I worked and lived in Ayr 40 years ago. Thriving then before holidays abroad became the thing, Butlins suffered, visitors numbers dropped, I went back for a weeks break every year till before C*vid. Seen the decline as it happened. Tesco in town centre moved out, the indoor market closed, the NEW shopping centre behind the main street decimated high street traffic and shops, the local Council lost the plot and allowed the high street and general facilities to fail. Last year I went back the old high street was awash with closed shops, closed down centres, uncared for buildings and sadly beggers and people high as a kite everywhere. This town is saveable, this town has some great businesses, pubs off the beaten track and a brilliant base for travelling the west coast. It needs the Scottish Government and Local Council to get off its a$$ and find industry and business to come to the town and regenerate the area. Ayr helped me start off my professional and married life, I have a soft spot for it. I wish it well.
Ayr is really not as bas as people make out, it has suffered like most towns, but still has a lot to offer and still gets a lot of shoppers on the weekends. Also, there are some cracking bars and restaurants, the cinema you saw was recently bought by Merlin Cinemas and was saved from closure, they are slowly renovating it. I used to visit Ayr in the 90's/2000's and it was very different, online shopping has had a huge effect (like most high streets). I can say with 100% certainty that it is definitely NOT the most depressing seaside town in Scotland lol, there is a LOT worse.
Such a shame to see Ayr in such a state. 20-30 years ago it was a vibrant bustling town with a very busy high street and busy malls. Suppose the same is happening across the UK
I fear we will resemble old crumbling Russia in the not-too-distant future. It'll not be long before the roads and pavements will be left to crumble as well. The government is our friend eh..
Ayr's decline started when the fish market was relocated to Troon about 25 year ago. Before that Ayr was a very busy place especially during the summer. The harbour was a magnet for folk visiting the town. As with most other towns, out of town retail parks and online shopping has further exacerbated the decline
The closed down shopping arcade at the start was emptied to make way for a new swimming pool, which was canned. The Kyle Centre got planning to convert into a cinema complex which never happened. The Astoria cinema used to be the Odeon which closed and was recently bought by Merlin cinemas who have spent a fair bit of money renovating the building. The building near the end you thought was a theatre used to be the Orient cinema, then briefly a nightclub but has been empty for years. The harbour used to be a very busy fishing port but no longer. Ayr does have some redeeming features but it has seen better days. Still proud to call it my home for 55 years though
It so sad to see this. The property owners should be held accountable for the upkeep of their empty buildings. The local council need looking into as-well.
Don't blame anybody else but the ayr council they are a shower of corrupt unless bunch of morons I've lived in and around ayr all my life its a SHITHOLE and it's all down to the absolute muppets in charge
Ayr's a great wee town. The buildings don't make a place, the people do. Times are tough if you haven't realised. If you judge a book by it's cover, buy a mirror and have a word with yourself. You could of promoted the good things but that wouldn't suit your agenda.
@Andrew17877 I'm interested.....do either of you stay in ayr ..... I do, and ayr is a corpse it dead and buried and the biggest majority of the people in it are scum there are some good people left there, but not many
@@jeancampbell5752Perhaps he should visit Blackpool, Skegness or Great Yarmouth. I’ve not been to Ayr, but it will be like many towns whose High Street has lost business due to online shopping, suffered because of the cost of living crisis or covid. I’ve seen worse in England. Indeed, many English seaside towns are full of slot machines, which few (or no) Scottish seaside towns are blighted with.
Ayr was once the most amazing seaside towns. People all over Scotland used to come to Ayr. Sadly council non funding and Covid put paid to that … such a shame.
Outwith the natural beauty and the stunning urban pulchritude of Edinburgh and the rather handsome Victorian Glasgow, Scotland can be mighty grim. You go to France, Spain or Italy, for example, and their equivalent of a medium-sized town like Ayr is invariably a gorgeous architectural ensemble centred around a beautiful square. Alas, not so much in Scotland.
Scotland has loads of beautiful beaches, villages, islands, history, countryside etc. Of course if all you want to do is focus on the negative then that's what you'll find. Plenty of that everywhere
I live in Ayr i find it funny the Cinema was being refurbished as it use to be our main derelict landmark from the 90's, best thing that happened here recently was the massive arson at our train station that made international news it was so huge 12 stories high, they're now forced to completly renew it as it was actually becoming dangerous for passing drivers on the unstable adjacent bridge, and the bridge was another thing they are being forced to renew soon due to the teenagers arson attack
Ayr town centre used to be amazing it had woolworths plus arran mall . It was amazing. We used to take our children and spend hours looking through the shops . It's just sad now 😔
Nice city, despite the neglect. I find these videos of yours exploring these cities quite fascinating: short, to the point, near the places people live.
Like most Scottish provincial towns auld Ayr is sadly in decline due to lack of investment etc; "Auld Ayr, wham ne"er a toun surpasses for honest men and bonnie lassies."
Thanks for another well-researched document of our run down landscape. Must’ve taken you minutes to walk down the high street saying ‘look at that’ to every second building. There’s so much more you could’ve added to make it interesting.
Jeez! The place has gone to rack and ruin! I used to go to Ayr when I was a kid back in the 1970's, we'd take the bus or train from Kilwinning and go to Ayr for a bit. I have been recently albeit for the airshow. Drove through it from Calderwood in West Lothian where I live now, I didn't see too much as I was on the way to Greenan castle car park, but this has shocked me. Sad to see. I have seen what they've done to my old hometown of Kilwinning, it's nothing short of vandalism.
