Looking towards the New Brig and the Town Hall from Ayr Harbour. Other image sizes 1024 │800  Photo by Davie Law

Largest of the Clyde Coast holiday towns, Ayr lies in the very centre of the famous Firth of Clyde playground, 32 miles South-West of Glasgow, it looks out on the glorious panorama of the Firth, with the majestic peaks of Arran in the foreground and the Mull of Kintyre in the background. The beautiful Ayrshire countryside provided the inspiration for some of the finest verses of the National Bard of Scotland, Robert Burns.

Undoubtedly Ayr is an old town—the most zealous of historical researchers cannot say just how old. Its story is writ large on the pages of Scottish history. Many of its landmarks bear the indelible stamp of its antiquity. But in every other respect the Auld Toun is the modern home of a modern-minded and thriving community who are well aware of the need to keep abreast of the times, not only for their own sakes but for the benefit of the many thousands who come annually to make holiday.

World-wide fame of Ayr as the centre of the Burns Country makes the town a natural selection for the tourist’s itinerary, but the ordinary holidaymaker may not appreciate that it is, in its own right, one of Scotland’s leading holiday centres. Burns himself may have fostered misunderstanding by his writings. His boast of 

     Auld Ayr wham ne’er a toun surpasses
     For Honest Men and Bonnie Lasses

certainly has produced a reputation for the lealty of its menfolk and the loveliness of its women, but, at the same time has made "The Auld Toun" an alternative name rather than, as intended, an affectionate description.

Free download - dual screen backgrounds of old Ayr from www.bigbackgrounds.com Four Ayr scenes.