Troon Esplanade (South Ayrshire)

Lat:55.5418 Lon: -4.6680

Troon is a town in South Ayrshire.

The settlement initially grew on the south side of a headland which creates a naturally sheltered harbour for a fishing fleet.

Considerable expansion occurred from 1808, when the Duke of Portland added docks to the north. By 1812, a horse-drawn railway linked the town with the duke’s coal mines around Kilmarnock. Troon grew to become Ayrshire’s main coal port.

A shipyard was established in 1860. Shipbuilding continued until 2000, with a peak period in the 1950s when many of Scotland’s early car ferries were built at the yard.

Since the coal fields of Ayrshire have declined, tourism, particularly based around golf, and fishing have grown in importance to the economy. A catamaran links the town with Larne in Ireland for much of the year, while the harbour is now home to a large leisure marina.

The Swimming Pond shown in the photograph opened in 1931. After being replaced by an indoor pool it was demolished in 1987, and the site is now a car park. The rock garden is still in existence.

Features of the area

• Town
• Coast
• Harbour
• Fishing
• Industry

South Ayrshire Group

South Ayrshire is one of Scotland’s 32 unitary council areas. It borders Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire.

The area was created in 1996, adopting the boundaries of the former district of Kyle and Carrick and maintaining Ayr as administrative centre.

Elsewhere on the BBC

• BBC Glasgow and West Scotland

Elsewhere on the web

• South Ayrshire: Local History
• Ayrshire History
• Wikipedia entry on Troon