I can see why you think Ayr is depressing, & I would agree with you, for at present, it looks depressing. It has been described as being in crisis. However I was born in Ayr, & having lived away from the town for about 16 years, I am glad that i now live here again. You will have to return when the weather is better; when it is warm & sunny & under blue skies I think Ayr is the perfect place to be. But then again, I do know where the more beautiful parts of Ayr are. At least you were on your way to Edinburgh, so I hope you enjoyed your time in our beautiful capital city with all the things there are to do there whether it's sunny or raining.
He's an English man Trying to destroy Scottish towns. When most of the towns in England east coast are very run down I'm not from. Ayr but there are worst places than. Ayr. Lots of seaside resorts in the UK went into to decline in the 70s when people found it more beneficial financially to go to foreign lands. And enjoy the weather Guys like him don't do these towns any favours...
If you’re looking for the answer to almost the whole of the uk in the disgraceful state we are in re towns and cities, it’s DECADES OF NEGLECT FROM TORY AND LABOUR GOVTS too busy pocketing backhanders from billionaires who just care about their tax situation and who orchestrate our world now. The SNP have tried to mitigate where they have some powers, not capping the two child benefit policy, one example, keeping THOUSANDS OF KIDS OUT OF POVERTY, yet Starmer is trying to cap it as he only cares about funding foreign wars.
Yeah that's a really balanced critique of the SNP and Labour. Weirdly despite their stellar successes🙄 the Scottish people booted them out at the last election.
I'm from Ayr. Would have loved to have bumped into you i watch all your videos.Disappointed you never went into any pubs but there you go. It's been going downhill for years. Keep up the good work 👍
It's a shame to see Ayr like that i had relatives there in the 1980's and it was a lovely place then , i think the boarded up shops are the main problem , i need a drink after that 😂
I loved ayr in the 80s me and my family loved butlins in ayr we would go into the town for shopping it used to be a lovely quaint wee town shame it's been left to rot! 😢
Ayr was near enough to me when growing up to know it reasonably well. I left Scotland 40 plus years ago and haven’t been back to Ayr since. It used to be a busy vibrant town , such a shame to see it the way it is now there were some good pubs in the town the Tam O’Shanter being one it would have been nice to see the inside.
@@honestplaces The Station Hotel was a huge sandstone building across from the Astoria, which lay empty for years until two arsonists set it on fire last September. Demolition works to clear the site only finished recently.
Hi mate good video every where now in UK is run down when COVID turned up change everything and congratulations on nearly 50,000 subscribers totally fully deserved mate
Leith isn’t really rough mate, the Kirkgate and near the banana flats has a few characters and neds, but you would need Wester Hailes to see rough in Edinburgh
Although I am getting on a bit I am a fairly new visitor to Scotland. Your video wouldn't put me off from visiting, even though it does have a dressing feel to it. Have to say however compared to the depressing area where I live in England it doesn't look too bad. The streets are at least clean. Thanks for making this video.
Wow, not been to Ayr in about a decade but used to go regularly by train from Troon in late 70s and early 80s as a kid. Odeon and Orient cinemas during the day at the weekend, woolworths, bhs, burtons and beatties for model toys. Last building you showed in decline was the Orient cinema originally, saw Snow white and the 7 dwarfs as a little lad. I can't believe the decline but was good to see the old place, it's a shame what's happened.
lived there few years in my teens,my late old mans home town,used to be quite vibrant,gone to shit,they all go a mile down road to prestwick for a night out now,used to be vice versa,the cinema is at the top of the town,which used to be packed at the weekend,loads of pubs/clubs,mostly gone,the big building near the end was also a cinema,then dance club for years called babylon,still go up occasionally to visit relatives,mostly still there,but dont hang around long
@@honestplaces glaswegians used to pile down to ayr on the glasgow fair weekend.the building that looks like a witches castle down beach,used to be the pavillion,100s of famous rock bands played there over the years.then it became a dance club,but was closed after few years,when a kid died from a dodgy ectasy tablet,now a childrens play area,there are affluent areas of ayr too,alloway is full of rich people,but the actual town is a shadow of its former self,the arson capitol of the uk,the bored kids just set fire to everything,the old hotel at the train station was burned down only a few years back
further down the coast is a town called Girvan, that is just as bad, except, and this a a huge except, it has the best fish and chips i’ve found in scotland, Graziano’s.
@@honestplaces i said that i’d found. that’s an important qualifier. but i have been to a lot, including the fancy one on the other coast and the wee hurry in troon etc, and they pale next to Graziano’s.
At the timestamp of 5.26 the building was last called "Babylon" , nightclub, friends of mine visited it just a couple of years before it closed and actually witnessed internal masonry falling, the fall of babylon started a long time before the wholesale decay set in i assure you !
I used to go to Saltcoats regularly in the 1970's. I remember my mum taking me to the Regal cinema and across from there was La Scala. I remember the pet shop and loved going to look at it, Mason's furnishings and Harris of Saltcoats for hi-fi etc. I loved the Light Bite cafe within the city bakeries shop. It was a good wee place and very different to my hometown of Kilwinning. Moved to Edinburgh in 1980. Now live near Livingston, because Edinburgh is a shitshow.
The Scottish law in drink and drive The limit in Scotland is tougher than the rest of the UK: Breath alcohol is 22mcg per 100ml of breath. Blood alcohol limit is 50mg per 100ml blood. 67mg in 100ml of urine. The rest of the UK is The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
I've worked In Ayr several times over the last couple of years and I had a great time. Two great Indians and a lot of very good Hotel bars. The best night was Saturday and Karaoke in the Central bar. Great down to Earth people who made me and my pals very welcome. Maybe It was because we were Geordies but I can't speak highly enough of the Town and the people I met.
