West Kilbride

A Neolithic cup and ring marked stone is located on Blackshaw Hill, near West Kilbride. This stone is unusual, in that it is carved with three spirals.[3] Although the purpose of such stones is not known, it is considered that they may have had religious importance.[4]

Traces of an Iron Age fortification were uncovered when the house named "The Fort" was constructed in Ardrossan Road, Seamill.[5]

West Kilbride is generally believed to be named after the ancient Celtic Saint Brigid of Kildare, often known as St Bride.[6] The name suggests there was once a cell or kil to Brigid in the area, although local legend has her visit to establish her church around 500 AD (the landing point was supposedly in front of the now Seamill Hydro). The "West" prefix was added to distinguish between other places which commemorates the same Celtic saint, such as the new town East Kilbride in Lanarkshire which was named "East" to distinguish it from the older "West".[7] There has been a hamlet in the area since 82 AD when the Roman general Agricola stationed 30,000 troops in the area of the village now known as Gateside. Roman roads can still be explored around the village to this day, and many Roman finds have been reported and lodged in Museums throughout Scotland. William Wallace's uncle Crauford had an estate at Corsbie in the North of the village, and this is still in use as a caravan park called Crosby, to this day (Wallace's mother's family). In later years Robert the Bruce gave a grant of the lands of the Barony of Kilbride to the Boyds of Kilmarnock.[8] It was once home to various mills and other works,[9] and in the 18th century West Kilbride was primarily a weaving village.

In 1826, the Hunterston Brooch, a highly important Celtic brooch of "pseudo-penannular" type was found by two men from West Kilbride who were digging drains at the foot of Goldenberry Hill, near Hunterston.[10] Made about 700 AD,[11] the Hunterston Brooch is cast in silver, gilt, and gold, silver and amber, and decorated with interlaced animal bodies in gold filigree.[11] In its centre, a cross and a golden Glory represent the Risen Christ. The Hunterston Brooch is clearly object of very high status, indicating the power and great prestige of its owner. Nowadays, it is considered one of the most significant items of Celtic art, and is housed in the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.[11]

Law Castle

Several buildings in the area date back to medieval times. Law Castle, situated at the foot of Law Hill, was built in the 15th century for King James III's sister Mary.[12] The castle is a simple rectangular structure with a sloping roof and several large chimneys protruding at each side. In recent years, Law Castle has been substantially restored and refurbished and it now letted for functions and as a holiday home.[12]

Portencross Castle, thought to date from the 14th century,[13] is situated right next to the sea at Portencross harbour. It is L-shaped and four storeys high, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling.[13] The castle was roofless for many years due to storm damage. A campaign to save Portencross Castle from private ownership received national publicity in July 2004 when it was featured on the BBC's Restoration television programme.[14] The title for the castle and grounds was given to the group "Friends of Portencross Castle" on 22 December 2005.[13] It has since been partly restored and visitors have been allowed since summer 2011. http://www.portencrosscastle.org.uk/index.htm It is thought that a previous incarnation of the castle was a staging post on the route for the transport of dead Scottish Kings to the Island of Iona for burial.

Crosbie Castle

Crosbie Castle (also known as Crosbie Towers) lies to the north east on the outskirts of West Kilbride. It was largely rebuilt from a tower demolished in the 17th century which was the home of Sir Ranald Craufurd (uncle of William Wallace) in the 13th century,[15] and it is said that Wallace himself spent some time at Crosbie.[15] Currently the castle lies at the centre of a caravan park also called Crosbie Towers. Having lain empty for a number of years due to internal fire damage, part of the building was demolished in early 2007 after heavy storms damaged the external walls of the castle.[16] Although the building is a Category-B listed building, permission was not sought before demolition.[16]

The town became known as a weaving and agricultural town, one of many Ayrshire towns specialising in potatoes. Since the town became linked by rail to Glasgow in 1878, it began to attract more visitors, particularly to the Hydropathic spa at Seamill and its neighbouring sandy beach.

