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Lake fishing in the higher parts of the Doon is 

 very good. Loch Doon itself is a sheet of water six 

 miles long, and about a mile in breadth. There are 

 no less than twenty-six distinct lochs in or near to the 

 parish of Staiton ; in all of which there are more or 

 less trout, pike, perch, &c. In some of these lochs, 

 such as Braden, Dercleugh, and Finlas, boats are 

 kept for the accommodation of anglers. 



This locality is interesting on account of its 

 having been a celebrated spot for the shelter of the 

 Presbyterians in former days ; many of whom met 

 here with cruel and savage deaths. There is a place 

 called Ayr's Moss, where between sixty and seventy 

 of them located themselves, determined upon resist- 

 ance or death. They were attacked by a number of 

 dragoons, and many of them killed on the spot. The 

 scene of this bloody affair is marked by a flat monu- 

 ment, called Cameron's Stone. 



The river Ayr has a larger range than the Doon, 

 being nearly thirty miles in extent. It springs out 

 of the hilly grounds about the neighbourhood of 

 Muirkirk. It is a fair fishing stream, but does not 

 stand so high in general estimation as the Doon. 

 There are a few salmon and yellow trout in it. In 

 the higher localities of the Ayr, we fall in with its 

 two small feeders, the Grarpel and the Greenock, 

 which have a considerable quantity of small trout ; 

 but these waters are scarcely entitled to the notice 

 of the tourist, when other superior streams are so 

 near and abundant. The Lugar and the Coyle like- 

 wise join the Ayr lower down towards the west. 



