Ayr facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ayr Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Àir Scots: Ayr
Administrative centre and town
Skyline of Ayr town centre Ayr Town Hall Pavilion building and Place De Saint-Germain-en-Laye fountain Burns Cottage Wellington Square Gardens Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Ayr
Ayr
Population	46,260 (2020)
Urban	62270
OS grid reference	NS 33853 21445
• Edinburgh	66 mi (106 km)
• London	330 mi (530 km)
Council area	South Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	AYR
Postcode district	KA6-KA8
Dialling code	01292
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Scottish National Party – Allan Dorans)
Scottish Parliament	Ayr (SNP – Siobhian Brown)
List of places UK Scotland 55°27′29″N 4°37′44″W / 55.458°N 4.629°W / 55.458; -4.629

Ayr (/ɛər/ air; Scots: Ayr; Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,982, Ayr is the 15th largest settlement in Scotland and second largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north. Ayr submitted unsuccessful bids for city status in 2000 and 2002, and as part of the wider South Ayrshire area in 2022.

Ayr was established as a Royal Burgh in 1205 and is the county town of Ayrshire. It served as Ayrshire's central marketplace and harbour throughout the medieval period and was a port during the early modern period. On the southern bank of the River Ayr sits the ramparts of a citadel constructed by Oliver Cromwell's men during the mid-17th century. Towards the south of the town is the birthplace of Scottish poet Robert Burns in the suburb of Alloway. Ayr has been a popular tourist resort since the expansion of the railway in 1840 owing to the town's fine beach and its links to golfing and Robert Burns.

Ayr is one of the largest retail centres in the south of Scotland and was recognised as the second healthiest town centre in the United Kingdom by the Royal Society for Public Health in 2014. Ayr has hosted the Scottish Grand National horseracing steeplechase annually since 1965 and the Scottish International Airshow annually since 2014. The town also accommodates the headquarters of the Ayr Advertiser and Ayrshire Post newspapers.

Etymology

The name Ayr can be traced back to a pre-Celtic word meaning "watercourse" or "strong river". This name was used before the establishment of the Julian calendar in reference to the River Ayr. The town was formerly known as "Inverair" or "Inverayr", meaning "mouth of the river Ayr"; this was later abbreviated to "Air", now spelled "Ayr". The full name remains in the Scottish Gaelic name for Ayr – Inbhir Àir.

History

Ayr's Coat of Arms, as depicted on Ayr's old New Brig

Ayr Market Cross in 1810

The name Ayr can be traced back to a pre-Celtic word meaning "watercourse". The name was used before the establishment of the Julian calendar as a name for the River Ayr. Ayr was founded as a market burgh town in 1205 by King William the Lion. It was formerly named 'Inverair' or 'Inverayr', meaning "mouth of the river Ayr", yet this was later abbreviated to 'Ayr'. Elements of the former name remain present within the Scottish Gaelic name for Ayr – Inbhir Air.

Since 1261 annual fairs were held in the town. At this time the town had a recorded population of 1,500 and served as a major port on the west coast. The town was occupied by England from 1301 until 1312 as part of the Scottish Wars of Independence.

On 26 April 1315, a Parliament of Scotland was held in Ayr by Robert The Bruce at St. John's Tower by the sea. Later, in 1652, the town was used as a base and fortress for some of Oliver Cromwell's men. Cromwell established a large fortress along the mouth of the River Ayr and erected walls around the area just south of the River's mouth - most of these walls remain present to this day. St John's Tower, which sat around the centre of the fortress, was originally part of a large church yet this was knocked down during the construction of the fort with the tower being used for military practice; it is now protected by "Friends Of Saint Johns Tower" (FROST) residents in the "Ayr Fort Area" which sits atop the former site of the citadel. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Ayr Barracks (later known as Churchill Barracks) on the citadel site in 1795.

Governance

Parliamentary representation

Allan Dorans has been the MP for Ayr since 2019

Siobhian Brown has been the MSP for Ayr since 2021

Ayr was represented by a Conservative MP continuously for a period of 91 years – from 1906 (as part of the Ayr Burghs constituency) until 1997, followed by Labour from 1997 to 2015, and the Scottish National Party from 2015 to 2017. The town forms part of the Ayr constituency in the Scottish Parliament, which was the first Conservative constituency seat in the Parliament, but has been represented by Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Siobhian Brown since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In the UK Parliament, Ayr is situated within the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency which was represented by Conservative MP Bill Grant from the 2017 general election, until he was unseated in the 2019 general election by Allan Dorans of the Scottish National Party.

