South Ayrshire is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,450, making it the 19th–largest subdivision in Scotland by population. With an area of 472 sq mi, South Ayrshire ranks as the 15th largest subdivision in Scotland.
Girvan is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies 21 miles (34 km) south of Ayr, and 29 miles (47 km) north of Stranraer, the main ferry port from Scotland to Northern Ireland.
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituencies. It has been represented since 2024 by Elaine Stewart of Scottish Labour.
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, covering parts of the council areas of South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. Also, it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Straiton is a village on the River Girvan in South Ayrshire in Scotland. It lies in the hills between Kirkmichael, Dalmellington, Crosshill, and Maybole.
The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either Carlisle via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.
Maybole railway station is a railway station serving the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by ScotRail and is on the Glasgow South Western Line.
Girvan railway station is a railway station serving the town of Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail, who operate all passenger services from there. It is on the Ayr to Stranraer section of the Glasgow South Western Line and is situated 62 miles south of Glasgow Central. It has two platforms and is the location of one of the five passing loops on the single track line between Dalrymple Junction and Stranraer. Immediately south of the station, the line climbs steeply towards Pinmore tunnel – the climb is known as the Glendoune Bank and has a ruling gradient of 1 in 54.
Carrick Academy is an 11–18 state-run secondary school, administered by South Ayrshire Council and situated in the Maybole Community Campus in the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire. Carrick Academy is the smallest of South Ayrshire's secondary schools based on pupil numbers, with a total of 391 pupils enrolled at the school in 2023–2024.
The Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway (A&MJR) was a railway in Ayrshire, Scotland that provided services between Ayr and Maybole. It opened in 1856 and was seen as a link in providing a through line between Glasgow and Portpatrick, then the ferry port for the north of Ireland.
The Maybole and Girvan Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a line between Maybole and Girvan. Although promoted independently, it was supported by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and was seen as part of a trunk line connecting Glasgow with a ferry port for the north of Ireland.
Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway (G&PJR) was a railway company in Scotland. It opened in 1877 between Girvan and Challoch Junction, where it joined the Portpatrick Railway, which had already reached Stranraer from Castle Douglas. Portpatrick had been an important ferry terminal for traffic to and from the north of Ireland, but its significance was waning and Stranraer assumed greater importance. The new line formed part of a route between Glasgow, Ayr and Stranraer.
The Water of Girvan is a river in South Ayrshire, which has its source at Loch Girvan Eye in the Carrick Forest section of Galloway Forest Park. This 28-mile (45-kilometre) river passes through the villages of Straiton, Crosshill and Dailly en route to the Firth of Clyde at Girvan Harbour.
Maybole railway station was a railway station serving the village of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway.
Dailly railway station served the village of Dailly, South Ayrshire, Scotland, from 1860 to 1965 on the Maybole and Girvan Railway.
Killochan railway station was located in a rural part of South Ayrshire, Scotland and mainly served the nearby Killochan Castle estate. The Killochan bank is the name given to this section of the line, running from Girvan on an uphill gradient to just north of the old station site. Maybole is around nine miles away and Girvan two miles.
The Grangeston Halt railway station was a private station that was not listed in the public timetables, located in a rural part of South Ayrshire, Scotland and served the WWII Grangeston ICI munitions plant bringing workers to the site. Grant's Distillery now occupies much of the site.
Girvan Old railway station was a terminus station opened in Girvan, in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland by the Maybole and Girvan Railway. Although ambitions existed to extend the line through to Stranraer it was built on a site that would not permit this and so when the line was built the Girvan New station was opened on 5 October 1877 by the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway on the route to Pinmore and eventually through to Stranraer railway station.
Crosshill railway station served the village of Crosshill, South Ayrshire, Scotland, from 1860 to 1862 on the Maybole and Girvan Railway.
