Ardrossan
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| Town andsea port | |
 Ardrossan skyline and overlooking Ardrossan Harbour, January 2008 | |
  Ardrossan Location withinNorth Ayrshire | |
| Population | 10,500 (2022)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NS232424 |
| • Edinburgh | 79.1 miles (127.3 km) |
| • London | 432.3 miles (695.7 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ARDROSSAN |
| Postcode district | KA22 |
| Dialling code | 01294 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°38′36″N4°48′35″W / 55.6432°N 04.8097°W /55.6432; -04.8097 | |
Ardrossan (/ɑːrˈdrɒsən/; from Scottish Gaelic Àird Rosain 'headland of the small promontory'[2]) is a town on theNorth Ayrshire coast in southwesternScotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of aconurbation withSaltcoats andStevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore of theFirth of Clyde.
The town is the main terminal ofCaledonian MacBrayne ferry services operating from mainland Scotland to theIsle of Arran.
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Ardrossan's roots can be traced to the construction of itscastle 'Cannon Hill', thought to be in around 1140, by Simon de Morville. The castle and estate passed to theBarclay family (also known asCraig) and through successive heirs until the 14th century when it passed to the Eglinton family on the death of Godfrey Barclay de Ardrossan, who died without an heir. Sir Fergus Barclay,Baron of Ardrossan, was said to be in league with the Devil and in one of his dealings, set the task for the Devil to make ropes from sand; on failing to do so, the Devil kicked the castle with his hoof in frustration and left apetrosomatoglyph hoofprint.[3]
The castle stood until 1648, whenOliver Cromwell's troops had it destroyed, taking much of the stonework toAyr to build the citadel atMontgomerieston. The ruins ofCromwell's Fort still stand, but are overgrown and in a dangerous condition.[4]
In 1759,The 10th Earl of Eglinton formed a herd of the ancient breed of White orChillingham cattle at Ardrossan, probably using stock from theCadzow herd. The numbers dropped and in 1820 the remaining animals were dispersed. All the animals in the herd were hornless.[5]
Ardrossan developed during the 18th and 19th centuries thanks to its position on the coast. Exports ofcoal andpig iron to Europe and North America were the main trade from the town's port, which became a centre forshipbuilding. Fishing vessels and small cargo boats were the mainstay of theshipyard until the 1950s, when the yard ceased to exist as a result of foreign competition. A smaller yard, McCrindle's, operated until the 1980s before it ceased trading.[6]
Passenger services from Ardrossan Harbour toBrodick on theIsle of Arran started in 1834, and services toBelfast, inUlster in the north ofIreland, and to theIsle of Man followed in 1863 and 1892 respectively. Clyde sailings were operated initially by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company from Winton Pier and the Caledonian Railway from Montgomerie Pier. TheEarl of Eglinton's ambitious plan for acanal link toGlasgow was never realised.[7]
Between 1841 and 1848, Ardrossan was a part of the "West Coast Main Line" equivalent of its time. The fastest route fromLondon to Glasgow was by train toFleetwood, and then by packet boat to Ardrossan. After 1848 the entire journey could be made by rail, avoiding Ardrossan.[8][9][10]The link to the Isle of Man no longer operates, having first been moved to Stranraer until all Scottish services terminated.Shell-Mex operated an [oil refinery] on behalf of the Air Ministry, from aSecond World War aviation-fuel canning factory, and the harbour was expanded for the company's tanker ships to berth.[11]
The harbour has been redeveloped as amarina, and the passenger and vehicleferry to Brodick is operated byCaledonian MacBrayne.[12]
Ardrossan became aburgh, in 1846, with aprovost,magistrates and commissioners. After the Second World War, the burgh was based atArdrossan Civic Centre.[13] Its burgh status was lost in 1974 on the formation ofStrathclyde Regional Council, when it came underCunninghame District. It is now part ofNorth Ayrshire, created as a unitary authority in 1996.[14]
In 1921 Ardossan was the European site for the first successful reception of medium waveradio signals from North America. Using a wavelength of about 230 to 235 metres (a frequency near 1.3Megahertz) anamateur radio group inConnecticut sentMorse code signals to a station set up in a tent.[15]
The town has three railway stations:Ardrossan South Beach, close to the boundary withSaltcoats;Ardrossan Town, closed 1968 and reopened 1987; andArdrossan Harbour near the port for the Arran ferry. Ardrossan South Beach station is at the junction on theAyrshire Coast Line, where the lines to Ardrossan Harbour andLargs diverge. There are two trains per hour that head eastbound from Ardrossan South Beach toGlasgow Central, of which one comes from Ardrossan Harbour, calling at Ardrossan Town, and the other comes from Largs. All rail services from Ardrossan are operated byScotRail.