I thought the name of the channel was named after Ayr when I first became aware of it. Ayr used to he a great night out and it seemed like overnight it went right down the pan. There's actually also a very affluent side to Ayr too but the actual centre seems to be a huge problem.
This is the damage an SNP government can do, Islamists and lgbtq come before everything else, and it is not just towns, Glasgow city centre resembles downtown Lagos.
It's not that I don't agree with your assessment of the snp but the council in ayr has been predominantly labour over the years bud so it's not all snp at fault although they certainly haven't helped
@@starofdavid9919 It’s not worth worrying about. All politicians and all governments are in it for themselves. They all love the gravy train. There’s nothing you or I can do to change that.
I do enjoy your videos, mate. Ayr used to be quite a pretty and happening town back in the day. If you want to see grim, check out Irvine, which is just down the road from Ayr. It was always rough, but it was actually all right for a night out. Not anymore, sadly.
Did you put a tenner on Dusty Carpet in the 3.40 over 8 furlongs? The town looks pretty and grim at the same time. If you visit Arbroath it has a great coastal hike to the east. I got caught twice in Scotland attempting to buy alcohol before 10am. Not allowed.
A used to go there every weekend with my gran that was 30 years ago I was back there today on the out skirts at the farm park with the kids the town is well changed from back in the hay day but the farm park is still worth a visit if u have the kids with you great video thanks for sharing
Thats a draconian law they`ve passed up there not being able to drive to a pub or restaurant & have & pint or a glass of wine! Our politicians are always looking for ways to keep the population under-the-thumb & help keep everyone miserable, in this regard they do a good job & yet don`t seen to have the inclination or the ability to do whats expected of them & actually make a difference & improve peoples lives. I`m sorry to see Ayr`s neglect, I remember it being quite the place in the 60`s.
@@stevemcgowen I dare say that consideration is valid, but there are so many other ways to try & negate excess drinking & driving. Of course this costs money, extra police stops, road blocks, advert campaigns etc, my point being that if you put a blanket ban on peoples enjoyment & leisure it`s an easy option that the majority suffer at the expence of a few & that law-makers get some twisted enjoyment in implementing rather than seeking the sensible. Fortunately this isn`t a thing in England but when you hear things like a driveway tax being considered due to pollution of rainwater being washed from the surface then you have to expect anything from these lunatics.
@@edwardwilcox6606 At some point people know better than to drink drive? Here in the Czech Republic there is no tolerance. People know if they have 1 drink and drive they can lose their license for 30 days and have a fine. It gets worse for subsequent offenses and eventually becomes a criminal offense. In a county which drinks twice the amount of beer per capita, the Czech Republic has half the % of fatalities caused by dink driving than the Uk. I know if I have some beers today It's best not to drive the next day to ensure all the alcohol is out of my system. That being said I can take a train anywhere in the country easily and cheaply.
Scotland's most depressing seaside town....behave yourself. Plenty of good places to eat and drink and you didn't highlight any of them. Happy to list them for you. Oh, the building you weren't sure what it was on the main street used to be a cinema, then a bingo hall, then a nightclub. Like every town in the UK the high street's are rubbish and that's due to retail parks, internet shopping and the councils letting them fall to ruin. Best of luck in Leith when you visit Edinburgh and it's not rough btw but there are other parts of the city that are. Looking forward to hearing you say something positive!
Yeah everyone keeps saying the seaside towns are dying. I went to Troon last year in the summer, first time since i was a little boy and there is nothing in it.
Remember going for a day out at Ayr in the 70s with a bunch of girls from Cranhill in Glasgow we were from Paisley we all met originally at Shuffles dance hall in Glasgow , anyway back to Ayr we all had a great day finished the night at The Caledonian hotel at the dancing , great memories
Should’ve just got a coke instead of a pint that way you could’ve got some footage inside the boozers😅good video though mate. Always been fascinated by hidden UK towns. You gotta have a look round Tilbury it’s worse than jaywick but the dock and fort is nice and has a decent pub nearby called The Worlds End
Ayr used to be a busy bustling town , great nightlife . Lovely beach, now its an absolute dive. endless empty buildings , full of junkies. Grim just grim
Ayr and Prestwick were my second home from 2004 to 2009 and after i came back once. I love Ayr very much. It has beach i walked there everytime i was there. Spent my whole Christmas and winning a raffle at the pub. I also people i met. They were wonderful! One day i really want to go back to Ayr one day! By the way i am korean now i am living Mexico city! Wherever i ilve. Scotland is always in my heart ❤❤❤
The Ayrshire coastline is unforgiving, I’ve seen some enormous waves 🌊 from Ardrossan. The sea water will mix with the gales and damage paintwork. However, I still maintain that with the views of Arran, it’s a beautiful place.
Used to go weekend trips to ayr with my friends back in the 1990s--2000 used to be a thriving clubbing/pubbing area had many fun times there now its just a big shithole. thanks to councils and government running it into the ground.
@@honestplaces put it this way I never came home once without being as high as the empire state building and at least getting a chance at dancing with about 20 different women in one night with all the mates in the same state as me we mostly just slept overnight at the beach or wandered around all night until sober but we didn't cause any bother and it was just a great time. Nowadays I would be scared to walk anywhere in any British town with all the dilapidation and knife violence increasingly getting worse.
You need to go to Greenock near Glasgow mate lots of pubs lots of character. It had the worst death rate during covid in Scotland It's very deprived with a lot of problems. The pubs are a lot of fun so I'd give it a go It's 30 mins on the train from Glasgow.
