IRVINE , twelve miles north of Ayr, was once the principal port for trade between Glasgow and Ireland, and later for coal from Kilmarnock, its halcyon days recalled by the enjoyable Scottish Maritime Museum (April-Oct daily 10am-5pm; £2.50), which is spread across several locations down at the town's beautifully restored old harbour. The best place to start is in the late nineteenth-century Linthouse Engine Shop , on Harbour Road, a hangar-like b... [More]