West Kilbride

West Kilbride est un village dans le North Ayrshire, en Écosse. Il se trouve sur la rive du Firth of Clyde.

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West Kilbride (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Bhrìghde an Iar) is a village and historic parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the Firth of Clyde to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran. West Kilbride and adjoining districts of Seamill and Portencross are generally considered to be a small town, having a combined population of 4,393 at the 2001 census.

West Kilbride railway station

West Kilbride railway station is a railway station that serves the village of West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

Law Castle

Law Castle is situated on the lower slopes of Law Hill on the edge of West Kilbride, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is around 200 metres (660 ft) from the railway station. The castle is a simple rectangular structure with a sloped roof and several large chimneys protruding at each side. It is similar in character to other tower houses located nearby, including Little Cumbrae Castle and Skelmorlie Castle, and is a category A listed building. It was built for Princess Mary, sister of King James III, as a wedding gift upon her marriage in 1467 to Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran. In 1469 Thomas travelled to Denmark to escort James III's bride Margaret of Denmark, but he was forced to remain abroad as he and his father Lord Boyd were attainted for treason in 1469. The marriage was thereby annulled and Thomas died a few years later, possibly in Antwerp. The castle was recorded as roofless but intact from the later 19th century. In the late 1980s it was purchased by a Mr Philips, who began restoration work on the castle. However, the castle was repossessed in 2002 prior to the restoration being completed, and Historic Scotland took legal action to recover £116,000 in grant funding from Mr Philips. The castle was subsequently bought by David Hutton, who completed the restoration in 2005.

Law Hill

Law Hill is a hill in the North Ayrshire town of West Kilbride, overlooking the Firth of Clyde and the hills of Arran beyond. The summit rises above the village, with nearby Law Castle a few minutes walk away. On the farm road which approaches the peak, there are a number of green huts which are used as holiday dwellings or allotments. Huts of this type were first used as retreats for military servicemen and are now commonly used by families and pensioners, although their number in Scotland has declined. The summit of Law Hill is capped with a large radio tower which belongs to Arqiva.

Seamill

Seamill is a village in North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland, about 5 miles north of Ardrossan and 8 miles south of Largs, on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde. It is sometimes considered part of West Kilbride, and sometimes considered as a village in its own right. The local authority has sought to consolidate it with West Kilbride by signposting it as "West Kilbride incorporating Seamill", however its location on the major A78 trunk road (West Kilbride proper is bypassed) means that it is still locally identified as an entity in its own right. It is named after one of its oldest buildings, the Sea Mill, a grain watermill that appears in Johannes Blaeu's Atlas of Scotland published in Amsterdam in 1654. Seamill village has a golf club known as West Kilbride Golf Club, with a putting practice green and a course with eighteen holes. It also has a hotel called the Seamill Hydro which has a swimming pool. The Seamill Hydro first opened in 1880, during the boom period of hydropathic establishments. These commenced as mostly as therapeutic establishments, but over time morphed into hotel format, with Seamill Hydro being one of the few such surviving facilities from that era.