The local area is predominantly rural, but agriculture accounts for only 1.4% of local employment. Managers and professional occupations make up 33.7% of the employed population, compared to the average of 23.8% for the whole of Scotland.[22]

The main industries of employment at the 2001 census were:[22]

The area is noted for its Ayrshire potatoes. These grow well locally, thanks to the use as fertiliser of the abundant supply of seaweed conveniently deposited on the nearby shore by winter storms. For this reason West Kilbride was sometimes referred to as the "Tattie Toon".[23] Other crops grown include sweetcorn (for cattle food), barley, root vegetables and summer berries, especially strawberries. Cattle and sheep are also farmed locally.

Industries close to the village include the Hunterston B nuclear power station and the nearby Hunterston Terminal, owned by Clydeport.

A 24 MW wind farm, owned and operated by Airtricity, is located on Busbie Muir (about 3 km east of Tarbert Hill), and has been operational since February 2004.[24] Its capacity will increase to 30 MW when three additional wind turbines become operational, scheduled for Autumn 2007.[25]

A view of the twelve wind turbines above West Kilbride and Seamill

Through the endeavours of the local initiative group, West Kilbride is now achieving fame as the "Craft Town Scotland". The village boasts a number of craft shops and studios. The Barony Craft Centre provides a convenient way for craftspeople to sell their art and craftwork, in return for a share of the profits.[26]

In September 2006, West Kilbride Craft Town won the Department of Trade and Industry's "Enterprising Britain 2006" competition. Presenting the award, Alistair Darling MP praised the resourcefulness and dedication of the West Kilbride community.[27]

In January 2012 the Craft Town Scotland project achieved another accolade by winning the Creative Scotland £100k "Creative Places" award. The £1.7m Barony Craft Centre was formally opened to the public on 1 May 2012. This is now the centrepiece of this extensive community initiative. The West Kilbride Community Initiative is currently considering how to further strengthen the project, and this may be to consider the renovation of Kirtonhall (see below).

Held on the first Friday of December every year, this is a Christmas event where shops open late as a procession of children and adults follow Santa to the village hall. Music, stalls and children's fairground rides are set up on Main Street and adjoining Glen Road, which are closed to traffic for the evening.

West Kilbride is the first town in Scotland to organise an annual "Scarecrow Festival". The purpose of the Scarecrow Festival is to foster community spirit and civic pride within West Kilbride and its surrounding area. It celebrates West Kilbride's origins as an agricultural community, while looking to the future through the "Craft Town Scotland" initiative. Following a meltdown in late 2010 when the Scarecrows were destroyed by a dissident Scarecrow Festival Group, the festival was cancelled for 2011. From the ashes of these most unfortunate events, a new Festivals Organising Group has arisen, supported once again by the local initiative group. This Organising Group hopes to rebrand two of the festivals for 2012—the Scarecrow one in Summer and the very successful Yuletide Festival in December. At this stage, the village Gala has chosen to remain separate from this group.

West Kilbride Golf Club, a championship links course, is situated at Fullerton Drive, Seamill. The original designer of the course was Old Tom Morris.[28] The club hosted the Millennium British Ladies' Championship, and hosts the Scottish Boys' Championship once every three years.

West Kilbride Bowling Club, located on Weston Terrace, has two bowling greens. Its most notable member is Margaret Ross, who was twice Scottish Champion (1976 and 1978) and British Singles Champion (1976). She also represented Britain internationally in 1976, 1978 and 1981–83.

West Kilbride Amateur Football Club were formed in 1947 and compete in the Ayrshire Amateur Football League. Team colours are amber and black and home matches are currently played at Kirktonhall Glen.

West Kilbride railway station lies on the Ayrshire Coast Line between Largs and Glasgow Central. The journey to Glasgow takes around 50 minutes.[34] The station is unmanned, with only one passenger track.

A bus service connects West Kilbride northwards to Greenock and south to Ayr. The service is number 585, and is operated by the Stagecoach Group. Buses run approximately half-hourly; there is no bus station but there are several roadside bus stops throughout the town.

The main A78 road links West Kilbride to as far as Greenock to the north, and Prestwick to the South. The B781 road links West Kilbride to Dalry (and beyond to Glasgow via the A737) in the east. There are half-hourly buses northwards to Largs and Greenock, and southwards to Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston, Irvine and Ayr.[35] There is also a commuter bus service to Glasgow, the journey taking around 1 hour 35 minutes.[36]