Rails to Turnberry and Heads of Ayr

The line was built to serve the villages of Maidens, Dunure and Alloway; it was hoped it would help develop agriculture and fishing. However, the route is best remembered for the role it played in leisure and holiday traffic. The Glasgow & South-Western Railway designed and developed the world famous golf course and hotel at Turnberry. Post-World War II a Butlin's Holiday Camp was built at Heads of Ayr bringing many holidaymakers to the northern section of the route. This is the story of a vastly under-publicised railway and its associations with Turnberry Hotel and golf courses, amid the historic, historical and present-day environment of both Carrick and Ayrshire. Captured here is the invigorating and romantic spirit of this scenic line and its fascinating and varied trains, services and all-embracing history that are astounding in relation to a small rural branch with no intermediate towns.