Ayr forms part of the UK parliamentary constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock. This constituency includes Carrick and Coylton in South Ayrshire in addition to Doon Valley, Cumnock and New Cumnock in southern East Ayrshire. The seat was held by Conservative Bill Grant from 2017 until 2019 when Allan Dorans gained the seat for the Scottish National Party. The Central Ayrshire constituency runs north of the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency. It takes in the towns of Irvine, Kilwinning, Prestwick, Troon and rural Kyle, running into Annbank. It also incorporates the Woodfield area of Newton-on-Ayr and is represented by SNP MP Philippa Whitford.

In previous elections Ayr was represented in Westminster as part of the Ayr parliamentary constituency, the boundaries of which included elements of Prestwick, Troon and rural South Ayrshire. The seat was abolished in 2005 to be replaced by the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock and Central Ayrshire constituencies which were subsequently represented by MP's belonging to Labour, and later, the SNP. From the seat's creation in 1950 until the 1997 general election Ayr was continually represented by MP's from the Conservative Party. George Younger served as Member of Parliament for the constituency for most of this period – serving as MP for Ayr from 1964 to 1992. In 1997 the boundaries of the constituency were altered in a move which saw the Conservative areas of Alloway, Doonfoot and Masonhill alongside parts of Kincaidston and Forehill being transferred to the neighbouring Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency, benefiting the Labour Party. Prior to this Ayr formed part of the Ayr Burghs constituency which combined various towns along the Ayrshire coast such as Irvine, Troon, Prestwick, Ardrossan and Saltcoats: this seat was held by the Conservatives from 1906 until the constituency's abolishment in 1950, making Ayr the longest seat to be held by the Conservatives in Scotland at over 100 years.

In the Scottish Parliament, the Ayr constituency was represented from 2000 to 2021 by Conservative MSP John Scott until he was defeated at the 2021 election by the SNP's Siobhian Brown. It was the first constituency in the Scottish Parliament to elect a Conservative MSP. The constituency also includes the towns of Prestwick and Troon.

Ayr is also represented at Holyrood by the seven MSPs for the South Scotland electoral region.

South Ayrshire Council

Ayr is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, with County Buildings serving as the headquarters for the council

Ayr is represented by 11 elected councillors on South Ayrshire Council, of which five belong to the Scottish Conservatives, four belong to the Scottish National Party and two belong to Scottish Labour. Below are a list of councillors elected to serve Ayr, sorted by ward:

Provost of the Royal Burgh of Ayr

As a former Royal Burgh, Ayr had a Provost as chief magistrate of the burgh council and the earliest recorded Provost is Nicholas de Fynvyk. The title of provost was retained by Kyle and Carrick District Council and South Ayrshire Council for their civic heads. The role of provost is now apolitical and carries a number of duties including chairing meetings of the council, acting as civic head representing South Ayrshire Council, promotion of South Ayrshire Council and networking with various organisations such as local businesses.

A chain and robes are worn by the provost while undertaking their ceremonial duties. The Provost's chain was donated in June 1897 by James McLennan who was a Glasgow wine and spirit merchant who was born in Coylton and lived in Ayr. The official provost's robes have been provided by the council since 11 June 1923. In addition, South Ayrshire Council erects lamp posts with the Royal Burgh coat of arms emblazoned on the diffusers outside the official resident of the provost – this has been undertaken since 1854.

Each newly elected provost enters their name into a Bible at the "Kirkin 'O The Council" service at Ayr Auld Kirk after each council election. The Bible in which the names are entered was acquired by the Kirk during the Provostship of Hugh Miller (1841–1855). The names of the provosts entered into the Bible are as follows:

The current provost is Labour councillor Helen Moonie. List of Provosts of Ayr from 1560 to 1692, See Annals of Ayr in the olden time, 1560–1692, By John Pagan. Ayr: Alex Fergusson, 18 High Street, 1897.

