The "Three Towns" of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston are set around a sheltered bay which contains a splendid beach, to the North West of Kilwinning.

Ardrossan town is overlooked by the ruins of the 15th century Ardrossan Castle which was ransacked by Oliver Cromwell and many of its stones taken to help build his citadel at Ayr. All that remains is a portion of the North Tower, a vaulted kitchen and two cellars. Today you can hop aboard the CalMac ferry in Ardrossan and 55 minutes later you'll glide into Brodick Bay, Isle of Arran.

Saltcoats and Stevenston offer an old fashioned promenade and traditional sea front. Saltcoats is also worth visiting for its pedestrianised shopping and its Pavilion Bowl complex with all weather entertainment for all of the family. Also in Saltcoats is the North Ayrshire Museum - housed in the former church of Ardrossan Parish. The museum displays the various aspects of life in the North Ayrshire area, with particular emphasis on the "Three Towns". The building itself, is a fine example of late 18th century Scottish church architecture with all ornament subsumed to the strictly Calvinist views of the time.
In Stevenston, the High Kirk, completed in 1833, dominates the town which also boasts the Auchenharvie Leisure Centre with its unique two level free form ice rink. You can also find in the town, the massive ivy-mantled ruins of Kerelaw Castle, built around 1470. It was originally the seat of the Earls of Glencairn, but was partly destroyed by fire in 1488 by the Montgomeries who were at feud with the Cunninghames.