Prestwick Airport
Prestwick Airport

10 fascinating facts about… Ayrshire

Ayrshire is home to some of the most attractive and historic areas in Scotland.

There’s far more to it than being just Burns country, with a host of famous figures from history – ancient and more recent – having visited.

Robert the Bruce was reputedly cured of leprosy after drinking from a well in Prestwick.

Horror writer Edgar Allan Poe lived in Irvine for while and went to school in Kirkgatehead.

Brodick on Arran is thought to have been named by Viking settlers. Its name means Broad Bay in Old Norse.

The ghost of William Wallace is said to roam Ardrossan Castle on stormy nights.

Culzean Castle near Maybole has starred in several films, including The Queen and The Wicker Man.

Prestwick Airport

Prestwick Airport is the only part of Britain ever visited by Elvis Presley. His plane landed there to refuel in 1960.

Johnnie Walker whisky was originally distilled and sold in John Walker’s shop in Kilmarnock under the name Walker’s Kilmarnock Whisky.

Mauchline has the only curling stone factory in the UK. Since 1851 Andrew Kay & Co has made stones from Ailsa Craig granite.

Kilmarnock Academy has produced two Nobel Prize winners, Alexander Fleming and John Boyd Orr.

An annual festival is held in Largs to celebrate victory over the Vikings in 1263.

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