Ayr

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The Royal Burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. It was made a royal burgh in 1205. It is the county town of the traditional county of Ayrshire, and is also the administrative centre for South Ayrshire Council. The estimated population according to the General Register Office of Scotland in 2003 was 60,830. In 2002, it was one of four Scottish towns competing for city status to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, but it lost to Stirling.

To the north of Ayr is the adjoining town of Prestwick, famous for its golf and its aviation industry, thanks to the presence of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Other neighbouring places include Alloway, known for its associations with the poet Robert Burns. To the south is a Haven (formerly Butlins) holiday camp, and the fishing village of Dunure, where there is a ruined castle formerly owned by the Kennedy family.

History

In 1197 a castle was built by the River Ayr. Shortly afterwards, in 1205, King William the Lion created a burgh at Ayr. On April 26, 1315, the first Parliament of Scotland was held in Ayr by Robert The Bruce at St.John's Tower by the sea. It was once known as 'Inverair/Inverayr' and this usage is still retained in the Scottish Gaelic form of the name Inbhir Air.

Later, during Cromwellian times, the town was used as a base and fortress for some of his men. Cromwell built a huge wall around certain areas of the town, most of which can still be seen today. St John's Tower, in that area, was originally part of a massive church, but the church was knocked down, and the tower was used to practice on, and is now protected by the "Friends Of Saint Johns Tower" (FROST) residents of the "Fort Area" nearby.

Education

Further Education

Ayr has two universities: Craigie College which is part of the University of Paisley, and Auchincruive which is part of the Scottish Agricultural College. Ayr also has a college: Ayr College.

Secondary Education

Ayr has five secondary schools run by the local council. Four are non-denominational and are spread across the town. They are:

Ayr Academy
Belmont Academy
Kyle Academy
Mainholm Academy - this is currently closed for safety reasons. Pupils have been relocated to Ayr, Kyle and Belmont academies.
Queen Margaret Academy

Queen Margaret Academy is the only denominational school in South Ayrshire. Pupils living in North Ayr have a choice between Mainholm Academy and Prestwick Academy.

Wellington School

Wellington School is an independent day school in the Seafield area of Ayr. The school opened in 1836 providing private education for girls. As of 1994, Wellington welcomes boys and girls. It is the only independent school in the whole of Ayrshire.

Health

Ayr's NHS trust is Ayrshire and Arran which serves South, East and North Ayrshire. Part of Ayrshire and Arran's departmental headquarters is based in Ayr. Ayr used to have four NHS hospitals: Heathfield Hospital, Seafield Hospital and Ayr County. It was then decided to build a hospital on the outskirts of Ayr called Ayr Hospital. All the current hospitals are on the same road next to each other. Ayr currently has three hospitals:

Ayr Hospital - general hospital with accident & emergency (A&E) department
Ailsa Hospital - mental health hospital
The Abbey Carrick Glen Hospital - private hospital

Leisure

Leisure and activity centres

Ayr only has one leisure centre, this being the Citadel located at the mouth of the River Ayr and at the seafront at the South Harbour area. Its facities include a main hall measuring 34 x 27 m. This hall can accommodate various sports including 5-a-side football, basketball, volleyball, netball, indoor hockey, indoor cricket practice, badminton and short tennis. As well as individual sports, sporting events and competitions, the hall has also hosted exhibitions, concerts, trade fairs, election counts and awards ceremonies.

Dance Studio approx 124 m². Predominantly used for dance or exercise classes but also accommodates martial arts groups and drama workshops and two glass backed squash courts.

Whitletts Activity Centre also serves the town of Ayr.

Libraries

Ayr has four libraries plus a mobile library. The main library in Ayr and South Ayrshire is the Carnegie Library beside the River Ayr. The other libraries are:

Alloway Library
Carnegie Library
Forehill Library
John Pollok Library

North Ayr also has connections for Prestwick Library.

Sport

Ayr has a well known racecourse within the town, whose events include the Scottish Grand National (April) and Ayr Gold Cup (September). The town also has a senior football (soccer) team, Ayr United F.C., playing at Somerset Park. They reached the final of the 2001-2002 Scottish League Cup competition. Ayr also has a rugby team, Ayr RFC, playing at Millbrae.

Transport

Ayr has three main roads serving the town

A79-main road running through Ayr and linking Ayr with Prestwick and it's airport.
A77-Ayr by-pass streching from Glasgow to Stranraer.
A70-running from Ayr to Edinburgh.

Ayr railway station has excellent services to Glasgow Central station with a half-hourly service except on Sundays. These services are operated by Scotrail The town also has air links to European cities from Glasgow Prestwick International Airport just located two miles from Ayr. The town also has bus connections spread all of the town and Prestwick. These services are operated by Stagecoach West Scotland. The town has 8 local services.

Areas of Ayr

Images

Burns_statue_square.JPG Wallace_Tower.JPG

Constituency

The Westminster constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock is currently held by the Labour Party, the Member of Parliament being Sandra Osborne. From 1950 to 1997 it was a Conservative seat, the Member of Parliament for most of this period having been George Younger, who represented the constituency from 1964 to 1992.

Notable people from Ayr

Rhona Martin, Skip of the Olympic gold curling team
Simon Neil Guitarist and frontman of Biffy Clyro
Robert Burns, Poet
Tommy Truesdale, Radio DJ and frontman of Tommy Truesdale & the Sundowners
Tommy Ga-Ken Wan, Photographer
Sydney Devine, Singer
Stuart Murdoch, Singer-songwriter of Belle and Sebastian
Karen Dunbar, Comedienne

Town Twinning

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

External links

"The Town of Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland" - description and photographs
"Stirling elevated to city status" - and Ayr isn't - BBC News article dated Thu 14 Mar 2002
Candidates and Constituency Assessments - some information on the political history of the constituency
Ayr 800 years - The history of the town Ayr
Pictures from Ayr

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