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Ayrshire

Ayrshire is an historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland, it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.

Geography
Ayrshire is roughly crescent-shaped and is a predominantly flat county with areas of low hills; it forms part of the Southern Uplands geographic region of Scotland. The north of the county contains the main towns and bulk of the population. East of Largs can be found the Renfrewshire Heights, which continue south to the hill-country around Blae Loch. Southern Ayrshire shares with the Galloway counties some rugged hill country known as the Galloway Hills. These hills lie to the west of the A713 (Ayr to Castle Douglas road) and they run south from the Loch Doon area almost to the Solway Firth. To the east of this route through the hills lie the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills which lie to the south east of Dalmellington and south of New Cumnock. Glen Afton runs deep into these hills. Ayrshire is one of the most agriculturally fertile regions of Scotland. Potatoes are grown in fields near the coast, using seaweed-based fertiliser, and in addition the region produces pork products, other root vegetables, and cattle (see below); and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly. A number of small islands in the Firth of Clyde are part of Ayrshire, the chief of these being Horse Isle, Lady Isle and Ailsa Craig. Rivers The main rivers flowing to the Clyde coast are, from north to south, the following: • River GarnockRiver IrvineRiver AyrRiver DoonRiver GirvanRiver Stinchar File:HorseIsleNearArdrossan(StuartMcMahon)Jun2004.jpg|Horse Isle File:Ayr Beach, Scotland - geograph.org.uk - 16915.jpg|Part of Ayr Beach with the Heads of Ayr in the background File:Boydshillslack2.JPG|Boyd's Hill near Dunlop File:Garnock Water near Glengarnock Castle 2.JPG|The Garnock's Waters near Glengarnock Castle File:View towards Mochrum Hill - geograph.org.uk - 231335.jpg|Mochrum Hill near Kirkoswald File:Lendalfoot from Little Carleton Farm, Lendalfoot, South Ayrshire, Scotland.jpg|Lendalfoot coast, with Ailsa Craig in the distance ==History==
History
The area that today forms Ayrshire was part of the area south of the Antonine Wall which was briefly occupied by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (see: Roman Britain#Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland). It was inhabited by the Damnonii, who are presumed to have been Britons. Later, it formed part of the British Kingdom of Strathclyde, which was incorporated into the Kingdom of Scotland during the 11th century. In 1263, the Scots successfully drove off the Norwegian leidang-army in a skirmish known as the Battle of Largs. A notable historic building in Ayrshire is Turnberry Castle, which dates from the 13th century or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace of Robert the Bruce. The historic shire or sheriffdom of Ayr was divided into three districts or bailieries which later made up the county of Ayrshire. The three districts were: • Carrick in the south. It was situated between the Doon and the wild district of Galloway in the adjoining Stewartries, an area that was little else than a vast tract of hills and mosses. • Kyle in the centre, which included the royal burgh of Ayr, occupied the central district between the River Irvine in the north, and the River Doon in the south and south-west, an area that is quite hilly inland. It was subdivided into "Kyle Stewart", (sometimes called "Stewart Kyle") and "King's Kyle," the former embracing the country between the Irvine and the River Ayr; and the latter, the triangular portion between the Ayr and the Doon, which is honoured as the birthplace and youthful home of Robert Burns. • Cunninghame in the north which included the royal burgh of Irvine was that part of the county which lay north of the Irvine water, and was in an area that is generally level and fertile. The area used to be heavily industrialised, with steel making, coal mining and in Kilmarnock numerous examples of production-line manufacturing, most famously Johnnie Walker whisky. In more recent history, Digital Equipment had a large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over by Compaq in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distant IBM plant at Greenock in Renfrewshire. Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and around Prestwick and its international airport, and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the former British Aerospace plant in 1998, a significant number of aviation companies are still based on the Prestwick site. However, unemployment in the region (excluding the more rural South Ayrshire) is above the national average. Throughout the 17th century, huge numbers of people from Ayrshire moved to Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, as part of the Plantation of Ulster, many of them with surnames such as Burns, Hamilton, Morrow, Stewart, Flanagan, Kennedy and Cunningham. Today, the Ulster Scots dialect is largely an offshoot of the version of Lowland Scots spoken in Ayrshire. The Ulster Scots dialect is still widely spoken throughout County Antrim and in parts of County Down and County Londonderry, as well as still being widely spoken in West Tír Eoghain and parts of County Donegal (chiefly East Donegal and Inishowen). ==Local government==