There are two closed railway stations:Ardrossan North was adjacent to Montgomerie Street, and the platform remains can still be seen, although the redevelopment of the formerShell Bitumen Plant site edges closer to the remains.Ardrossan Montgomerie Pier was further down the line from Ardrossan North, but the building of the harbourside apartments removed the last remains of the platforms and no evidence remains that a railway station once stood there.The last train ran through these stations around 1968, although by that time they served summer boat train services only, after regular passenger traffic ceased in 1932.
Ardrossan is linked to Glasgow via the A737 road and toAyr via the A78 road. The A78 Three Towns Bypass opened in December 2004 and has provided an improvement to local transport links, reducing local travelling times. The bypass has diverted heavier traffic from the Three Towns. Bus services to the town are operated primarily byStagecoach West Scotland.
A regular ferry service from Ardrossan toBrodick on theIsle of Arran has run since 1834. The ferry departs every two hours and 45 minutes Monday–Saturday and takes 55 minutes. A ferry service toCampbeltown started on 23 May 2013.[16]
In February 2024, concerns were raised about the long-term future of ferry services from Ardrossan to Arran and Campbeltown following the permanent closure by Peel Ports of the Irish Berth at Ardrossan Harbour, which had been used as a secondary berth byCaledonian MacBrayne. The closure was condemned by CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond and Arran residents.[17]
In the past Ardrossan had ferry services toBelfast, and, in summer, to theIsle of Man. The Belfast run was operated by theBurns and Laird Line and its last scheduled service was in 1976. The last ship to sail the route wasMV Lion, which was the largest car ferry to operate from Ardrossan. The Isle of Man run was operated by theIsle of Man Steam Packet Company during the summer season, and its last service was in 1985, howeverCaledonian MacBrayne experimented with a smaller vessel for a couple of seasons, which ran one return service per week.
Ardrossan is served by three primary schools (St Peter's Primary School, Stanley Primary School, and Winton Primary School) and two secondary schools:Ardrossan Academy, a non-denominational school opened in 1882, has about 1,050 students from Ardrossan, Saltcoats, West Kilbride and Seamill; St Matthews Academy in Saltcoats is the secondary school for Roman Catholic pupils from Ardrossan.
Ardrossan is located near twonuclear power stations:Hunterston A, 360MW andHunterston B, 1215 MW.
Ardrossan Wind Farm, a 24 MW wind farm that opened in 2004, overlooks the town.
In Ardrossan, there are five churches.
Ardrossan is in theAyrshire North and Arran constituency in theHouse of Commons andCunninghame North constituency in theScottish Parliament. TheWestminster seat is held by the Scottish National Party, and theHolyrood seat was gained by theScottish National Party from Labour in the May 2007 election by a mere 48 votes.
Historically, Ardrossan has been part of the UK parliament constituenciesNorth Ayrshire (1868–1918),Bute and Northern Ayrshire (1918–1983) andCunninghame North (1983–2005). These constituencies historically returnedConservative orUnionist MPs until 1987, when the constituency was won by theLabour Party.
Ardrossan is home to a number of sports teams includingArdorssan Winton Rovers, anassociation football club which plays in theWest of Scotland League, and North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club.
Castlehill is also known as 'Cannon Hill' by locals. A historic ancient burial place on Castle Hill was vandalized in the 1950s. One tomb was then taken to the Barony Church on South Crescent for safekeeping.
A prehistoric shell-mound, measuring 102 ft by 16 ft, on the side of Cannon Hill, close to Ardrossan Town railway station, was excavated by the Ayrshire historian John Smith in the 1890s. Its length was mostly overhung by a few feet, by the rock face, which had formed a rock-shelter, which the excavation showed had been occupied at intervals over a considerable period. The railway workings had cut a longitudinal section in the mound, which overlay a 1 ft layer of raised beach sand.[22]
The mound was composed of seashells, mainly periwinkle and limpet, and animal bones.Relics found included a stone 'anchor' with a groove cut round it for a rope, a possible stone sinker, fragments of very coarse, hammer stone, hand-made pottery, also pieces of wheel-turned, glazed pottery, a bone chisel, two bone needles, etc. No sign of the mound is visible today.[23]
The name Ardrossan has also been given to places elsewhere in the world:
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