Galston, East Ayrshire

Galston (Lowland Scots: Gauston, Scottish Gaelic: Baile nan Gall) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which has a population of 4,710 (2022) and is at the heart of the civil parish of the same name. It is situated in wooded countryside four miles (six kilometres) upriver from Kilmarnock and is one a group of the small towns located in the Irvine Valley between the towns of Hurlford and Newmilns. To the north of the town is the ruin of Loudoun Castle, the site of Loudoun Castle theme park from 1995 to 2010. In 1874 the population was 4,727.

Nearby Places View Menu

0 m

Galston parish

Galston Parish is situated in East Ayrshire, Scotland, some five to ten miles east of Kilmarnock and roughly encompasses the southern half of the Upper Irvine Valley (locally known as The Valley). The parish shares strong links with the parish of Loudoun, with which it shares a border along the River Irvine.

653 m

Portland Park, Galston

Portland Park was a football ground in Galston, Scotland. It was the home ground of Galston F.C.

Loudoun Academy, Galston

Loudoun Academy is a secondary school in the outskirts of Galston, East Ayrshire, in Scotland serving the Loudoun district which includes the Irvine Valley, Kilmarnock, and surrounding rural areas of East Ayrshire. The school was built in 1971. The current enrolment as of July 2022 was 926. In 2022, Loudoun Academy was ranked as the 201st best performing state school in Scotland, an increase from its 2021 ranking where it was placed at 216th. In 2025, it was revealed that Loudoun Academy was one of four schools in Ayrshire that hadn’t been inspected since 2009.

1.1 km

Loudoun Kirk

Loudoun Kirk is a disused church located about one mile west of Loudoun Castle, East Ayrshire. It served as Loudoun's parish church until some point after 1600, when this function moved to the church in nearby Newmilns. It subsequently fell into a state of disrepair, however since 1994 has been preserved by a local charity, Friends Of Loudoun Kirk.