Читать книгу The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths онлайн

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The short walk along the pavement then crosses a bridge over the River Stinchar. This bridge was built in 1964 but the older bridge, dating from 1770, can be seen a few yards further upriver. The road passes Ardstinchar Castle and continues onto Ballantrae's Main Street, where the finish point of this route is reached at the small but perfectly formed Kennedy Mausoleum.

Ballantrae was formed as a burgh in the 16th century, following the building of the castle here by the Kennedy family in the middle of the 15th. It translates from the Gaelic Baile an Traighe as ‘the village on the shore’ and its peaceful setting provides splendid views of the surrounding landscape and coast; it is a lovely place to spend some time. For many years Ballantrae was a fishing port, with smuggling commonplace along the coastline. Robert Louis Stevenson used the name of the village in his 1889 novel The Master of Ballantrae.

The compact but charming Kennedy Mausoleum

THE KENNEDY MAUSOLEUM

The Kennedy Mausoleum lies in the heart of the village and was built in 1604 by Lady Bargany. Her husband Gilbert Kennedy (who was Laird of Bargany) was killed in 1601 by the 5th Earl of Cassillis, John Kennedy, in an infamous incident that has since become known as ‘The Maybole Snowballing’. Gilbert's funeral was apparently attended by over 1000 men on horseback and several dignitaries. He was subsequently buried at Ayr but when Lady Bargany died in 1605 both their bodies were taken to Ballantrae and laid to rest in the Kennedy Mausoleum. The graveyard also has some interesting gravestones, many of which commemorate those drowned at sea.