386 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



short distance to the north, and joins the Ayr about half-way 

 between Muirkirk and Sorn. The romance of this dreary 

 district lies in the many memories of the Covenanters who 

 were hunted so mercilessly because of their staunch religious 

 convictions. It would be as impossible to find men of this 

 particular type here now as it would be, thank God, to find the 

 type of the bloody moss-trooper. None the less Scotsmen 

 may well honour the memory of the Covenanters, if only for 

 their loyal bravery. In these shallow glens have now sprung 

 up the tall chimneys of many coalpits, the glare of ironworks, 

 and in places the smoke of the time-kiln. A short distance 

 below Sorn, at the village of Catrine, are large spinning and 

 dyeing works. These do not exist without their influence 

 upon the river, but of this later. 



At Muirkirk, about 31 miles from the mouth, the river is 

 about 700 feet above the sea, the gradient is very gradual, and 

 therefore the general character of the river is easy flowing, with 

 grassy banks, and through many beautiful woods in its lower 

 reaches. There is, however, a good deal of rock in the river 

 bed, and often excellent gravel, although through the ease of 

 the current, the lightness of the soil, and no doubt the con- 

 venient pipes of the various works in the head waters, the 

 bottom rather easily becomes foul, and floods are very dirty. 

 Under ordinary conditions, however, the Ayr is a beautiful 

 and most attractive river for many miles from the sea. 



The actual mouth is confined between the piers of the town 

 of Ayr, and, as is so apt to be the case in such circumstances, 

 the water is very impure, although a certain amount of the 

 town's sewage goes into the sea rather than the river. The 

 purifying influence of the tide is felt, moreover, in that part 

 of the river which passes through the town. 



Spanning this section is the venerable Auld Brig of Ayr. 

 This quaint and beautiful old structure, with its four lofty 

 arches, is now substantially fortified against the attacks of the 

 river and of Time. The New Bridge a thing of yesterday in 

 the eye of the old structure only 150 yards away was built in 

 1785-88 by the energy of the Provost Ballantyne to whom 

 Burns dedicated his famous poem, " The Brigs of Ayr." More 

 than ever now the Auld Brig, with its new lease of life, may 

 shout to the New : 



