Saltcoats

Saltcoats
Scottish Gaelic: Baile an t-Salainn.
Scots: Salkits
Saltcoats  Saltcoats shown within North Ayrshire
Population	11,260 [1] (2001 census) est. 11,730[2] (2006)
OS grid reference	NS245415
– Edinburgh	77.6 mi
– London	430.8 mi
Council area	North Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SALTCOATS
Postcode district	KA21
Dialling code	01294
Police	Scottish
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	North Ayrshire and Arran
Scottish Parliament	Cunninghame North
List of places UK Scotland

Coordinates: 55°38′07″N 4°47′23″W / 55.6352°N 04.7896°W

For other places with the same name see Saltcoats (disambiguation).

Saltcoats (Scottish Gaelic: Baile an t-Salainn) is a small town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water, carried out in small cottages along the shore. It is part of the "Greater Ardrossan" or "Three Towns" conurbation along with Ardrossan and Stevenston.

Transport

The harbour was designed by James Jardine in 1811.^[3]

Saltcoats is served by regular bus and train services. Primary bus services are provided by Stagecoach West Scotland, while rail services are operated by SPT.

Although Saltcoats currently only has a single railway station, the town was once served by a second railway station to the north of the town, originally as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway. This station closed to regular services on 4 July 1932,^[4] and there is no trace of the station today bar a nearby bridge.

Government and politics

Saltcoats is in the Ayrshire North & Arran constituency in the House of Commons and Cunninghame North constituency in the Scottish Parliament. Both seats are held by the Scottish National Party.

Historically, Ardrossan has been part of the UK parliament constituencies North Ayrshire (1868–1918), Bute and Northern Ayrshire (1918–1983) and Cunninghame North (1983–2005). These constituencies traditionally returned Conservative or Unionist MP's until 1987, when the constituency was won by the Labour Party.

Notable residents

• Alexander Allan, founder of the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
• Andrew Allan of the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
• Sir Hugh Allan, of the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers
• Kenneth Campbell, recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Steve Clarke, professional footballer
• Janice Galloway, author
• Colin Hay, musician, singer-songwriter^[5]
• Bobby Lennox, professional footballer
• Hugh McMahon, professional footballer
• George Biagi, Italian national rugby player
• Graeme Obree, cyclist
• George Munro, playwright^[6]
• Hugh Munro, author^[7]

References

1. "Comparative Population Profile: Saltcoats Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
3. "James Jardine: Overview of James Jardine". Scottish-places.info. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
4. Stansfield, page 7
5. "The Story Behind Colin Hay's "Maggie"". Milwaukee Public Radio Interview. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
6. "George Munro". Doollee.com. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
7. Steve (2010-10-04). "Bear Alley: Hugh Munro". Bearalley.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2016-05-01.

External links

• the3towns.com
• Threetowners
• SaltcoatsCommunityAction
• Irvine Bay
• http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S3/committees/stanproc/reports-08/stprr08-03.htm