Tradespeople in Crosshill, South Ayrshire

Crosshill is a small village in Carrick, South Ayrshire, on the left bank of the Water of Girvan about three miles south-east of Maybole. It is described by local historians as the least-altered example of a weavers' village in Ayrshire and its modest streetscape of single-storey stone cottages - particularly along Dalhowan Street - reflects its origins as a planned settlement for handloom weavers in the early 19th century.

The village was established primarily by Irish immigrants who came to work in the handloom weaving industry that flourished in Carrick in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The cottages they built, combining dwelling and workshop in a single modest structure, survive in greater number here than in comparable villages in the region, giving Crosshill unusual architectural and historical coherence.

The village lies in the shadow of Crossraguel Abbey, the great Cluniac monastery founded in 1244 by the Earl of Carrick, whose substantial ruins stand a mile to the north-west. The abbey shaped the landscape and economy of this part of Carrick for three centuries before the Reformation ended monastic life here in the mid-16th century.

Today Crosshill is a quiet residential village with a primary school and a community hall. It is served by occasional bus connections to Maybole and Ayr and the surrounding countryside - the lower Carrick hills and the Water of Girvan valley - is pleasant walking and cycling territory.

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South Ayrshire is a council area in south-west Scotland, stretching from the coast at Troon south along the Firth of Clyde to Girvan and Ballantrae and inland across the hills of Carrick to the fringes of Galloway.

Ayr is the administrative centre and largest town, a traditional county town on the River Ayr with a long sandy beach, a racecourse and a busy high street. Prestwick, immediately to the north, is home to Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon is known for its championship golf links and harbour, while Girvan and Maybole serve the quieter southern half of the area.

The area is closely associated with Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, who was born at Alloway on the outskirts of Ayr in 1759. Burns Cottage, the Burns Monument and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum make Alloway one of Scotland's most visited literary landmarks. The Burns connection extends across the wider area through the villages and farms he knew and wrote about.

South Ayrshire's coastline is one of its greatest assets. Long sandy beaches stretch from Troon to Ayr, the views across the Firth of Clyde take in Arran, Ailsa Craig and the Kintyre peninsula and the Carrick coast south of Girvan is rugged and dramatic. Inland, the landscape rises to rolling farmland and the moorland hills that border Dumfries and Galloway.

Transport links are strong along the coast. The A77 connects Ayr and Prestwick to Glasgow, the Ayrshire Coast railway line runs regular services to Glasgow Central and Glasgow Prestwick Airport provides flights to European destinations. The A77 continues south through Girvan toward Stranraer and the ferry port for Northern Ireland.