Geography

Ayr is a coastal town which lies on the mouth of the River Ayr. The river then flows out into the larger Firth of Clyde estuary. From the coast the Isle of Arran can be seen, and on a very clear day, the northern tip of Northern Ireland. It is within the region of Strathclyde. Much of the land in and around this area is very flat and low lying, used for rearing dairy cattle. Towards the south of Ayr however the land is higher than most areas in the county of Ayrshire, an example of this being the Brown Carrick Hill which is situated due south of Doonfoot. Ayr lies approximately 35 miles (55 km) southwest of Glasgow.

The urban area which encompasses Ayr is defined by the General Register Office for Scotland as the adjoining localities of Ayr and Prestwick − this is the 12th largest urban area in Scotland.

Location

Destinations from Ayr

	Firth of Clyde	Prestwick, Troon	Kilmarnock, Glasgow
	Firth of Clyde		Auchinleck, Cumnock
		Ayr
	Maybole, Girvan, Stranraer	Newton Stewart	Dalmellington, Castle Douglas

Areas of Ayr

Bungalows in Old Belmont

Demographics

At the 2001 United Kingdom census, Ayr had a population of 46,431, a fall of −3.2% on 1991. Mid-2008 population estimates placed the total resident population at 46,070 making Ayr the 12th largest urban area in Scotland. The 2011 census found that Ayr's population had grown by around 0.9% since the 2001 census – surpassing the total population growth of Ayr and Prestwick, which only grew by 0.63%, falling short of the national population growth of Scotland of +4.61%.

In 2001, nearly 0.36% (167) people in the town could speak Scottish Gaelic – this fell to 0.34% (161) in 2011. South Ayrshire Council provides no educational support for the language.

Economy

Further information: Economy of Scotland

Ayr town centre and main shopping high street

The north side of Ayr Harbour still operates as a commercial port, mainly exporting coal, and extensive railway sidings still lead down from the main railway line near Newton-on-Ayr station.

Ayr developed as the central retail hub in the south-west of Scotland after the opening of the town's first department store, Hourstons, in 1896. In the 1970s the opening of stores such as Marks and Spencers and Ayr's first shopping centre, the Kyle Centre (1988), encouraged an expansion in the local economy. Heathfield Retail park, an out-of-town retail park, opened in 1993 with shops such as Halfords and Homebase. Ayr Central Shopping Centre opened in March 2006, housing shops such as Debenhams and H&M and under-parking for 500 cars. In December 2014 Threesixty Architecture received planning permission to refurbish the Kyle Centre by reinventing it as a centre of leisure through the creation of a new cinema complex among other new features. As of 2014 Royal Society for Public Health found Ayr's High Street to be the second healthiest in the United Kingdom behind Shrewsbury, a measure which reflects the presence of health-promoting infrastructure such as health services, community spaces and libraries, although by 2018 it was no longer in the top ten. In 2016 research conducted by the Local Data Company suggested that Ayr had among the highest number of shops per head in the United Kingdom at one shop for every 270 people. In 2010, premium home furnishings company, The Designer Rooms, was established in the town and opened its first showroom within the town.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Ayr became a popular holiday resort. This was due to its fine sandy beach and the construction of the rail link to Glasgow which was completed in 1840.

Aircraft maintenance hangar of Ryanair at Glasgow Prestwick Airport

To the north of Ayr is the adjoining town of Prestwick, which is known for its golf and aviation industries thanks to the presence of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. The airport is one of the main operational bases and focus city for budget airline Ryanair, with the airline having an aircraft maintenance hangar at the airport. The airport itself has become a Scottish hub for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft, with key companies operating from bases at the airport including GE Caledonian, Spirit AeroSystems, Collins Aerospace, Ryanair (Prestwick Aircraft Maintenance), BAE Systems, Woodward Aircraft Engine Systems and Chevron Technical Services. Prestwick Spaceport launched a bid in partnership with South Ayrshire Council to become a spaceport focusing on small satellite launches, microgravity experiments and crewed missions for human spaceflight. It received funding via the Ayrshire Growth Deal of £80 million, with an additional £18 million from the UK Government and £5 million from the Scottish Government. The spaceport will support carrying small satellites into orbit via horizontal launch, or “air launch”, using aircraft that fly out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Only 5 miles (8 km) north of Ayr is Troon, a golf and seaside resort which regularly hosts the Open Championship. Ayr has three golf courses in Bellisle, Seafield and Dalmilling, as well as a private course called St Cuthberts. The area is synonymous as a seaside resort, with the south of the town housing the Craig Tara and Haven (formerly Butlins) holiday parks. The suburban village of Alloway to the south of the town is also well established for its associations with the poet Robert Burns. Further south, the fishing village of Dunure takes in a ruined castle which was formerly owned by the Kennedy family.

