THE TAM O' SHANTER INN, 230 HIGH STREET
Just the place to recover after a frenetic bout of sandcastle building. It has the feel of a truly old pub, being established, apparently, in 1749. Beneath its thatched hat is a rustic stone and wooden interior with ancient wizened beams and walls covered in various bits of verse by you know who. Some say it was the first pub in Ayr to be granted a license, where ale was brewed and served, and became the Tam O' Shanter Inn in the nineteenth century. In more recent years it was a museum full of stuff relating to Robert Burns, and only reverted to an inn not long ago. Not much in the way of ale, but the atmosphere, although a little contrived, more than makes up for this.

GEORDIE'S BYRE, 103 MAIN STREET
This small one-roomed bar is absolutely delightful. Its walls are crammed with so much stuff that it's not so much a pub as a bric-a-brac emporium. It is the kind of pub that you instantly feel relaxed in, and one that is so very hard to leave. The fact that they also have real ale in good condition is a bonus worthy of loud cheers. Hip Hip!

THE TWA DUGS, KILLOCH PLACE
Not too far from the railway station, and another excellent public house. The interior is fairly recent, but decked out in lots of varnished wood, dusty wooden casks, and little booths where one may discuss the problems of the world over a pint or two of real ale. The name comes from a poem Burns wrote in 1789, and the owners reckon, 'If Burns were alive... he'd drink here!' And, you know, I think I'd tend to concur with that.

GLENPARK HOTEL, 5 RACECOURSE ROAD, AYR
This small hotel is situated in a leafy area not far from Low Green and the Esplanade. It is a very special hotel. So special that if I had room for four hippos I would give it four. One, it's good at being a hotel, and two, they brew their own ale. You know, I've said this before, and I make no apologies for repeating myself, but you can wander into the bar of some of the top-notch hotels in this country and find an insipid array of foreign lager, maybe with a token British beer that will have about as much taste and character as a cup of flat weak tea. When tourists come to Scotland they do not want to drink the sort of stuff they can get back home. They want to taste something special, something that has a connection with the area in which it is consumed. In short, they want to taste local food and drink. It's what travelling and being a tourist is all about, and the sooner some of the idiots who own far too many of our country's four and five star hotels realise that, the better.
Goodness, I almost wore myself out there.
But I think you can sense the passion here, and I am very passionate about Glenpark Hotel and its brewery: the Ayr Brewing Company. Put quite simply, you cannot get more local than something that is brewed next door. As well as seasonal ales, you can slurp 'Leezie Lundie Pale Ale', 'Jolly Beggars Best Bitter', 'Towzie Tyke Premium Ale' or 'Rabbies Porter'. You can even take home 5-litre mini-casks for slurping later.
I am unable to rate the Glenpark Hotel highly enough. It is just wonderful, and very much makes all of Ayr worthwhile.