Local government
, the former headquarters of Ayrshire County Council Commissioners of Supply were created in 1667 for each shire, and formed the main administrative body for the area until county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries of many of Scotland's counties; in the case of Ayrshire the two parishes of Beith and Dunlop, which had both straddled Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, were brought entirely within Ayrshire. The burghs of Ayr and Kilmarnock were both excluded from the area controlled by the county council when it was created in 1890, being deemed capable of running their own services. In 1930 the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 was implemented. This brought Ayr and Kilmarnock under the control of the county council, and re-designated all burghs as either large burghs or small burghs. Ayr and Kilmarnock were both classed as large burghs, allowing them to retain control of many functions, whilst the county's other burghs were all classed as small burghs, ceding many functions to the county council. The 1929 act also abolished the parish councils. In Ayrshire in excess of 30 parishes were consolidated into ten district councils. The District Councils were Ayr, Cumnock, Dalmellington, Girvan, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Maybole, Troon and Saltcoats. Ayrshire County Council was based at County Buildings in Wellington Square in Ayr. In May 1975 the county council was abolished and its functions were transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council. The county area was divided between four new districts within the two-tier Strathclyde region: Cumnock and Doon Valley, Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Kyle and Carrick. The Cunninghame district included the Isle of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, which had until then been administered as part of the County of Bute. For lieutenancy purposes, the last lord-lieutenant of the county of Ayrshire was made lord-lieutenant for the combined area of the four districts when the reforms came into effect in 1975, with the lieutenancy area being renamed Ayrshire and Arran in 1996. In 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District), North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and South Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District). The boundaries of the historic county of Ayrshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county. == Parliamentary constituencies ==
Parliamentary constituencies
There was an Ayrshire constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when the constituency was divided into Ayrshire North and Ayrshire South. During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, the burghs of Ayr and Irvine were parliamentary burghs, represented as components of Ayr Burghs. In 1832 Kilmarnock became a parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs were districts of burghs, and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies. From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire and Buteshire were treated as if a single area for purposes of parliamentary representation, with their combined area being divided into different constituencies at different times. Scottish local government counties were abolished in 1975, in favour of regions and districts, but the next reform of constituency boundaries was not until 1983. Constituencies covering Ayrshire may be listed by periods as below, but the story is somewhat more complicated than the lists may imply: until 1918, Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs included burghs lying outside both Ayrshire and Buteshire; a particular constituency name may represent different boundaries in different periods; in 1974, there were boundary changes without the creation of any new constituency names. ==Transport==
Transport
A number of railway lines connect the towns of northern Ayrshire to each other and also to Glasgow, as well as south to Stranraer and south-east to Dumfries. Ferries link Ayrshire to the islands of Arran and Great Cumbrae in Buteshire. Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, serving Glasgow and the west of Scotland more generally, is located away from Glasgow in Ayrshire; it provides various passenger flights to Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland. The name Glasgow was added in front of Prestwick as per American military airport naming conventions, as the airport was in the past oft-used as a stopover by US military personnel on their way to and from military bases in Germany. Moreover, it is known in rock history as the only place in Britain visited by Elvis Presley, on his way home from army service in Germany in 1960. ==Towns and villages in Ayrshire==
Towns and villages in Ayrshire
