Rankinston village is situated on the B730, approximately 12 miles south east of the town of Ayr

Ayr

Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...

. Rankinston commands a panoramic view of over 20 miles north looking over the towns of Ayr, Prestwick

Prestwick

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...

 and Troon

Troon

Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...

.

During the reign of Robert the Bruce, tradesmen, merchants and farmers were encouraged from the continent to settle in Scotland in an attempt to improve the country. A Flemish family by the name of Rankin acquired the lands of Mill o'Shiel and it is thought that this is where Rankinston gets its name.

The village was built to allow the coal miners that worked in the local pits to have housing close to their work. At first these were miners' rows built by the pit owners, very basic dwellings consisting of one room and outside toilet, sometimes up to 11 members of the same family would live in this one room. During the 1920s the local council built housing of much higher standard.

Over the years the village has gone from a farming hamlet in the 1700 to a bustling mining village with over 800 inhabitants in 1900 to a rural outpost of just 260 inhabitants to date. The recent decine in population was due to the closure of Littlemill pit in 1974.

The village had a shop,but is now served by a mobile post office also a weekly doctors clinic and Community Centre that is run by East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

 Council, but managed by the local members of the village. There is also a regular bus link to Ayr and Cumnock

Cumnock

Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water...

.

It is well known for having one road which serves as access and escape route.