To answer your question about public transport between Ayr and Glasgow, the X77 runs every 30 minutes from 07:15 AM to 11:05PM and takes around an hour and 5 minutes
i am from the borders , i left Scotland decades ago people used to go on holiday here and the borders where I from , just tragic really miss management by government? , job opportunities ,? the drugs epidemic in the 80,s i genuinely don't know ? I watched your Dumfries video a ghost town at one point in these Scottish towns you genuinely could not get in through the door from a Thursday to Sunday night in any pub all packed , I have watched you Stoke n similar videos people from those various regions on about how it was packed out , a great night out I get the gist o your filming is to show dead town , basically shit holes to be honest but at one time they were vibrant and had joy , I would love to know how they just became so desperate
Notice a distinct lack of trash and garbage about the place.the abandoned neglected buildings are normal in any uk town or city.looks a pretty decent place by uk standards to me.
On the positive side, at the least the high street didn't appear to be blasted by the usual stream of bookies, targeting those most vulnerable. Plus WWE's Drew McIntyre was born there!
Ayr was a fantastic town....i left Prestwick 8 years ago and even since then its gone downhill so quickley...yes online shopping destroyed the town like so many others....but government lockdowns finished it all off
I worked and lived in Ayr 40 years ago. Thriving then before holidays abroad became the thing, Butlins suffered, visitors numbers dropped, I went back for a weeks break every year till before C*vid. Seen the decline as it happened. Tesco in town centre moved out, the indoor market closed, the NEW shopping centre behind the main street decimated high street traffic and shops, the local Council lost the plot and allowed the high street and general facilities to fail. Last year I went back the old high street was awash with closed shops, closed down centres, uncared for buildings and sadly
beggers and people high as a kite everywhere. This town is saveable, this town has some great businesses, pubs off the beaten track and a brilliant base for travelling the west coast. It needs the Scottish Government and Local Council to get off its a$$ and find industry and business to come to the town and regenerate the area. Ayr helped me start off my professional and married life, I have a soft spot for it. I wish it well.
Ayr is really not as bas as people make out, it has suffered like most towns, but still has a lot to offer and still gets a lot of shoppers on the weekends.
Also, there are some cracking bars and restaurants, the cinema you saw was recently bought by Merlin Cinemas and was saved from closure, they are slowly renovating it.
I used to visit Ayr in the 90's/2000's and it was very different, online shopping has had a huge effect (like most high streets).
I can say with 100% certainty that it is definitely NOT the most depressing seaside town in Scotland lol, there is a LOT worse.
Absolutely true. What do you think of Ardrossan it's msin street looks depressing. Ayr has a great beach still some decent shops.
Such a shame to see Ayr in such a state. 20-30 years ago it was a vibrant bustling town with a very busy high street and busy malls. Suppose the same is happening across the UK
Every town nowa days pal
@@honestplaces I live in Batley now, all around here, dewsbury, Bradford, hudds, Wakey all the same now.
Same thing happening here in the states as well. Very sad
I fear we will resemble old crumbling Russia in the not-too-distant future. It'll not be long before the roads and pavements will be left to crumble as well. The government is our friend eh..
Tories and labour governments ,
People will never learn .
Ayr's decline started when the fish market was relocated to Troon about 25 year ago. Before that Ayr was a very busy place especially during the summer. The harbour was a magnet for folk visiting the town. As with most other towns, out of town retail parks and online shopping has further exacerbated the decline
And the cattle market.
Online shopping killed ayr. For real poverty you should check out the old mining villages up the valley.
Every single "seaside" town in the UK has suffered due to online shopping, cheap foreign holidays etc.....
Like town centres all over Britain...
The decline is managed and deliberate ..its so depressing
I don't disagree, but what's their aims?
@@HoldFast-r7gbroken souls mabye become more manageable
when we kids in the 70s and 80s it was a treat to go to Ayr. It was quite an affluent town. The centre now is shameful.
Everyone keeps saying that 😬
The closed down shopping arcade at the start was emptied to make way for a new swimming pool, which was canned. The Kyle Centre got planning to convert into a cinema complex which never happened. The Astoria cinema used to be the Odeon which closed and was recently bought by Merlin cinemas who have spent a fair bit of money renovating the building. The building near the end you thought was a theatre used to be the Orient cinema, then briefly a nightclub but has been empty for years. The harbour used to be a very busy fishing port but no longer. Ayr does have some redeeming features but it has seen better days. Still proud to call it my home for 55 years though
Cheers for the info pal 👍
Can't beat the sunsets on Ayr beach either Colin. They're fantastic!
@@colinwatt3958 redeeming features being there's quite a few different ways out of it
It so sad to see this. The property owners should be held accountable for the upkeep of their empty buildings. The local council need looking into as-well.
Yeh those buildings are a joke!
They are holding out someone will buy them. I doubt they have the money to fix them.
Don't blame anybody else but the ayr council they are a shower of corrupt unless bunch of morons I've lived in and around ayr all my life its a SHITHOLE and it's all down to the absolute muppets in charge
Ayr's a great wee town. The buildings don't make a place, the people do. Times are tough if you haven't realised. If you judge a book by it's cover, buy a mirror and have a word with yourself. You could of promoted the good things but that wouldn't suit your agenda.
If i just looked at the good parts thrn someone would say "you are being biased by not showing the bad sides too"
Well said.Friendly place.
