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The earliest recorded history of
the market town Ayr, is during the
reign of the Scottish King
‘William the Lion’
(1165-1214). This famous king had a
wooden castle built between the
mouths of the rivers Ayr and Doon.
The settlement that grew beside the
castle was granted Royal Charter in
1205, this founding the Royal Burgh
of Ayr. By 1263, the town of Ayr
had to fight off an invasion by
Vikings. Although that invasion was
successfully repelled, the English
army of Edward 1st (Longshanks)
took control of the town in 1296,
along with most other parts of
Scotland. This was a time when a
local of Ayr ‘William
Wallace’ (1270-1305) began
his rise to fame. Robert the Bruce
(1274-1329) born at Turnberry
Castle 15 miles south of Ayr, used
the town for his first parliament
to conduct his succession to the
Scottish throne. The next famous
local of Ayr was John Loudon
Macadam born in 1756; he pioneered
the building of roads made from
layers of different size of broken
stone. Three years later,
Scotland’s most famous poet
Robert Burns (1759-1796) was born
in Alloway village to the south of
Ayr. Much of present-day Ayr has
buildings, statues, pubs and
monuments dedicated to Robert Burns
and William Wallace.
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The statue of Robert Burns as seen
right is situated near the bottom of the
Burns Statue Square in the town centre by
the Railway Station. The other statue in
this square is in honour of the Royal
Scots Fusiliers that served in South
Africa, Soudan, Burma and Tirah. The old
Royal Scots barracks were situated on the
south side of Ayr Harbour on the site now
containing the swimming pool.
Large Image 1880
pix
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A short walk from Burns Statue Square,
to the right, down Alloway Street, takes
you to the top of Ayr High Street. This
is the main shopping area in Ayr with
High Street shops and a few indoor
shopping centres.
The tower is the Wallce Tower in
honour of the great Scottish Patriot, Sir
William Wallace.
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Just above the Wallace Monument is the
Tam O Shanter Inn & Restaurant, the
starting point for Robert Burns most
famous poem.
Robert Burns Poem of Tam O
Shanter tells of a local in the area
that was returning from a day at the
market in old Ayr. After having a few
drinks in this inn, he sets out for his
home south of Alloway
Village, south of Ayr. On his way, he
passes by Alloway's haunted Old Kirk
(church) and stumbles across witches. In
his desperate attempt to escape, he rides
his grey mare Meg across this bridge
hoping the witches would be reluctant to
cross the water. Although Tam escapes
their clutches, Meg looses her tail to
the grasp of a witches hand.
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Left is the 115 feet high Wallace
Tower with a statue of the Scottish
legend on the front facade. This tower
was built in honour of William Wallace
who led the Scottish rebels to an
historic victory over the English army at
Stirling Bridge in 1297. Wallace was
rewarded for his bravery by being given
the title ‘Guardian of
Scotland’.
The tower that was reconstructed to
its present form in 1832, may have been
built on the site where William
Wallace’s father once lived, now
the centre of Ayr High Street.
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The Auld Brig leading off the High
Street, a short distance futher down the
High street from Wallace Tower, was built
in the 1400s to replace the original
wooden bridge from the 1200s.
The 1400s also saw many of the wooden
buildings in Ayr replaced by stone
buildings.
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Off the High Street, just below the
Auld Brig, is a narrow lane named Kirk
Port. This lane leads to an old
churchyard and riverside pathway named
Blackfriers Walk. The site originally
contained a monastery named Greyfriars
from the 1400s and is supposedly near the
site of the monastery of the Blackfriars
from the 1200s. The Auld Kirk was built
in 1654 during the reign of Oliver
Cromwell.
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The English Parliamentarian leader
Cromwell had Charles 1st (Stewart)
beheaded in 1649 and ruled Britain as
Lord Protector until 1658. During that
time, he funded one fifth of the cost of
this church and had a large fort built on
the south side of the harbour. Little of
that fort now remains. The Auld Kirk is
still used to this day.
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The New Bridge, at the bottom of Ayr
High Street, allows a good view of the
harbour. The fish market at Ayr was
relocated to Troon in the 1990s allowing
this harbour to be developed into
accommodation apartments.
