Kilmarnock is in South West Scotland and is the home of "Johnnie Walker", the world famous brand of whiskey.

Get in

It is around 7-8 miles away from the coastal towns of Irvine and Ayr.

Kilmarnock can be accessed via the A77 from the north and south or alternatively, the M77 from the north. The town also has a local rail station which can be access from the north or south (Glasgow - north, Carlisle - south).

Get around

Stagecoach busses run services into most of the town's areas on a regular basis until around 11pm at night. Regular busses also run to Glasgow, Irvine, Ayr, Stewarton and various other outlaying villages and towns.

See

• "Dean Castle Country Park"
• "Johnnie Walker's Bottling plant" - Hill Street
• "The Dick Institute - Library and Museum" - London Road

Do

Buy

King street is the main shopping street and is populated with the usual mix of stores you'd expect to find in a town this size. The town is also host to several retail parks just on the edge of the town centre; Queens Drive Retail Park & Glencairn Retail Park being two of them. These retail parks contain larger versions of the usual chain stores, supermarkets and retailers.

Eat

• "Merchants" - Is located just behind Tesco's off King Street (Queen street).It was recently named one of Tam Cowan's top picks in his resurant guide in the Daily Record.

Drink

Kilmarnock has many pubs and restaurants to choose from. Most pubs screen live football matches and serve basic pub grub until around 8pm, but don't count on anything more sophisticated than pie and chips.

• "Fanny by Gaslight" on West George Street
• "The Goldberry" on Bank Street
• "The Hunting Lodge" at Glencairn Square (Former winner of the Tennents "Best Pint in Scotland" competition)
• "The Bellfield Tavern" at Welbeck Street
• "The Auld Hoose" on Titchfield Street
• "Paris Match" just off King Street, behind Tesco

Sleep

Kilmarnock has a wide mix of accommodation from homely B&Bs/guest houses, to world class hotels.

• The Park Hotel - Rugby Road (4 Star)
• Fenwick Hotel - Ayr Road (3 Star)
• Old Rome Farmhouse - Gatehead (3 Star)
• Tamarind B&B - Arran Avenue (3 Star)
• The Howard Park Hotel - Glasgow Road (2 Star)

Stay Safe

If in town alone at late night it is best to try and avoid the Burns Mall shopping centre as this has been the site of brutally violent attacks & indeed murders in the past. It would be wise to stay in a group as most of the unsavoury characters that frequent the town cetnre looking for trouble will tend to avoid you if you outnumber them. If in any doubt the police station is in the town centre on St Marnock Street.

Get out