@Andrew17877 I'm interested.....do either of you stay in ayr ..... I do, and ayr is a corpse it dead and buried and the biggest majority of the people in it are scum there are some good people left there, but not many
There's alot worse in England
@@jeancampbell5752Perhaps he should visit Blackpool, Skegness or Great Yarmouth. I’ve not been to Ayr, but it will be like many towns whose High Street has lost business due to online shopping, suffered because of the cost of living crisis or covid. I’ve seen worse in England. Indeed, many English seaside towns are full of slot machines, which few (or no) Scottish seaside towns are blighted with.
That place was named after a famous racing driver....Ayr Toon Centre
Who? 🤣
@@honestplaces “Ayrton Senna”
@@honestplaces 🤣🤣🤣
Please come to kilmarnock
@@honestplaces
🤦🏾♀️
Ayr was once the most amazing seaside towns. People all over Scotland used to come to Ayr. Sadly council non funding and Covid put paid to that … such a shame.
Outwith the natural beauty and the stunning urban pulchritude of Edinburgh and the rather handsome Victorian Glasgow, Scotland can be mighty grim. You go to France, Spain or Italy, for example, and their equivalent of a medium-sized town like Ayr is invariably a gorgeous architectural ensemble centred around a beautiful square. Alas, not so much in Scotland.
Very true mate.
@@titteryenot4524 AFTER 17YEARS OF THE SPECIAL NEEDS PARTY THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS, AND YOU CAN EXPECT, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING UNDER THEM.
@@titteryenot4524 THATS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET FOR VOTING FOR NICOLIAR STURGEON AND HER SPECIAL NEEDS PARTY, TAKE WHAT YOU DESERVE.
Scotland has loads of beautiful beaches, villages, islands, history, countryside etc. Of course if all you want to do is focus on the negative then that's what you'll find. Plenty of that everywhere
The 70s and the 80s Ayr was the place for a good night out
Still is.
It’s a shame you didn’t do a bit of research of the places you visit. A lot more to Ayr than what you showed.
I came here to write that comment! Yeah, he shouldn’t simply walk through a town pointing out scruffy buildings, anyone can do that.
I live in Ayr i find it funny the Cinema was being refurbished as it use to be our main derelict landmark from the 90's, best thing that happened here recently was the massive arson at our train station that made international news it was so huge 12 stories high, they're now forced to completly renew it as it was actually becoming dangerous for passing drivers on the unstable adjacent bridge, and the bridge was another thing they are being forced to renew soon due to the teenagers arson attack
Ayr town centre used to be amazing it had woolworths plus arran mall . It was amazing. We used to take our children and spend hours looking through the shops . It's just sad now 😔
Nice city, despite the neglect. I find these videos of yours exploring these cities quite fascinating: short, to the point, near the places people live.
Appreciate that pal
Like most Scottish provincial towns auld Ayr is sadly in decline due to lack of investment etc; "Auld Ayr, wham ne"er a toun surpasses for honest men and bonnie lassies."
Thanks for another well-researched document of our run down landscape. Must’ve taken you minutes to walk down the high street saying ‘look at that’ to every second building. There’s so much more you could’ve added to make it interesting.
Jeez! The place has gone to rack and ruin! I used to go to Ayr when I was a kid back in the 1970's, we'd take the bus or train from Kilwinning and go to Ayr for a bit. I have been recently albeit for the airshow. Drove through it from Calderwood in West Lothian where I live now, I didn't see too much as I was on the way to Greenan castle car park, but this has shocked me. Sad to see. I have seen what they've done to my old hometown of Kilwinning, it's nothing short of vandalism.
I can see why you think Ayr is depressing, & I would agree with you, for at present, it looks depressing. It has been described as being in crisis. However I was born in Ayr, & having lived away from the town for about 16 years, I am glad that i now live here again. You will have to return when the weather is better; when it is warm & sunny & under blue skies I think Ayr is the perfect place to be. But then again, I do know where the more beautiful parts of Ayr are. At least you were on your way to Edinburgh, so I hope you enjoyed your time in our beautiful capital city with all the things there are to do there whether it's sunny or raining.
He's an English man
Trying to destroy Scottish towns. When most of the towns in England east coast are very run down
I'm not from. Ayr but there are worst places than. Ayr. Lots of seaside resorts in the
UK went into to decline in the 70s when people found it more beneficial financially to go to foreign lands. And enjoy the weather
Guys like him don't do these towns any favours...
If you’re looking for the answer to almost the whole of the uk in the disgraceful state we are in re towns and cities, it’s DECADES OF NEGLECT FROM TORY AND LABOUR GOVTS too busy pocketing backhanders from billionaires who just care about their tax situation and who orchestrate our world now. The SNP have tried to mitigate where they have some powers, not capping the two child benefit policy, one example, keeping THOUSANDS OF KIDS OUT OF POVERTY, yet Starmer is trying to cap it as he only cares about funding foreign wars.
Yeah that's a really balanced critique of the SNP and Labour.
Weirdly despite their stellar successes🙄 the Scottish people booted them out at the last election.
snp have been ripping the Scottish people of for years and blaming westminster@willsmith39
I'm from Ayr. Would have loved to have bumped into you i watch all your videos.Disappointed you never went into any pubs but there you go. It's been going downhill for years. Keep up the good work 👍
Cheers pal. Yeh i know, just wasn't staying anywhere near 😭
The big shopping centre at 5:00 is where Debenhams used to be. Nobody big enough has come a long to use the sapce again.
Scotlands most deprived/neglected town is Greenock...
Came looking for this comment. Lived in Greenock for two years 2009-2011. Bad times.
Based in such a beautiful area with wonderful views. It’s a pity the town is so run-down.
