The River Ayr longest river in what was the old county of Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, is approximately 65 kilometres in length. It originates at Glenbuck Loch in 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...

 on the border of Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

 and winds its way through East and South

South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

 Ayrshire to 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...

, where it empties into the Firth of Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. On its way, the river passes through the villages of Muirkirk

Muirkirk

Muirkirk is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70...

, Sorn

Sorn

Sorn is a small village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated on the River Ayr. It has a population of roughly 350. Local services include: a pub, a church, a general store, a motorbike shop and a television shop. There is also a village hall and a bowling green and primary school...

, Catrine

Catrine

Catrine is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which was formerly a centre of cotton manufacture.-Geography:The village lies on the River Ayr which previously provided water power for local industry. It is in the parish of Sorn, 2 miles south east of Mauchline.-Transport:The A76 road lies south...

, Failford

Failford

Failford is a hamlet in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located west of Mauchline, where the Water of Fail flows into the River Ayr. The nearby Ayr Gorge Woodlands nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, notable for its ancient woodland of oak, ash and beech...

, Stair and Annbank

Annbank

Annbank is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is around 5 miles east of Ayr. Originally a mining settlement, it once had a rail link to Ayr....

, as well as passing the location of (the now ruined) Ayr Castle

Ayr Castle

Ayr Castle was a castle situated near the River Ayr at Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Once considered a royal castle nothing remains of the castle above ground.-History:...

. The river has a catchment area

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of 574 square kilometres (221.6 sq mi).

Principal tributaries include the Greenock Water

Greenock Water

Greenock Water is a river in East Ayrshire, Scotland.It flows out of the Dippal Burn, about 2 miles south of Dungavel Hill. A tributary of the River Ayr, it joins it about 4 miles west of the small town of Muirkirk....

, Lugar Water

Lugar Water

The Lugar Water, or River Lugar, is created by the confluence of Bello Water and Guelt Water, both of which flow from the hills of the Southern Uplands in East Ayrshire, Scotland....

, Water of Fail

Water of Fail

The Water of Fail, or River Fail, is a fast-flowing river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It rises in the hills north of Tarbolton, flowing generally south through Tarbolton Loch into Montgomery Woods where it joins the larger River Ayr at Failford, which carries its water down into the sea. The River...

 and Water of Coyle. Major land uses within the catchment area are agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

, mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, leisure and recreation and urban development, the largest settlements being 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...

, Cumnock

Cumnock

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

, Catrine

Catrine

Catrine is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which was formerly a centre of cotton manufacture.-Geography:The village lies on the River Ayr which previously provided water power for local industry. It is in the parish of Sorn, 2 miles south east of Mauchline.-Transport:The A76 road lies south...

, Ochiltree

Ochiltree

Ochiltree, spelt Uchletree in the Middle Ages, is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers....

, Muirkirk

Muirkirk

Muirkirk is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70...

 and Sorn

Sorn

Sorn is a small village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated on the River Ayr. It has a population of roughly 350. Local services include: a pub, a church, a general store, a motorbike shop and a television shop. There is also a village hall and a bowling green and primary school...

.http://www.ayrshireriverstrust.org/river-ayr.htm