Читать книгу The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths онлайн

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Almost six miles of uninterrupted sand lie between Barassie and Irvine (Day 5)

The 15th and 16th centuries saw Ayrshire under control of the shire's churches and abbeys, but with the religious upheaval of the Protestant Reformation in 1560 the ownership of land instead came under the control of local landowners. Roman Catholic attempts to regain control of Scotland after 1560 gave rise to the Covenanters, whose supporters fought to uphold the Reformation. The turbulence of the time led to much infighting and many deaths in Ayrshire.

Agriculture, mining, fishing, steel-making, shipbuilding and manufacturing textiles such as cotton and cloth have all played an important part in the development of Ayrshire in recent times, although with the decline of heavy industry within the region (and more recently the closing of the Johnnie Walker whisky plant in Kilmarnock) it has relied somewhat on 20th century industries like computing and chemicals.

However, tourism has come to play a major role in Ayrshire's economy and this is mainly due to one particular sport and to one man. The sport is golf. Ayrshire is the only county in Britain to contain three golf courses that have played host to an Open Championship, with Prestwick holding the very first in 1860, followed by many more. Prestwick has now been taken out of the tournament's rotation but many have also been held at Turnberry and at Royal Troon, which both remain choices for the organisers. The one man who has created a cottage industry in his own right is Robert Burns. Born on the 25th of January 1759 in Alloway near Ayr, Burns' poems are renowned world-wide. He has become a cultural icon for Scots, both in Scotland and in the many expat communities around the world.