It's a shame to see Ayr like that i had relatives there in the 1980's and it was a lovely place then , i think the boarded up shops are the main problem , i need a drink after that 😂
Grab yourself one 🤣
Great to see you hit 50 thousand subscribers 😊😊
Ayr Pavilion rock nights were brilliant back in the 1980's! Recognised it right away there!
I loved ayr in the 80s me and my family loved butlins in ayr we would go into the town for shopping it used to be a lovely quaint wee town shame it's been left to rot! 😢
Legend has it the shop owner from Pretty Things never really got over the PLAGUE!! 😂
🤣🤣🤣
Sad to see Ayr like this, was always a really busy wee toon when I was young in the early 2000s
Ayr was near enough to me when growing up to know it reasonably well. I left Scotland 40 plus years ago and haven’t been back to Ayr since. It used to be a busy vibrant town , such a shame to see it the way it is now there were some good pubs in the town the Tam O’Shanter being one it would have been nice to see the inside.
Forty years ago I used to drink in Billy Bridges bar.
@@alisdairmclean8605Orange Hole
TBH WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER AYR WAS GREAT FOR NIGHTLIFE .THE CALY HOTEL THE DARLINGTON RUMOURS .THAT WAS THE ORIENT CINEMA .
You missed the biggest eyesore - Station hotel !
Seems i missed alot 🤣
WELL SAID.
@@honestplaces The Station Hotel was a huge sandstone building across from the Astoria, which lay empty for years until two arsonists set it on fire last September. Demolition works to clear the site only finished recently.
He didn't miss it it's not there they pulled it down lol
😂😂 It got tore down and is gone...
Hi mate good video every where now in UK is run down when COVID turned up change everything and congratulations on nearly 50,000 subscribers totally fully deserved mate
Cheers pal. Appreciate it
I worked in Ayr 1976-78 at the County Hotel Wellington Square and Ayr was buzzing it’s a bloody tragedy to see it like this.
Leith isn’t really rough mate, the Kirkgate and near the banana flats has a few characters and neds, but you would need Wester Hailes to see rough in Edinburgh
Although I am getting on a bit I am a fairly new visitor to Scotland. Your video wouldn't put me off from visiting, even though it does have a dressing feel to it. Have to say however compared to the depressing area where I live in England it doesn't look too bad. The streets are at least clean. Thanks for making this video.
Wow, not been to Ayr in about a decade but used to go regularly by train from Troon in late 70s and early 80s as a kid. Odeon and Orient cinemas during the day at the weekend, woolworths, bhs, burtons and beatties for model toys.
Last building you showed in decline was the Orient cinema originally, saw Snow white and the 7 dwarfs as a little lad.
I can't believe the decline but was good to see the old place, it's a shame what's happened.
lived there few years in my teens,my late old mans home town,used to be quite vibrant,gone to shit,they all go a mile down road to prestwick for a night out now,used to be vice versa,the cinema is at the top of the town,which used to be packed at the weekend,loads of pubs/clubs,mostly gone,the big building near the end was also a cinema,then dance club for years called babylon,still go up occasionally to visit relatives,mostly still there,but dont hang around long
Never knew it was that boomin! What a shame!
@@honestplaces glaswegians used to pile down to ayr on the glasgow fair weekend.the building that looks like a witches castle down beach,used to be the pavillion,100s of famous rock bands played there over the years.then it became a dance club,but was closed after few years,when a kid died from a dodgy ectasy tablet,now a childrens play area,there are affluent areas of ayr too,alloway is full of rich people,but the actual town is a shadow of its former self,the arson capitol of the uk,the bored kids just set fire to everything,the old hotel at the train station was burned down only a few years back
You should have went to the pub for a Guinness 0.0
Should of.....is bangin that
Jeez, I've not been down Ayr High St in 10 years, I had no idea it had gotten so bad. It was always bustling during the day.
further down the coast is a town called Girvan, that is just as bad, except, and this a a huge except, it has the best fish and chips i’ve found in scotland, Graziano’s.
Best fish and chips in Scotland! That is a statement!
@@honestplaces i said that i’d found. that’s an important qualifier. but i have been to a lot, including the fancy one on the other coast and the wee hurry in troon etc, and they pale next to Graziano’s.
At the timestamp of 5.26 the building was last called "Babylon" , nightclub, friends of mine visited it just a couple of years before it closed and actually witnessed internal masonry falling, the fall of babylon started a long time before the wholesale decay set in i assure you !
You've not been to Arbroath, then. Shops closed, yet £ 25m for a cycle lane none of the locals wanted.
@iaincathro3373. Arbroath smokies are delicious. Worth a visit just for the fish and the working harbour.
Nice, what camera are u using mate?
that was a decent vlog, thanks for that, keeping it real.
Cheers pal 👍
Jeez, have you ever been to Saltcoats , what happened here is tragic and criminal.
Nah....any good?
I used to go to Saltcoats regularly in the 1970's. I remember my mum taking me to the Regal cinema and across from there was La Scala. I remember the pet shop and loved going to look at it, Mason's furnishings and Harris of Saltcoats for hi-fi etc. I loved the Light Bite cafe within the city bakeries shop. It was a good wee place and very different to my hometown of Kilwinning. Moved to Edinburgh in 1980. Now live near Livingston, because Edinburgh is a shitshow.
The Scottish law in drink and drive
The limit in Scotland is tougher than the rest of the UK: Breath alcohol is 22mcg per 100ml of breath. Blood alcohol limit is 50mg per 100ml blood. 67mg in 100ml of urine. The rest of the UK is The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath
Pretty mad. Feel for those pubs in the sticks!
