TERRAIN: surfaced paths and woodland trails which are uneven in places due to tree roots, and sometimes muddy. Mostly a very flat walk with one gentle incline.
Dog-friendly route (note: part of this walk is on a bridle path, please be a responsible dog-owner)
GETTING THERE: The walk starts and ends at the car park at Fullarton Woods, just beside Marr Rugby Club. Access is via a single track road. If using public transport the closest bus stop is on A75/Dundonald Rd near the Co-op store in the Muirhead area of Troon (approx 500m away, joining up with the route near waypoint 2).
Public toilets beside the car park at Fullarton Woods
View full route description
Exit the car park via the main entrance and turn left along the road. After passing Fullarton House and before you reach Marr Rugby Club, turn right onto a bridle path.
At the end of this path turn right to continue through the trees. A burn will appear on your right-hand-side. At a path junction approx 300m along, turn left to cross a small footbridge. Continue along the path, the burn now on your right-hand-side.
You will emerge onto a road – turn right. Approx 100m along, at a corner, keep left to go onto a more minor trail. When you reach a footbridge turn right. There will be a field on your left now as you walk along this woodland trail.
After approx 300m at a path junction, turn left to go up a gentle slope and then out onto more open countryside. At the end of the path turn right – the trail narrows here before eventually widening again and leading you to a gate.
After the gate turn right to walk along to the end of the road, where turning right again will take you back to the car park.
Printable Route Guide – Fullarton Woods
Download, Print, Go! This PDF Route Guide has been carefully designed to allow you to easily print a copy of the key information for this route on an A4 page to take with you on the walk. Perfect for offline use!
WALK REPORT – 5th February 2024
I was on a mission to discover Ayrshire’s best snowdrop hotspots in preparation for the 2025 season, my idea being to write a blog post suggesting some walks one might do to see the best displays.
Someone gave me a tip-off about Fullarton Woods, a place I had visited many times before – first to walk the Fullarton Fairy Trail when the kids were little, and many times passing through whilst walking the Troon Smuggler’s Trail. Never, it would seem, at the start of February though!
A sea of white: more snowdrops in one place than I’d ever seen anywhere else before. Jaw-dropping numbers of them. Is it any wonder that everyone in the park was stopping to take photos of them? Photos which do not do them justice. You simply must go and see them in the flesh! Here is one anyway, because what’s a walk report without some photos!
The draw of snowdrops for me is the feeling of excitement they bring; that Winter is on its way out and Spring is arriving. ‘The first sign of Spring‘, many say. A sense of hope, a reminder that lighter nights and longer days will be here soon…
There is more to this walk than snowdrops though! It can of course be enjoyed at other times of the year. I remember the first time I properly explored Fullarton Woods, ahead of a beginner’s Nordic walking session I had been asked to deliver for Troon Rotary members. It turned out to be an excellent location for the event with plenty of long, wide, straight footpaths to coach on and a few hills to teach the uphill/downhill technique on.
There is much to see and enjoy with options to go “off-piste” if you are looking for a bit more adventure. I stuck to the main paths around the park perimeter and this offered good variety with a mixture of surfaced gravel paths, woodland trails and muddy grass! At some points I was in the woods walking alongside a burn, then I was out in more open countryside, and I also passed a large open grassy area which someone was using for dog-training. I actually ended up using that area myself during my Nordic walk session: it was ideal for some activities to demonstrate the correct arm swing!
Other places of interest to look out for during your visit include the community garden with its wood carvings, and the remains of the Fullarton House stable block (see cover image). There is also a play area for kids with plenty of picnic benches beside it. And of course the Fairy Trail which I mentioned earlier.
