River Ayr

The River Ayr near Mauchline

The River Ayr is the longest river in Ayrshire; 40 miles long. It shares a name with the town at its mouth, Ayr, and may give that town its name, and from it the county.

The name of the Ayr is found in Taliesin's poetry, praising Urien of Rheged for his victory at Aeron – Ayr – and so the name appears to be from the ancient British language, of the same origin as that of the River Aeron in Cardiganshire.

Course

The River Ayr has a drainage basin of 222 square miles.

The river runs entirely in one county. It originates at Glenbuck Loch, close to the border with Lanarkshire. Thence it winds its way through Ayrshire to its mouth in Ayr, opening into Ayr Bay on the Firth of Clyde.

On its course, the river passes through the villages of Muirkirk, Sorn, Catrine, Failford, Stair and Annbank, as well as passing the location of (the now ruined) Ayr Castle. The largest places by its banks are Ayr, Cumnock, Catrine, Ochiltree, Muirkirk and Sorn.

Major land uses about the river and its basin are agriculture, forestry, mining, leisure and recreation and urban development.

Tributaries

The Ayr's principal tributaries include:

• Greenock Water
• Lugar Water
• Water of Fail
• Water of Coyle.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about River Ayr)

• Ayrshire Rivers Trust