The Wee Shepherd's Hut

On the outskirts of Ayr (20 minutes’ drive) is Burns’ Cottage, where Scotland’s national poet was born in 1759. Now a museum, it displays original manuscripts and portraits, as well as more unusual items, such as a cast of Burns’ skull. National Cycle Route 7 skirts Ayr’s sandy beach, as does the Land Scots Mile walk. Ardrossan (40 minutes) has a sheltered sandy beach and the ruins of a 13th-century castle that is said to be haunted by the ghost of Scottish hero William Wallace. From Ardrossan it’s possible to sail across the Firth of Clyde and reach the Isle of Arran in about 55 minutes. Spend a day admiring spectacular art in Glasgow (one hour), where the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is home to an elegant panel by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the striking ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’ by Salvador Dalí. For a deeper dive into Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style, head to the Mackintosh House, which holds the reconstructed interior of the artist’s former Glasgow home.