Ayr is pleasant year-round, though weather on the west coast of Scotland is unpredictable at any season. Summer (June to August) is the busiest time, with Ayr Beach in use and the Burns heritage sites at their most visited. Burns Night on 25 January draws visitors with a particular interest in the poet, and the town is lively with suppers, ceilidhs, and readings. The Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse runs in April, and the Gold Cup race meeting in September brings a racing crowd.
The coastline south of Ayr — the road to Culzean and beyond — is particularly good in late September and October when the crowds thin and the light on the Firth of Clyde and the mountains of Arran is at its most dramatic. Culzean's woodland shows good autumn colour from mid-October.