The whole country is an example of the movie Trains spotting
Edited post: Those grey cube shaped council flats are so depressing to look at. The architect must have been short sighted.
🤣🤣🤣
I've worked In Ayr several times over the last couple of years and I had a great time. Two great Indians and a lot of very good Hotel bars. The best night was Saturday and Karaoke in the Central bar. Great down to Earth people who made me and my pals very welcome. Maybe It was because we were Geordies but I can't speak highly enough of the Town and the people I met.
I visited Ayr in the 90's a few times, it was a good night out. Always seemed to be loads of slags
👀👀
@@quinnerefc yer mum visited in the 70s has she told you who yer dad is,maybe next time your in ayr you can look him up.😁😁😁
_Slags??_
Are you 13?
@@tinkersdug1969his dad bankrupted Avon.
I grew up in Ayr, it used to be great when i was a kid.
I moved away, so glad i did.
Lots of towns in the UK are the same.
I still 💛 love our Scotland! 🏴💛💛
What a load of rubbish go to any seaside town in Britain or Scotland and it's the same.
Absolutely not. There are Absolutely breathtaking coastal towns all around Scotland
I thought the name of the channel was named after Ayr when I first became aware of it.
Ayr used to he a great night out and it seemed like overnight it went right down the pan.
There's actually also a very affluent side to Ayr too but the actual centre seems to be a huge problem.
Posh area?
@@honestplaces you were a 10 min walk away from it.
Town centres like this are ten a penny throughout Scotland these days
100%
Yeah was saying that to the missus, this looks like half the towns in Scotland
This is the damage an SNP government can do, Islamists and lgbtq come before everything else, and it is not just towns, Glasgow city centre resembles downtown Lagos.
Yawn. Politics politics. Give it a rest.
@@Superman-nn4nw You just keep your head buried in the sand.
It's not that I don't agree with your assessment of the snp but the council in ayr has been predominantly labour over the years bud so it's not all snp at fault although they certainly haven't helped
@@starofdavid9919 It’s not worth worrying about. All politicians and all governments are in it for themselves. They all love the gravy train. There’s nothing you or I can do to change that.
It was Thatcher's Conservative government that destroyed Scotland's economy & industries in the 1980's, it has never recovered.
I do enjoy your videos, mate. Ayr used to be quite a pretty and happening town back in the day. If you want to see grim, check out Irvine, which is just down the road from Ayr. It was always rough, but it was actually all right for a night out. Not anymore, sadly.
Cheers pal. Yeh i need to get a proper scottish trip in the works
Did you put a tenner on Dusty Carpet in the 3.40 over 8 furlongs? The town looks pretty and grim at the same time. If you visit Arbroath it has a great coastal hike to the east. I got caught twice in Scotland attempting to buy alcohol before 10am. Not allowed.
Only dusty carperts I saw was in the pubs 🤣
Used to visit the Wee Windaes’ pub in the town, before heading out to the races many years ago.
Is it still going ? heard it had moved !
Ayr used to be a very busy town with great shopping areas. Such a shame
A used to go there every weekend with my gran that was 30 years ago I was back there today on the out skirts at the farm park with the kids the town is well changed from back in the hay day but the farm park is still worth a visit if u have the kids with you great video thanks for sharing
Thats a draconian law they`ve passed up there not being able to drive to a pub or restaurant & have & pint or a glass of wine! Our politicians are always looking for ways to keep the population under-the-thumb & help keep everyone miserable, in this regard they do a good job & yet don`t seen to have the inclination or the ability to do whats expected of them & actually make a difference & improve peoples lives. I`m sorry to see Ayr`s neglect, I remember it being quite the place in the 60`s.
Maybe the law was based on so many drunk driving fatalities?
@@stevemcgowen I dare say that consideration is valid, but there are so many other ways to try & negate excess drinking & driving. Of course this costs money, extra police stops, road blocks, advert campaigns etc, my point being that if you put a blanket ban on peoples enjoyment & leisure it`s an easy option that the majority suffer at the expence of a few & that law-makers get some twisted enjoyment in implementing rather than seeking the sensible. Fortunately this isn`t a thing in England but when you hear things like a driveway tax being considered due to pollution of rainwater being washed from the surface then you have to expect anything from these lunatics.
Hear hear. The Scottish government are always looking for new ways to make us even more miserable up here. Anything to be different to England.
@@edwardwilcox6606 At some point people know better than to drink drive? Here in the Czech Republic there is no tolerance. People know if they have 1 drink and drive they can lose their license for 30 days and have a fine. It gets worse for subsequent offenses and eventually becomes a criminal offense. In a county which drinks twice the amount of beer per capita, the Czech Republic has half the % of fatalities caused by dink driving than the Uk. I know if I have some beers today It's best not to drive the next day to ensure all the alcohol is out of my system. That being said I can take a train anywhere in the country easily and cheaply.
Had some great times in Ayr over the years, a real shame to see it like that nowadays
Samd with most town now iniy
Scotland's most depressing seaside town....behave yourself. Plenty of good places to eat and drink and you didn't highlight any of them. Happy to list them for you. Oh, the building you weren't sure what it was on the main street used to be a cinema, then a bingo hall, then a nightclub. Like every town in the UK the high street's are rubbish and that's due to retail parks, internet shopping and the councils letting them fall to ruin. Best of luck in Leith when you visit Edinburgh and it's not rough btw but there are other parts of the city that are. Looking forward to hearing you say something positive!
