I have heard of a monument in honour of William Wallace on top
of a hill outside Kilmarnock where there are views of Ayr.
The website www.electricscotland.com/history/kilmarnock/part2c3
gives information on the monument.
After lingering while to view the expanse
of country I returned to the road and continued the ascent
of Barnweill Hill, and ultimately, after considerable exertion,
reached the summit whereon stands the Wallace monument,
and on which, tradition states,
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the Scottish hero paused in his flight to view the lurid flames
that consumed the Barns of Ayr, which he had fired in revenge
for the murder of his uncle and other noblemen. He must have watched
the scene with intense interest, for, as the flames shot heavenward,
he exclaimed, "The Barns o’ Ayr burn weel!" -a
pithy saying from which it is said the place takes its name. The
image above is from the website www.geocities.com/wheehamx/rrBarnweill.
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