A morning for blog posting at the Tesco cafe (yes it has reliable wifi!, woo hoo) in Kilmarnock. Then a small drive around the surrounds of Kilmarnock.

Firstly to the strangely named Moscow, a hamlet of 118, some 6 kms east of Kilmarnock. The name is thought to be a corruption of ‘Moss-hall’ or ‘Moss-haw’ but its spelling was formalised in 1812 to mark Napolean’s retreat from Moscow. A stream called the Volga Burn flows through the village. Locally, the land and forest around Cowans Law to the north-west is referred to as ‘Little Russia’. The hamlet also shares the same latitude (55 degrees North) as the Russian city.

Fenwick village is a delightful village in East Ayrshire with a population of 863. The Fenwick Weavers Society was founded in 1761 and is considered one of the first co-operatives in the world. With a hair salon, pub, post office, medical practice, nursing home, garage and fine food deli/coffee shop, Fenwick is pretty self contained for everyday needs. There’s a huge supermarket 3 km away.

Kilmaurs was known as the hamlet of Cunninghame until the 13th century. The name Kilmaurs comes from the Gaelic meaning Hill of the Great Cairn. It was once noted for its cutlery, shoe and bonnet workshops, and there were iron and coal mines in the neighbourhood. Here’s a pic of the old parish council building and jail. 

A hanger is a type of hunting sword, the only remaining Scottish example of which was made in Kilmaurs; it is in the keeping of the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. This sword is highly ornate with the grip made of tortoiseshell with floral patterns in extremely fine twisted silver wire. Fork over fork, is part of the Kilmaurs coat of arms, relating to the history of the village cutlery heritage and for forking out prisoners and those hiding in hay to avoid capture. 

Kilmaurs was famous for its kale which was an important foodstuff.

Stewarton in comparison to neighbouring towns, is relatively large with a population of over 6,500.  Historical records show that Stewarton has existed since at least the 12th century. In the past, Stewarton served as a crossroads between the traditional routes from Kilmarnock, Irvine and Ayr to the city of Glasgow, though in recent times the M77 motorway has bypassed the town. The old road is known as the “auld Glesga road” and is still used by Stewartonians.

The Stewarton Flower, so named due to its local abundance and recorded as such by the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers, is otherwise known as Pink Purslane (Claytonia sibirica) is found in damp areas. This plant was introduced from North America in Victorian times.