Subscribed loving the channel. Great tours of the places.
Back in the 70's, as a kid, I remember family trips across the Irish Sea to Stranraer in order to have day trips in Ayr.
Yeah everyone keeps saying the seaside towns are dying. I went to Troon last year in the summer, first time since i was a little boy and there is nothing in it.
Born in Ayr.... absolutely tragic mate.
Still there pal?
@honestplaces Yeah mate al drink there sometimes but live in Kilmarnock now
This town is coming like a ghost town, bands wont play no more
Remember going for a day out at Ayr in the 70s with a bunch of girls from Cranhill in Glasgow we were from Paisley we all met originally at Shuffles dance hall in Glasgow , anyway back to Ayr we all had a great day finished the night at The Caledonian hotel at the dancing , great memories
Sounds a classic night out
@@honestplaces Thanks it was . Iain.
Should’ve just got a coke instead of a pint that way you could’ve got some footage inside the boozers😅good video though mate. Always been fascinated by hidden UK towns. You gotta have a look round Tilbury it’s worse than jaywick but the dock and fort is nice and has a decent pub nearby called The Worlds End
Ayr used to be a busy bustling town , great nightlife . Lovely beach, now its an absolute dive. endless empty buildings , full of junkies. Grim just grim
This used to be one of the best places to go such a shame to see it how it is today.
Hard to see how it was ever a good place
Ayr and Prestwick were my second home from 2004 to 2009 and after i came back once. I love Ayr very much. It has beach i walked there everytime i was there. Spent my whole Christmas and winning a raffle at the pub. I also people i met. They were wonderful! One day i really want to go back to Ayr one day! By the way i am korean now i am living Mexico city! Wherever i ilve. Scotland is always in my heart ❤❤❤
Zero zero in the pubs - was dying to see inside of that Anchor Bar.
Pubs are dead today
@RobertMcguirk-nk1ni I'll tell you what was inside the anchor bar( the smell of pish) that's what's in there
The Ayrshire coastline is unforgiving, I’ve seen some enormous waves 🌊 from Ardrossan. The sea water will mix with the gales and damage paintwork. However, I still maintain that with the views of Arran, it’s a beautiful place.
It's so sad the way Ayr is now. It was a thriving town 😢
Shame init
It' has a lovely beach, not as bad as you make out. I had a lovely trip to Ayr the other week with friends.
Should always spend the night everywhere you go to give you a chance to try 9 or 10 pubs and talk to the locals
Used to go weekend trips to ayr with my friends back in the 1990s--2000 used to be a thriving clubbing/pubbing area had many fun times there now its just a big shithole. thanks to councils and government running it into the ground.
Bet it was bangin back in the day
@@honestplaces put it this way I never came home once without being as high as the empire state building and at least getting a chance at dancing with about 20 different women in one night with all the mates in the same state as me we mostly just slept overnight at the beach or wandered around all night until sober but we didn't cause any bother and it was just a great time. Nowadays I would be scared to walk anywhere in any British town with all the dilapidation and knife violence increasingly getting worse.
You need to go to Greenock near Glasgow mate lots of pubs lots of character. It had the worst death rate during covid in Scotland It's very deprived with a lot of problems. The pubs are a lot of fun so I'd give it a go It's 30 mins on the train from Glasgow.
Why did Greenock have the highest death rate?
To answer your question about public transport between Ayr and Glasgow, the X77 runs every 30 minutes from 07:15 AM to 11:05PM and takes around an hour and 5 minutes
i am from the borders , i left Scotland decades ago people used to go on holiday here and the borders where I from , just tragic really miss management by government? , job opportunities ,? the drugs epidemic in the 80,s i genuinely don't know ? I watched your Dumfries video a ghost town at one point in these Scottish towns you genuinely could not get in through the door from a Thursday to Sunday night in any pub all packed , I have watched you Stoke n similar videos people from those various regions on about how it was packed out , a great night out I get the gist o your filming is to show dead town , basically shit holes to be honest but at one time they were vibrant and had joy , I would love to know how they just became so desperate
Loads of reasoms why they all struggling init. Small towns hit hard everwhere now pal init
Notice a distinct lack of trash and garbage about the place.the abandoned neglected buildings are normal in any uk town or city.looks a pretty decent place by uk standards to me.
The building at the start of video is the ayr pavilion aka the pivi 90s rave club great memories thanks mate ☺
Bet it was bangin back in the day
They are having events there again famous dj from ayr ewan mcvicar
Had so many crazy nights at the piv @@honestplaces
Great Britain is deeply in trouble... I'm glad I'm 53 and not a youngster growing up in today's shite hole ♥️✌🏼
Where you at now pal?
I’m glad I grow up the 70s
What’s so bad about this place? I can’t see any mosques or temples on every street corner!
Leith is like a mini Amsterdam,expect to be surprised!
Already been 🤣
@@honestplaces and you are still going back?
On the positive side, at the least the high street didn't appear to be blasted by the usual stream of bookies, targeting those most vulnerable.
Plus WWE's Drew McIntyre was born there!
That is very true 🤣
Always great content cheers 🍻
Cheers pal 👍
That’s where Glasgow schoolchildren were taken for their hols including myself. What has happened to it?
Shocking init
Ayr was a fantastic town....i left Prestwick 8 years ago and even since then its gone downhill so quickley...yes online shopping destroyed the town like so many others....but government lockdowns finished it all off
Well done you showed good discipline not having a beer it's so sad so many places are beginning to look like a fall out very concerning
Clearly been drinking if it takes you an hour to drive from Ayr to Glasgow! 😂
Riding a moped