Читать книгу The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths онлайн

5 страница из 42

The Ayrshire & Arran Coastal Paths begin in the tiny hamlet of Glenapp and cross wild, open moorland to reach the village of Ballantrae. Travelling north, the route passes through the bustling towns of Girvan, Ayr and Troon to reach Ardrossan, where the ferry crosses the Firth of Clyde to Brodick. Four wonderful days are then spent circumnavigating the coast of Arran, taking in Brodick, Lochranza, Blackwaterfoot and Kildonan. Back on the mainland, the route's beautiful coastal scenery continues on its way to Largs and its culmination at Skelmorlie. This is Scotland's celebrated wild and windswept west coast at its finest.

A Short History of Ayrshire

Like much of the British Isles, evidence shows that there has been human activity in the area for many thousands of years but it was not until the early part of the 12th century that the historic shire of Ayr, with borders stretching from Inverclyde in the north to Galloway in the south, was established. The ancient districts of Kyle, Carrick and Cunninghame were amalgamated at this time to form the shire and Ayr became (as it still is today) the area's main town. Prior to this Carrick belonged to Galloway while Kyle and Cunninghame were, surprisingly, part of Northumbria. Going back even further to the second century, southern Scotland was home to the people known as the Damnonii. Very little is known about the tribe but they settled in the likes of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and as far north as Stirlingshire, possibly occupying the landscape in and around the fort of Dumyat.