Scotland's Great Trail · Scotland

Ayrshire Coastal Path

150 km (93 miles) from Glenapp to Skelmorlie, in Scotland.

Data compiled by Ryan — sources and method

Route from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coastline, borders and national park boundaries from the Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits from the Database of British & Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0).

Distance: 149.8 km
In miles: 93.1 mi
Day stages: 8 at ~20 km
Typical trip: 6–7 days
Countries: Scotland
Listed summits within 2.5 km: 0
Within 1.5 km of the coast: 82% of the line

Scotland's Great Trail

One of the 29 routes designated by NatureScot as Scotland's Great Trails — largely off-road, well-managed long-distance routes that are signposted and mapped end to end.

About the route

Long-distance hiking route. A designated 'Scotland's Great Trail'.

Route description as recorded in OpenStreetMap by its contributors (ODbL).

How long it really is

We measure Ayrshire Coastal Path at 149.8 km (93.1 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point . The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 170 km; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.

No ascent in this figure

This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 35 h 42 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.

Access rights along the way

The route stays within Scotland, so one access regime applies along its length.

Scotland

Yes Right to roam: Statutory right of responsible access to most land and inland water.

Yes Wild camping: Wild camping is broadly lawful under the 2003 Act.

Full access rules for Scotland

A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.

The route in day stages

Ayrshire Coastal Path cut into 8 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.

This route is mapped in 2 separate pieces

OpenStreetMap does not hold Ayrshire Coastal Path as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.

Day stages of the Ayrshire Coastal Path at roughly 20 km each
Stage	Distance	Cumulative	Starts near	Ends near	Flat-ground time
1	20.5 km	20.5 km	NS 2012 5945	NS 2216 4398	4 h 31 min
2	20.1 km	40.6 km	NS 2216 4398	NS 3042 3793	4 h 25 min
3	20.7 km	61.3 km	NS 3042 3793	NS 3452 2665	4 h 33 min
4	20.1 km	81.4 km	NS 3452 2665	NS 2506 1548	4 h 25 min
5	20.1 km	101.5 km	NS 2506 1548	NX 1898 9999	4 h 25 min
6	20 km	121.5 km	NX 1898 9999	NX 0929 8581	4 h 24 min
7	21 km	142.5 km	NX 0929 8581	NX 0633 7693	4 h 37 min
8	8.2 km	150.7 km	NX 0633 7693	NS 3171 3915	1 h 48 min

Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.

Conditions on the route

Weather at the route midpoint live

Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…

Forecast for the midpoint of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).

Daylight at the midpoint today

Sunrise: —
Sunset: —
Daylight: —
Civil twilight ends: —

Computed astronomically for 55.438, -4.678. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.

Plan this walk

Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.

Other long-distance paths nearby

Sources for this route

Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
Official route website: ayrshirecoastalpath.org
Background reading: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.