AllowayArdrossanAnnbankArdeerAuchentiberAuchinleckAyrBallantraeBarassieBarkipBarrBarrhillBarrmillBeithBellsbankBelmontBenslieBourtreehillBroomlandsBurnhouseCatrineColmonellCoyltonCraigieCraigmallochCronberryCrosshillCrosshouseCumnockCunninghamheadDaillyDalgarvenDalmellingtonDalryDalrympleDarvelDoonfootDrakemyreDreghornDronganDrybridgeDundonaldDunlopDunureFairlieFenwickFergushillFullartonGalstonGateheadGatesideGiffordlandGirdle TollGirvanGlenbuckGlengarnockGreenhillsHanselHaughHeathfieldHessilhead hamletHighfieldHurlfordIrvineJoppaKilbirnieKilmarnockKilmaursKilwinningKincaidstonKirkmichaelKirkoswaldKnockentiberLargsLendalfootLoansLoganLongbarLugtonLugarLylestoneMauchlineMaidensMayboleMeikle AuchengreeMinishantMonktonMoscowMontgreenanMossblownMuirkirkNetherthirdNew CumnockNewmilnsOchiltreeOld DaillyPatnaPinmorePinwherryPolnessanPortencrossPrestwickPriestlandRankinstonRiccartonSaltcoatsSeafieldSeamillSkelmorlieSornSpringsideStairStevenstonStewartonStraitonSymingtonTarboltonTorranyardTrabbochTroonTurnberryWatersideWest Kilbride == Places of interest ==
Places of interest
People from Ayrshire
Hew Ainslie (1792–1878), poet • Nicola Benedetti (1987–), classical violinist born in West Kilbride • Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), soldier and colonial administrator, after whom the city of Brisbane is named. Born in Largs. • John Boyd Orr (1880–1971), Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Kilmaurs. • George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), novelist, best known for The House with the Green Shutters, born in OchiltreeRobert the Bruce (1274–1329), possibly born in Turnberry CastleRobert Burns (1759–1796), poet, born in AllowayKenneth Campbell (1917–1941), RAF pilot and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, born in ArdrossanJames McCosh Clark (1833–1898), mayor of Auckland, born in BeithRobert Craufurd (1764–1812), British major generalJohn Dunlop (1840–1921), inventor of the pneumatic tyre, born in DreghornRobert Dunsmuir (1825–1889), coal baron and industrial capitalist on Vancouver Island, CanadaHenry Faulds (1843–1930), doctor, missionary and scientist, born in BeithAndrew Fisher (1862–1928), 5th Prime Minister of Australia (1908–1909, 1910–1913 and 1914–1915) • Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), inventor/discoverer of penicillin, born in DarvelJohn Galt (1779–1839), author • Colin Hay (1953–), singer and former lead-singer of Australian band Men At Work, born in SaltcoatsAir Chief Marshal Angus Houston (1947–), current Australian Chief of Defence ForceGeorge Houston (1869–1947), landscape painter of Scottish locales, born in DalryTom Hunter (1961–), entrepreneur and philanthropist • Jenny Lindsay (1982–), poet • The MacDonald Brothers, recording artists and contestants on The X Factor • Sir James MacMillan (1959–), classical composer and conductor • John McAdam (1756–1836), engineer and inventor of macadamJames McCosh (1811–1894), philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense and president of what would become Princeton UniversityKirk Broadfoot (1984–), footballer, born in IrvineCraig Burley (1971–), footballer, born in AyrGeorge Burley (1956–), football manager and former player, born in CumnockPaul Caddis (1988–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineEric Caldow (1934–2019), footballer, born in CumnockSteve Clarke (1963–), football manager and former player, born in SaltcoatsPaul Clarke (1956–), footballer, born in ArdrossanNeill Collins (1983–), football manager and former player, born in TroonCraig Conway (1985–), footballer, born in IrvineElsie Cook (1947–), footballer and former secretary of Scottish Women’s FA, born in StewartonErin Cuthbert (1998–), footballer, born in IrvineNoam Dar (1993–), professional wrestler signed to WWE performing on the NXT UK and 205 Live brands • Ben Doak (2005–), footballer, born in DalryBilly Dodds (1969–), football manager and former player, born in New CumnockKris Doolan (1986–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineJulie Fleeting (1980–), footballer, born in KilwinningAlan Forrest (1996–), footballer, born in IrvineJames Forrest (1991–), footballer, born in PrestwickDrew Galloway (1985–), professional wrestler who performs on WWE's Smackdown brand as Drew McIntyre • Billy Gilmour (2001–), footballer, born in IrvineJamie Hamill (1986–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineGarry Hay (1977–), footballer, born in IrvineJack Hendry (1995–), footballer, raised in AnnbankGary Holt (1973–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineBobby Lennox (1943–), footballer, born in SaltcoatsLou Macari (1949–), football manager and former player, raised in LargsRobby McCrorie (1998–), footballer, born in DaillyRoss McCrorie (1998–), footballer, born in DaillyAlan McInally (1963–), footballer, born in AyrRory McKenzie (1993–), footballer, born in IrvineGordon McQueen (1952–2023), footballer, born in KilbirnieSteven Naismith (1986–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineJamie Ness (1991–), footballer, born in IrvineSteve Nicol (1961–), footballer, born in IrvineGraeme Obree (1965–), cyclist, raised in IrvineJemma Reekie (1998–), middle-distance runner, raised in BeithRose Reilly (1955–), footballer, born in KilmarnockCraig Samson (1984–), footballer, born in IrvineBill Shankly (1913–1981), football manager, born in GlenbuckBob Shankly (1910–1982) football manager, born in GlenbuckRyan Stevenson (1984–), football manager and former player, born in IrvineRoss Stewart (1996–), footballer, born in IrvineGordon Smith (1954–), footballer, born in KilwinningSam Torrance (1953–), professional golfer, born in LargsDavid Watson (2005–), footballer, born in Prestwick ==See also==
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