Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie (from the
Gaelic Cille Bhraonaidh) is a small town of around 8500 inhabitants situated in
North Ayrshire on the west coast of
Scotland. Historically the town built up around the flax and weaving industries before iron and steelmaking took over in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
It has a secondary school that teaches pupils from
Beith,
Glengarnock and
Dalry, as well as several primary schools.
The
River Garnock runs through the region. It flows from the base of the Hill of Stake in a southery direction, traversing Kilbirnie and
Glengarnock, and making its way to
Irvine Harbour where it enters the sea.
Landmarks of interest include Kilbirnie
Loch, a mile and a half long and nearly half a mile broad. It is a well-used local amenity catering for diverse sporting activities such as fishing, jet skiing and rugby (played on the playing fields at the loch shore edge).
Archaeological digs conducted in the 19th century have shown that the area was inhabited during the
Bronze Age. This was ascertained from the revealing of a
crannog with a connecting
causeway, which emerged from the Kilbirnie Loch, under the downwards pressure exerted from the iron
slag being dumped into the loch from the steelworks. Finds from around the area of the
crannog include four hollowed-out canoes, inside one of which were two bronze vessels â€" one a three-legged pot, the other a lion shaped
ewer.
Strawhorn, J. & Boyd, W. (1951) The third statistics account of Scotland Ayrshire. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.
*http://www.kilbirnie.uk.net/