In 1973, Ayr hosted the Royal National Mòd. Ayr has hosted the Scottish Grand National horse-racing steeplechase annually since 1966 and the Scottish International Airshow since 2014.

Religion

Further information: Religion in Scotland and Church of Scotland

The 2022 Scottish Census found that 51% of the population of Ayr stated they had no religion. 28% stated they belonged to the Church of Scotland, 9% the Roman Catholic Church, 4% other Christian denominations and 2% other religions. 6% didn't respond to this optional question.

Of the Christian denominations present in Ayr the Church of Scotland is largest with nine churches spread throughout the town. The Roman Catholic Church has two churches, St Paul's, Belmont and the Cathedral Church of St Margaret the successor to The Good Shepherd Cathedral which has been demolished.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is represented by the very substantial Holy Trinity Church in Fullarton Street in the town centre. There is also a Free Church of Scotland, a Baptist Church and Evangelical church in John Street, a Latter-Day Saints Church at Orchard Avenue and the Southside Christian Fellowship in Ayr Town Hall.

Education

Further information: Education in Scotland

Kyle Academy opened to pupils in 1979 and serves pupils in the south–east of the town

Ayr Grammar Primary School and Early Years Centre

The new building of Ayr Academy at University Avenue which opened in August 2017

Ayr has two nursery schools:

• Cherry Tree Early Years Centre
• Wallacetown Early Years Centre

There are also several partnership centres and nursery classes held within primary schools within Ayr.

Ayr is served by fifteen primary schools:

Ayr has one school which provides education for those with Additional Support Needs:

• Southcraig Campus

Ayr is served by four secondary schools:

• Ayr Academy
• Belmont Academy
• Kyle Academy
• Queen Margaret Academy (denominational)

Prestwick Academy is located within the neighbouring town of Prestwick and provides education to pupils who are resident within Ayr but fall within its catchment area. Mainholm Academy was a former secondary school located within Ayr and was closed due to safety concerns.

Ayr is served by one independent school that provides both primary and secondary education:

• Wellington School

Ayr has four further education establishments:

• Ayrshire College (previously known as Ayr College and prior to that, Ayr Technical College)
• University of the West of Scotland (formerly known as the University of Paisley)
• Scotland's Rural College
• Adult Learning Centre

Public services and transport

Entrance to University Hospital Ayr, the main general hospital in Ayr

The NHS Ayrshire and Arran Health Board serves South, East and North Ayrshire – a part of Ayrshire and Arran's departmental headquarters is located in Ayr. Ayr is also the regional headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service for south-west Scotland that is located in Heathfield, next to the site of the old Heathfield Hospital. Ayr previously had four hospitals: Heathfield Hospital (originally a fever hospital, but latterly medical and ophthalmic), Seafield Children's Hospital (a pediatric hospital), Ayr County Hospital (originally a voluntary hospital, and latterly confined to surgery) and Ailsa Hospital (a psychiatric hospital). University Hospital Ayr, completed in 1991, replaced all but Ailsa Hospital which is still open.

Currently, three hospitals lie adjacent to Ayr running along the A713 towards Hollybush in East Ayrshire, these are:

• University Hospital Ayr (general hospital with accident and emergency)
• Ailsa Hospital (mental health hospital)
• The Abbey Carrick Glen Hospital (private hospital)

Hollybush House on the outskirts of Ayr is used by a charity for the mental health welfare of ex-members of the UK Armed Forces. Ayr has two community centres; Heathfield Community Centre and Lochside Community Centre.

