This evening, I am focusing on a historic Scottish town which does not normally feature on the ‘Tourist Trail’, namely Kilmarnock. The town  is situated between Glasgow and Ayr in S.W. Scotland and has a population of about 45,000. The name suggests an early Christian settlement named after a missionary called Ernon.

I visited Kilmarnock in the past in context of an ancestry themed tour.  In essence, Kilmarnock grew rapidly during the time of the Industrial Revolution (19th century) with prosperity generated through a wide range of industries including Textiles, Heavy Engineering, Carpet Manufacturing, Railway Manufacturing, and ‘Johnnie Walker’ Whisky (bottling plant). Unfortunately, most of these industries are either defunct or operating at a shadow of their former size. This decline has, inevitably, impacted on the town which is looking to ‘reinvent’ itself.

On a literary theme, the first collection of works by Scotland’s National Poet, Robert Burns was published in 1786 and known as the ‘Kilmarnock Edition’.
Old High Kirk, Kilmarnock
Old High Kirk, Kilmarnock, Scotland

 The town has a popular football (soccer) club which is a member of the Premier League, a grouping of Scotland’s top-ranked teams. 

Kilmarnock Football Club, Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock Football Club, Kilmarnock, Scotland

Overall, Kilmarnock has some interesting architecture to supplement its industrial history.

Elsewhere today, I have been working on various tour enquiries including self-drive.

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