Editing South Ayrshire (section)

===Towns===
Ayr is the administrative centre of the [[South Ayrshire Council]], and the historic [[Shires of Scotland|county town]] of [[Ayrshire]]. With a population of 47,982, Ayr is the [[List of towns and cities in Scotland by population|14th largest settlement in Scotland]] and largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of [[Prestwick]] to the north. Ayr submitted unsuccessful bids for [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 2000<ref>{{cite web |title=Inverness awarded city status |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1076125.stm |website=BBC |access-date=1 April 2024 |date=18 December 2000}}</ref> and 2002,<ref>{{cite web |title=Five new cities creates row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1872577.stm |website=BBC |access-date=1 April 2024 |date=14 March 2002}}</ref> and as part of the wider South Ayrshire area in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Council Approve South Ayrshire City Status Bid |url=https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/article/35850/Council-Approve-South-Ayrshire-City-Status-Bid |website=South Ayrshire Council |access-date=1 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Ayr was established as a Royal Burgh in 1205 and is the county town of Ayrshire. It served as Ayrshire's central marketplace and harbour throughout the [[medieval period]]<ref name=Defoe>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Defoe/37#pn_53 |title=Letter Xii: Containing a Description of the South-western Part of Scotland; Including the City of Glasgow |access-date=2016-02-17 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309224218/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Defoe/37 |archive-date=9 March 2016 |df=dmy }}</ref> and was a port during the [[early modern period]].<ref name=Defoe/>

Troon is the second largest town in South Ayrshire and is about {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=off|spell=on}} north of [[Ayr]] and {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} northwest of [[Glasgow Prestwick Airport]]. Troon has a port with ferry and freight services, and a yacht [[marina]] and since March 2024, [[Caledonian MacBrayne]] have operated a ferry service to [[Brodick]] on the [[Isle of Arran]]. In the 2001 census the population of Troon, not including the nearby village of [[Loans, South Ayrshire|Loans]] but including the Barassie area, was estimated at 14,766, a 4.77% increase on the 1991 estimate of 14,094.<ref>General Register Office for Scotland</ref> The population in 2024 is just over 15,000

South Ayrshire's five towns are as follows: 
*[[Ayr]]
*[[Girvan]]
*[[Prestwick]]
*[[Troon]]
*[[Maybole]]