Prestwick
Prestwick is a town in Ayrshire, South West Scotland. It adjoins onto the larger town of Ayr to the south. Best known as a golf resort, Prestwick hosted the first ever Open Championship golf tournament.
The town is also the centre of Scotland's aviation industry thanks to its international airport, which is the only known place in the UK ever visited by Elvis Presley.
Get in
By plane
- π
Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK IATA) (south west of Glasgow (about 32mi/51km) on the Ayrshire coast). dominates the town, and was Scotland's primary airport in the early days of commercial aviation. While it has slipped down the pecking order in modern times, it is still an important hub for budget airlines, including Ryanair and Wizz Air. Famously fog free and with a long runway. This was the city's secondary airport and a major hub for Ryanair and several other low cost carriers before routes went into steep decline in 2013. Now only Ryanair operates 16 scheduled routes, flying into Prestwick predominantly from Ireland, Italy and Spain with some useful routes from various destinations in Eastern Europe. Ryanair also run various seasonal services to Mediterranean resorts. This is the list for Summer 2015: Alicante (ALC IATA), Barcelona (BCN IATA), Carcassonne (CCF IATA), Corfu (CFU IATA), Crete (Chania) (CHQ IATA), Derry (LDY IATA), Dublin (DUB IATA), Faro (FAO IATA), Fuerteventura (FUE IATA), Ibiza (IBZ IATA), Knock (NOC IATA) in Ireland, Lanzarote (ACE IATA), Las Palmas (LPA IATA), Malta (MLA IATA), Malaga (AGP IATA), Murcia (MJV IATA), Palma Mallorca (PMI IATA), Pisa (PSA IATA), Reus (Barcelona) (REU IATA), Riga (RIX IATA), Rome (Ciampino) (CIA IATA), Tenerife South (TFS IATA), Warsaw (WMI IATA) and Wroclaw (WRO IATA)
Some holiday charter flights fly into Prestwick rather than Glasgow's main airport.
The A77/M77 roads run directly from Prestwick into the centre of Glasgow if you intend to drive.
The airport has its own railway station (PRA), with three (M-Sa) or two (Su) trains per hour to Glasgow Central (show your flight paperwork to get a Β£3.55 half price ticket; the journey takes around 50 minutes). All trains to Ayr and Stranraer call at the airport. There are also a few direct trains to Edinburgh (via Glasgow Central) which take about 2hr 15min. If you show your flight confirmation and ID when purchasing a train ticket to/from the airport within Scotland, you only pay 50% of the standard fare.
The Stagecoach West bus X77 also runs from Buchanan Bus Station to the airport throughout the day, and crucially covers the times (early morning and late evening) when the trains are not running. Travellers wishing to use the X77 bus must book their ticket on-line via the Prestwick Airport website at least 12 hours prior to departure, in order to guarantee a place on the bus. The bus takes about 50 min.
By train
Both Prestwick Town and Prestwick Airport stations are served half-hourly by trains on the Glasgow Central to Ayr line.
Get around
See
- π
Shaw Monument. 18th-century folly
Do
Prestick has 3 golf courses. A combined ticket is available giving you a round at each of the three courses.
- π
Prestwick Old Course. The best known, played host to the first 12 Open Championships, from 1860 to 1872.
- π St Nicholas Golf Club, Grangemuir Road.
- π St Cuthberts Golf Club, East Road, Prestwick, KA9 2SX.
Events
- The Scottish Air Show: 7β8 September 2019. is held at Prestwick Airport. May be moved
Buy
Eat
- π Taj Tandoori, 141 Main Street, β +44 1292 477318. Family-run Indian restaurant, a fixture in the town since 1981
- π Elliots, 132 Main Street, Prestwick, β +44 1292 677677. Award winning restaurant and bar in the heart of Prestwick
Drink
- π The Prestwick Pioneer, 87 Main Street. Wetherspoon pub with meals.
Sleep
- π Carlton Hotel, 187 Ayr Road, KA9 1TP. Lagan Restaurant has mains from Β£11, and a carvery on Sundays. from Β£55.
- π Parkstone Hotel, Central Esplanade, β +44 1292 477 286. 30 room hotel and Restaurant 33 with dinner mains from Β£11, and a traditional "high tea" at Β£14.55. from Β£62.