112 West Kilbride and North Ayrshire Coast. [Sess. 



associations have been forgotten, and their former existence 

 can only be traced in the names of farms and other places of 

 minor importance. From time immemorial a fair called 

 " Bride's day " was held at the Kirktoun of Kilbride, but 

 its observance has gradually fallen into desuetude. Until 

 about forty years ago the town of West Kilbride was one of 

 the most quaintly picturesque places to be seen anywhere in 

 Ayrshire. The streets were narrow and steep, and many of 

 the houses were low-walled and had their roofs covered with 

 thatch. The prevailing industry was handloom weaving, and 

 during the hours of work the peculiar clank of the loom and 

 rattle of the shuttle might be heard all along the village streets. 

 But in the course of time great changes have come to pass. 

 The thatch-roofed cottages have nearly all disappeared ; the 

 older houses have been reconstructed and " improved " almost 

 past recognition ; and streets and rows of new buildings have 

 encroached on pleasant fields and green pastures. The 

 rhythmic clank of the loom is no longer heard in the streets, 

 while other and often less pleasing sounds have supplied the 

 deficiency with too generous a measure. But although 

 greatly changed in appearance, the streets are still steep 

 and narrow, and the little town has not wholly lost the 

 picturesque aspect for which it was once remarkable. 



The first feature which attracts the notice of a visitor 

 to West Kilbride is probably the unusually varied character 

 of its scenery. From almost every part of the parish a 

 beautiful view of Arran and the other Clyde isles can be 

 obtained. Looking inland from the shore, hills and knolls 

 are seen raising their heads on every side, and each summit 

 commands a seaward view of remarkable scope and beauty. 

 The slopes are diversified with fertile fields and leafy wood- 

 lands. On the higher ground lie extensive stretches of moor, 

 marsh, and heather-covered hills. There is neither loch nor 

 river; but several minor streams descend from the hills, 

 passing in their course through wooded glens where ferns, 

 mosses, hepatics, and microfungi grow abundantly in the genial 

 shade. Among the flowering- plants which occur in the 

 inland portion of the parish are the awl-shaped pearlwort 

 {Sagina suhidata), wall pennywort {Cotyledon Umbilicus), hairy 

 stonecrop {Sedum villosum), grass of Parnassus (Farnassia 