Prestwick Airport serves the town and Ayrshire, and is located in nearby Prestwick

Ayr is served by several major roads:

• A77 – forming the Ayr bypass, part of the trunk route between Glasgow and Stranraer. The bypass was built in 1971.
• A79 – the former A77 before the bypass was opened, now the main road running through Ayr and linking Ayr with Prestwick and its airport.
• A70 – running east from Ayr to Cumnock, Lanark and Edinburgh.
• A713 – running southeast to Dalmellington and Castle Douglas.
• A719 – running northeast to Galston and southwest along the coast to Turnberry.

Eight local bus services operated by Stagecoach West Scotland serve Ayr and Prestwick. Express coaches to Glasgow Buchanan Street operate every 30–60 minutes. Ulsterbus operate bus services to Belfast via Stranraer Ferry service on Stena Line. The Ayr railway station has regular services to Glasgow Central station, Edinburgh Waverley, Stranraer, Girvan and Kilmarnock. All services are operated by ScotRail.

The railway station provides rail and sea connections via Stranraer for the connecting bus to Cairnryan for either the Stena Line ferry service to the Port of Belfast or the P&O Ferries service to Larne Harbour connecting with Northern Ireland Railways via Carrickfergus and Jordanstown to Belfast Lanyon Place and Belfast Grand Central. There is also the connection via Troon on P&O Ferries on a seasonal basis to Larne Harbour. The town is served by the Glasgow Prestwick International Airport just 2 miles (3 km) north from Ayr, which offers regional and domestic air services across Europe and the British Isles. Further destinations are available from Glasgow Airport, which is accessible by train to Paisley Gilmour Street for the connecting bus to the airport. In relation to Ayr, Glasgow Airport is 35 miles (56 km) away.

Although the town does not have any ferry services from its harbour, it is in close proximity to ferry services to Northern Ireland. Cairnryan, 60 miles (100 km) south of Ayr, has up to eight daily departures to Belfast and up to seven daily departures to Larne.

Sport

Ayr Racecourse opened in 1907, and is home to the annual Scottish Grand National.

Ayr Racecourse is a well-known racecourse in Scotland and hosts both National Hunt and flat racing. It has the largest capacity in Scotland for horse racing. Notable events include the Scottish Grand National (April) and Ayr Gold Cup (September) as well as several night meetings. It was recently put up for sale by the owners and included the Western House Hotel as part of the potential sale.

Ayr has two senior football clubs. Ayr United play at Somerset Park in the Scottish Championship. They reached the final of the 2001–02 Scottish League Cup competition. The club was formed in 1910 with the merger of Ayr F.C. (who were formed in 1879 by the merger of Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academical football clubs) and Ayr Parkhouse F.C. Whitletts Victoria are based in the Whitletts area of Ayr and compete in the West of Scotland Football League.

The town has a strong history of ice hockey, but no longer hosts a professional ice hockey team. The most recent professional team were the Ayr Scottish Eagles who played in the British Superleague between 1996 and 2002 based at the Centrum arena. Ayr's rugby union team, Ayr RFC, play at Millbrae and are reigning Scottish Cup Champions and Scottish Premiership Champions 2012/2013, and won the 2008/09 Scottish Hydro Premiership. Ayr RFC has twice competed in the British and Irish cup involving clubs from Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. A rugby league team, Ayr Knights ARLFC, play at Auchincruive.

Ayr United F.C. play home matches at Somerset Park in the town

Ayr Curling Club play at the curling rink in Limekiln Road and Ayr's cricket team plays in Cambusdoon. The town's leisure centre, Citadel Leisure Centre opened in 1997 at the mouth of the River Ayr and at the seafront at the South Harbour area. Its facilities include a main hall measuring 34 m × 27 m (112 ft × 89 ft), accommodating various sports including 5-a-side football, basketball, volleyball, netball, indoor hockey, indoor cricket practice, badminton and short tennis. As well as individual sports, sporting events and competitions, the hall has hosted exhibitions, concerts, trade fairs, election counts and awards ceremonies. The Citadel Leisure Centre is home to South Ayrshire Volleyball Club as well as being the town's only public swimming pool and diving pool. The Troon Tornadoes play their national league matches at the Citadel, despite not being an Ayr team. Additionally, Ayr has a Strathclyde league basketball team, Ayr Storm.

