Girvan Station is located on the Stranraer Line - designated by ScotRail as one of six Great Scenic Rail Journeys. Starting the journey in Glasgow, the trip to Stranraer would take around 2.5 hours and takes you south along the west coast with stunning views over the sea to the Isle of Arran and Ailsa Craig. Passing through the coastal towns of Irvine and Troon before reaching Ayr then south through Maybole, Girvan and then inland to Barrhill before the last part of the journey to Stranraer, located at the base of Loch Ryan.

Opened in October 1877 by the Girvan & Portpatrick Junction Railway, the new Girvan station replaced the old Girvan terminus station of the Maybole & Girvan Railway. The main building caught fire in January 1946 and due to financial restrictions, the rebuilding did not commence until 1949 and owing to a shortage of materials it was not completed until August 1951. The present station is a category B listed building and is the only example of an art deco railway station in Scotland. The station clock is believed to be from the original station building.

In the 1900s, Girvan was seen as a summer resort and it was estimated that during the annual Glasgow Fair fortnight in July, nearly 10,000 people would visit the town. Large number of day trippers would travel by train to Girvan Station and enjoy a day at the beach.

Girvan places to visit.

• During WW2, the Turnberry Hotel – located five miles north of Girvan - was commissioned as a hospital and the surrounding golf courses were seconded for air training for the RAF. Refurbishment following the end of the war saw the local golf courses rebuilt and restored to their former high quality and the famous Ailsa course was opened in 1951. Various organisations owned the hotel and courses until April 2014 when Donald Trump bought the resort and spent about two million dollars on renovating the course and hotel which are now known as Trump Turnberry.
• Ailsa Craig is visible about ten miles offshore. This uninhabited island – formed from the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano – is the source of blue hone granite that’s quarried to make curling stones.
• Located eight miles north of Girvan is Culzean Castle, former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the Chief of the Clan Kennedy. This imposing castle, overlooking the Firth of Clyde is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

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