Historic buildings, museum collections, art galleries and unusual public spaces across Ayr will open their doors to visitors during Doors Open Day Ayrshire on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026.
The event is part of the Scotland-wide Doors Open Days Programme and is organised by Kyle & Carrick Civic Society. Now in its 37th year, the annual programme offers free entry to participating historical, creative, cultural and religious venues across South Ayrshire.
Visitors should check booking requirements before setting out. Entry is free at all venues, but some guided tours have limited places and require advance booking. One Ayr venue, South Ayrshire Council Museum Stores, is already fully booked.
Ayr venues opening to the public
Carnegie Library at 12 Main Street, Ayr, will welcome visitors on Saturday 12 September from 9am to 5pm. Group guided tours will explain the history of the building and showcase items including a Bronze Age funerary urn, the Covenanters’ Flag and objects from the Local History Collection.
Tours are scheduled for 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm and will last about an hour. Numbers are limited and booking is required. A shorter self-guided tour will also be available.
Ayr Town Hall, at 29 New Bridge Street, will open from 11.30am to 2.30pm on Saturday and from 1.30pm to 4pm on Sunday. The town-centre landmark has a 225-foot-high steeple and a Lewis pipe organ dating from 1904.
Visitors can also enter the Town Hall’s police cells. Cell tours will run at 12 noon, 1pm, 1.30pm and 2pm on Saturday, and at 2pm, 2.30pm and 3pm on Sunday. No booking is required, although numbers are capped and visitors are advised to arrive early. The cells are not wheelchair accessible, but other areas of the building are accessible.
The Tower of St John the Baptist, Ayr Gaiety Theatre, Ayr Corney and Barrow and the Auld Kirk of Ayr are also listed among the participating Ayr venues. Other participating churches include Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Craigie Symington Parish Church and St Ninian’s Episcopal Church in Troon.
Museum, gallery and heritage tours
South Ayrshire Council Museum Stores on Fort Street, Ayr, will run tours on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Access is from Fort Street only, behind the Grammar School. The guided visits will show the council’s main Fine Art & Museum store, which houses textiles, social history material, fossils, art, archaeology and natural history collections.
Tours at the Museum Stores begin at 10am, 12pm and 2pm on both days, lasting about 90 minutes. Places are limited to six people per tour and booking is required. There is no seating, so organisers recommend a relative degree of fitness. The event is currently fully booked.
Rozelle House Museum and Galleries on Monument Road will open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and from noon to 4.30pm on Sunday. Guided tours will cover Rozelle House, The Maclaurin Art Gallery and the museum store, alongside the final weekend of the Frances Walker and Ade Adesina exhibition. The exhibition forms part of the Royal Scottish Academy 200 in 2026 programme.
Rozelle tours will start at 10am, 12pm and 2pm on Saturday, and at 12pm and 2pm on Sunday. Each tour is limited to six people and must be booked, while visitors can drop in at any time to see the exhibition.
Open studios and venues around South Ayrshire
The Open Studios Ayrshire weekend coincides with Doors Open Days Ayrshire. In Ayr, The Crafty Coo at 72 Sandgate will be open from 10am to 4pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The wider programme includes 24 further artists’ studios across Ayrshire, with some artists working from group venues and others opening home studios.
Participating artists and makers may offer demonstrations, giving visitors the chance to see how their work is created. Further information is available through Open Studios Ayrshire at openstudiosayrshire.com.
Other South Ayrshire locations taking part include The McKechnie Institute in Girvan, Dunure Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, Stumpy Jail Tower in Girvan and Whitewin House Garden in Girvan, as well as churches and venues in Girvan, Troon and Prestwick.
The organisers say updates, venue information and links to related websites and social-media pages will be published through the Doors Open Days Facebook page and the Scottish Civic Trust website.