Speedway was staged at Dam Park in 1937, when two meetings, organised by Maurice and Roland Stobbart from Cumbria took place, featuring riders who raced in the north of England, at venues such as Workington and Hyde Road in Manchester. Ayr has a sandy beach with an esplanade. This is very popular with joggers and day-trippers. Whitletts Activity Centre also serves the town of Ayr. It has an 11-a side outdoor soccer pitch and an indoor 5-a-side football pitch. Near Whitletts Activity Centre there is also a 5-a-side football complex called "Pro Soccer".

Culture and community

The Gaiety Theatre

Ayr is home to the Gaiety Theatre, built in 1902. The theatre was reconstructed following a fire in 1904, with its façade remodelled in 1935, and further reinstated after a fire in 1955. In 1995, an annexe was constructed, including a new café, box office, dressing rooms and studio space. After a faltering start, which saw several years as a cinema after WWI, the theatre was bought by Ben Popplewell, from Bradford, who already had a track record of success running the Pavilion theatre on Ayr seafront. For fifty years the Popplewell family ran the theatre – latterly as part of the Glasgow Pavilion business.

The radio station West FM was based in Ayr until mid-2017 and broadcasts on 96.7FM. West FM is the main broadcaster in the Ayrshire area. The Ayrshire Post, serving all parts of Ayrshire, and Ayr Advertiser, serving the towns of Ayr and Prestwick, newspapers are also based in Ayr. The Ayr Advertiser is Scotland's oldest weekly newspaper. West FM's move from Ayr marks the first time in 35 years that local radio has not been broadcast from Ayrshire.

Carnegie Library, the main library in Ayr

Ayr is served by three libraries plus a mobile library. These are:

• Alloway Library (attached to Alloway Primary school)
• Carnegie Library (main library)
• Forehill Library

Twin towns

Ayr is twinned with:

• Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France since 1984.

In popular culture

The Barns of Ayr features in The Scottish Chiefs.

Freedom of the Burgh

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Burgh of Ayr.

• Sir Winston Churchill: 1947.
• The Royal Scots Fusiliers: 15 June 1946.

Notable people

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, was born in the Alloway area of Ayr.

• Alex Bell, (1882-1934), footballer
• Samuel Aitken, (1878–1930), footballer
• Stevie Brown, Muay thai European champion WKA
• Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi (1930–2021), born Ian Dallas, Shaykh of Instruction, Islamic leader, author, actor
• William D. Brackenridge, (1810–1893), botanist
• Robert Burns, (1759–1796), Scotland's national bard, poet and writer of songs; born in Alloway
• William Dalrymple, (1723–1814) minister and moderator
• Noam Dar (born 1993), professional wrestler
• Sydney Devine (1940-2021), singer
• James Morris Gale, (1830-1903) civil engineer for Glasgow Corporation Water Works
• Gavin Gordon, (1901–1970), composer and singer
• William Schaw Lindsay, (1815–1877), British merchant, shipowner, Member of Parliament, military theorist
• John Loudon McAdam, (1756–1836), inventor of Tarmacadam road surface
• Sam McCrory (born 1965), former member of Ulster Defence Association, gay activist
• Drew McIntyre (born 1985), professional wrestler
• Alan McInally (born 1963), footballer, TV pundit
• Thomas McIlwraith (1835–1900), Premier of Queensland, Australia
• Ewan McVicar, DJ
• William Maclure, (1763–1840), geologist, drew 1st geological map of U.S., president of American Geological Society
• Alexander Mathie-Morton (1880–1965), cricketer
• Stuart Murdoch (born 1968), singer-songwriter, Belle & Sebastian
• Sir David Murray (1951), Rangers F.C. chairman
• Simon Alexander Neil, (born 1979), Lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter for Biffy Clyro
• Neil Oliver (born 1967), BBC presenter of Coast and A History of Scotland
• Alan Reid (born 1954), MP for Liberal Democrats
• Dominic Rigby (born 1970), cricketer
• Mike Scott (born 1958), Lead Singer/Songwriter of The Waterboys
• Robert Shankland (1887–1968), awarded Victoria Cross for his actions at Battle of Passchendaele 1917
• Ronald Stevenson (1938–1999), first-class cricketer

See also

In Spanish: Ayr para niños