rises steadily through the old coalfield around Cumnock and on into open moorland on the fringe of the Galloway Forest, with the River Doon running down its own glen past Dalmellington. These southern uplands are some of the emptiest country in lowland Scotland.

This is the heart of Burns country. Robert Burns farmed at Mossgiel near Mauchline and set much of his life and verse in these parishes, and the area also carries a strong memory of the Covenanters, the seventeenth-century Presbyterians whose struggles are marked across the moors. Coal and textiles once drove the local economy and have largely gone, leaving a quieter region of farming, forestry and small towns. Its visitor draws are the restored Georgian mansion of Dumfries House near Cumnock, the country park around Dean Castle at Kilmarnock, the literary trail of Burns, and the walking in its rivers, woods and hills.