The large indoor swimming pool can be
seen to the left of the new apartments
with the ruins of the old fort next to
that.
The Waverley Paddle Steamer leaves
from here throughout the summer to the
islands of Ailsa Craig, Arran and
Cumbrae.
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Right is a view from the Sandgate
looking towards the New Bridge and the
Town Buildings 226 feet high steeple (one
of Scotland’s highest).
Most of Ayr’s Chinese, Indian
and Italian restaurants are situated on
or next to this street. Many of the new
Bar/Diners and Nightclubs are in this
area as well.
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At the top of the Sandgate is
Wellington Square. This peaceful scenic
square hosts three statues and a war
memorial. The first statue as you enter
the square is of Brigadier General George
Smith who served in India during the
1800s. He was credited with stemming a
rebellion at Bengal and died later in
action at Licknow.
The building overlooking the square is
Ayr Sheriff Court. The large statue
looking onto the court is of the 13th
Earl of Eglinton.
Large Image
1880 pix
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A right turn at the court buildings
leads to Cassillis Street and St Johns
Tower. The tower is one of Ayr’s
oldest surviving buildings built in the
1300s.
Large Image
1554 pix
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Next to St John's Tower are the
outdoor tennis courts. The courts are
open to the public free of charge all
year round.
About 1 mile south is the Ayr Lawn
Tennis Club.
www.ayrtennis.co.uk
About 4 miles north is the large
indoor Prestwick tennis, badminton and
fitness centre. More
information.
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Right is a view of Ayr beach from the
south, at the point for windsurfing. This
sandy beach that can get exceptionally
busy in summer, seems to stretch for
miles. There is the vast Low Green
grassland that runs almost the length of
the beach with an outdoor and indoor kids
play area.
The Harbour and the Citadel
(large indoor pool and sports complex)
are situated at the north end of the
beach.
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Left is a view of Belleisle colf
course situated on the south side of Ayr.
This is one of the finest Parks Courses
in Scotland, and inexpensive to play,
attracting golfers from far and wide.
This scenic country estate also contains
the shorter Seafield course that allows
36 hole golf.
Website .
More Ayrshire Golf
Courses.
Belleisle was
formerly a country estate, one of 3
country estates in the town of Ayr now
open to the public, the others being
Rozelle
situated next to Belleisle and Craigie,
situated close to the town centre behind
Ayr College.
Large Image
1880 pix
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Emotion Karting is the latest karting
centre in Scotland which combines
state-of-the-art conference facilities
with Scotland's No1 karting circuit.
It's open to all members of the
public.
Situated about 4 miles east of Ayr
town centre, Google
Map.
www.emotionkarting.com.
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Culzean Castle & Country Park is
situated about 13 miles south of Ayr by
the village of Maidens on the scenic
coast. This is one of Scotland's top
castles to visit, only Edinburgh and
Stirling castles are rated higher.
Culzean gives the ultimate impression
of how wealthy some families were a few
centuries back, as along with the castle,
the vast grounds and gardens are
impressive.
The coastal road A719, between Girvan
and Ayr, passing Turnberry, Maidens and
Dunure, is one of the most scenic in
Scotland.
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For a guided tour of Ayr, let Donald
Kay take you back to the 1200’s and
show you how the town developed from two
streets into the beautiful Royal Burgh
you see today. Discover where and when
the charter was awarded and by whom.
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Hear about Ayr’s many
distinguished residents and visitors -
Sir William Wallace, Robert the Bruce,
Mary Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell,
Maggie Osborne, John Macadam and others.
Admire the Covenanters and the history of
the Auld Kirk of St. John the Baptist...
and many more facts about the people of
Auld Ayr. For more information, visit the
website www.walkaboutayr.com
Phone: 00 44 (0)1292 287765
Mobile: 07867 510 165
Email: donald@walkaboutayr.com
Se also Alloway in south
Ayr for the areas main atractions.
For information on tourist attractions
in the Ayrshire area, see: Main Attractions.
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