Ballantrae

For the former Governor-General of New Zealand, see Bernard Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae.

Not to be confused with Portballintrae in Northern Ireland.

Ballantrae
Ballantrae beach and Bay, 2020
Ballantrae Location within South Ayrshire
OS grid reference	NX083827
•  Edinburgh	92 mi (148 km) NE
•  London	320 mi (515 km) SE
Council area	South Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GIRVAN
Postcode district	KA26
Dialling code	01465
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Scottish Parliament	Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
List of places UK Scotland 55°06′01″N5°00′17″W / 55.10028°N 5.00472°W / 55.10028; -5.00472

Ballantrae is a community in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Topography

The name probably comes from the Scottish Gaelic Baile na Tràgha, meaning the 'town by the beach'. ^[1] . The beach consists of shingle and sand and offers views of Ailsa Craig, the Isle of Arran and Kintyre. The caves at Bennane Head and Balcreuchan Port are nearby. Both are associated with the legend of Sawney Bean. Ballantrae has lent its name to a subdivision of the Arenig group, which is the name applied to the lowest stage of the Ordovician system.

Ballantrae is located near microgranite batholith, Ailsa Craig

History

The Kennedy family built Ardstinchar Castle in the 1420s. It survived until the 1770s when it was demolished and stone used to build a bridge over the river Stinchar, as well as houses in Ballantrae, including the Kings Arm's Hotel.

The first kirk in Ballantrae was built as a mausoleum containing a memorial to Gilbert Kennedy, Baron of Bargany and Ardstinchar, in about 1604. It became a part of the new parish kirk in 1617, replacing St Cuthbert's Kirk on the lands of Kirkholm. The ruined mausleum surives today as the Kennedy Aisle, part of Ballantrae Old Cemetery.

In June 1673, while holding a conventicle at Knockdow near Ballantrae, Alexander Peden was captured by Major William Cockburn, and condemned by the Privy Council to four years and three months' imprisonment on the Bass Rock and a further fifteen months in the Edinburgh Tolbooth.

The Ballantrae Windmill of 1696 on Mill Hill above the raised beach cliffs is one of the oldest industrial buildings in Scotland.

The present church was built in 1819. ^[1]

James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape of Strathnaver, was the owner of Glenapp Castle on the eponymous estate, ^[2] and flowering shrubs spell out the name of his daughter on the opposite side of the glen. ^[3] This daughter, Elsie Mackay, perished in an attempt to become the first female transatlantic aviator in 1928. She is commemorated by a stained glass window in the chancel of the church at Ballantrae. The Glenapp Castle has been converted into a luxury hotel. ^[4]

Literature

When he was in the Samoan Islands writing his novel The Master of Ballantrae , Robert Louis Stevenson remembered and borrowed the name of the town he had visited on walking tours, but the setting for the novel is not that town.

People from Ballantrae

• William Hunter (1861–1937), surgeon
• Struan Stevenson (1948–), former Tory MEP

External links

• Ballantrae Website - information on the village of Ballantrae, South Ayrshire

References

1. "'Bachies - Baneton', in A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland". British History Online. S Lewis, London 1846. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
2. "Ballantrae Parish Church - Glenapp Church History". Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
3. Ayrshire Post article - So Brave and so Beautiful
4. Newsdesk (1 July 2020). "Travel Wishlist - Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, Ayrshire - Scotland on Sunday travel". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 February 2022.