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Portencross Castle and the Three Sisters shore walk
A walk · West Kilbride

Portencross – A Castle on the Rocks and a Walk Along the Shore

About 2 miles on foot.

Portencross car parkStartThe Three SistersWhere you turn

Portencross is a tiny place at the end of a road on the Ayrshire coast, with a small stone castle sitting on the rocks at the very edge of the sea.

It's the outside of it you come for, and the shore walk north from it runs along the foot of a line of cliffs called the Three Sisters. It's flat, it takes about an hour, and the Cumbraes and Arran are across the water the whole way.

Time
About an hour: about two miles there and back along the shore to the Three Sisters, by our own measure on the map.
The path
A level farm track and shore path. Rough and muddy in places.
Where to start
The large free car park at the end of the road at Portencross, off the B7048 from West Kilbride.
When to go
All year in daylight. Portencross Castle is shut from October through the winter and is seen from outside. From November to January set off by 2pm.
Dogs
On a lead: wading birds feed along the shore.
Children
Short and level, with rock pools by the castle. Watch small children on the rocks at the water.
Toilets
None at Portencross. The nearest are on Glen Road in West Kilbride, open 7am to 5pm all year.
Before you set out
Portencross Castle is shut from October through the winter: seen from outside only. It opens on certain days from Easter to the end of September, usually 11am to 4pm.

The walk

Park in the large free car park at the end of the road at Portencross, reached from West Kilbride on the B7048. There are no toilets here. The nearest are the public toilets on Glen Road in West Kilbride, open 7am to 5pm all year. The castle is a couple of minutes from the car park, a plain stone tower of fourteenth-century origin on a shelf of rock right at the water's edge, with a small old harbour beside it. It was saved by local people, and the Friends of Portencross Castle open it on certain days from Easter to the end of September.

In October and through the winter it's shut, so this is a walk past it, not a visit. It's still well worth seeing from outside, with the sea on three sides. North of the castle a level farm track and path keep to the shore, on the line of the Ayrshire Coastal Path. About a mile along, the steep cliffs above you are the Three Sisters, and that's the place to turn back. Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae lie across the water, and Arran's hills stand behind them on a clear day.

It's about two miles there and back, by our own measure on the map, and an hour is plenty. Wading birds feed along this shore, so keep dogs on a lead. From November to January, set off by 2pm.

If it rains

It's an open shore with the wind straight off the firth, but it's short and level, so a shower needn't stop you. In a gale, look at the castle from the car park end and leave the path for another day.

Before you go

  1. Book accommodation nearby

    If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.

    Talli House17 miles awayTalli HouseSleeps 4Glenstriven House19 miles awayGlenstriven HouseA place to stayThe Hollies19 miles awayThe HolliesSleeps 18Moment Blythswood Street28 miles awayMoment Blythswood StreetSleeps 2
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.

Photograph by Davey Jone's Locker with Jazzy via Google