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Prestwick, the village for which Glasgow's airport is named, is the oldest Royal Borough in Scotland, and the only town on the Ayrshire coast without a harbour. It was at the Prestwick Golf Club, in 1860, that the first Open Championship was played. The Open, referred to as the British Open outside the UK, was played on the Old Prestwick Course until 1870, when the club agreed to share responsibility with Edinburgh and St. Andrew's clubs. In 1924 the Open's crowd of spectators outgrew Prestwick's limited capacity and the tournament ceased to be played there, although the club does host other events.
There are two other courses in the immediate vicinity, making Prestwick a natural for a golfing holiday. Prestwick St. Cuthbert's is famous for its doglegs and for the contours of its greens, which cause balls to do totally unexpected things when approaching the cup. Prestwick St. Nicholas's lies between the railway line and the Firth and has a flooded quarry between its seventh and eight holes. This and other hazards as well as the frequent necessity for Out of Bounds rules and the brisk wind from the Firth make St. Nicholas's quite a challenging course.
Activities and attractions
Prestwick is not all golf and aircraft, though. The Prestwick Sailing Club has an active educational program and a full racing calendar, including dinghy races in which beginners are encouraged to participate. North from the sailing club a wide sandy beach extends to the Pow Burn and beyond. A kilometre and a half of of the beach abut an esplanade with two outdoor playparks for children as well as an indoor playground.
Early Prestwick was a market town as early as the twelfth and its mercat cross now stands at a crossroads in the centre of Prestwick. The shaft of the cross carries a legend stating that it was rebuilt in 1777, but the supporting steps are far older. The first recorded mention of the cross dates from 1473. It was moved to its present site in 1963 from its former position in Kirk Street.
Locals tell the story of King Robert I of Scots, the Robert the Bruce of popular legend, who came to Kincase where St. Ninian's Episcopal Church now stands. Exhausted from combat and a disease believed to be leprosy, the king stuck his spear in the ground and fell asleep. When he woke a spring was flowing freely up around the spear's blade, and his disease was gone. Bruce's Well, now lined with stone, is still visible in the church's grounds. King Robert established a lazar house here to care for eight lepers. The first church on the site, called St. Martin's, was built in 1915 for the use of soldiers stationed in the area but attracted an additional congregation of local residents. When the soldiers left, the church continued to operate. A stone church called St. Ninian's was constructed in 1924, and a graveyard holding some of the bodies of those residents was found at that time. The congregation outgrew it once again toward the end of the twentieth century and a new church was built in 1999.
When the railway reached Prestwick in 1840 there was a spurt of construction as middle-class Glaswegians built seaside homes. The famous airport here was built in 1936 as a flying school. It assumed great importance in World War II after an American plane missed Ireland and landed there, and gave good service due to its particularly good weather. Eventually Prestwick developed into a major air hub. The major carriers have all moved to Glasgow Abbotsinch now, but Prestwick still serves a goodly number of budget carriers.
Access and Places to Stay
The A79 runs directly through the town, making road access easy if somewhat congested. Prestwick Town has rail connections to Glasgow Central and from there to almost anywhere in Britain and beyond. There are also trains directly into Prestwick Airport for those seeking air connection. Motor coaches connect Prestwick Town with Glasgow and Edinburgh and local buses serve the towns hinterlands.
Lodging in Prestwick ranges from luxury hotels all the way down to guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments.
There are a great many fine restaurants here, mostly serving local seafood, and many pubs to cater to visitors' entertainment needs.
Accommodation in Prestwick
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