It is believed, that West Kilbride is named after the Celtic Saint Brigid of Kildare who, according to local history, established her church sometime around 500AD. The West was added in front of Kilbride to differentiate it from other communities that commemorate St. Bride in the area.

West Kilbride and the surrounding area hold a lot of history. There four castles in the area that are still standing. Law Castle which can be rented for a holiday, as well as Portencross Castle, Hunterston Castle and Crosbie Castle (also known as Crosbie Towers). A park in the West Kilbride area bears the name of Crosby, the maiden name of William Wallace’s mother. One of the oldest houses in West Kilbride is Kirktonhall House. This house, dating back to the 1660’s, was rebuilt partially and extended between 1791 and 1868. Currently it is used as office for the North Aryshire Council.

Although mostly a rural area, farming only makes up about 1.4% of the local employment. In addition to the famous Ayrshire potatoes, crops such as sweetcorn, root vegetables and berries are grown. Livestock, primarily cattle and sheep, are also farmed here. Other areas of employment are real estate, rentals, manufacturing, health and social services and education make up the majority of the employment. It is home to Airtricity which is a wind turbine field located just above West Kilbride and Seamill.

West Kilbride is becoming known as “Craft Town Scotland”. There are several craft studios where you can actually see the raw material converted to the final product and you may buy straight from the studio. You can also go online and shop the studios. This was an initiative to contribute to the growth of the area culturally and through retail.

Other features of this small town are the West Kilbride Primary School and beautiful West Kilbride Institute and Public Hall. The school opened in 1983 and the Institute opened in 1900. West Kilbride has the distinction of being the first Scottish town to host a Scarecrow Festival. A championship 18-hole golf course, the West Kilbride Golf Club, is located in Seamill with the breathtaking backdrop of the Scottish coast.

This is now a very large annual event involving all the residents and many businesses who proudly make and display hundreds of different scarecrows, some very humorous around the community including their gardens. Although the Scarecrow Festival is open to everyone, scarecrow makers do have to complete an entry form and in the past there has been a theme for the scarecrows. The entry fees all go towards the festival and as long as their scarecrows are up by opening day, anything goes. As an added incentive, scarecrow makers can buy scarecrows on stick packs. These packs tell the entry maker everything they need in order to completely make a scarecrow on a stick for the festival. These packs go on sale at the beginning of July. The packs and the entry forms can be found and purchased at some of the craft shops around town, but don’t wait to pick yours up.

This festival is a week long event that opens with a huge parade through West Kilbride and ending at the Kirktonhall Glen where there is a host of afternoon activities for the entire family. This is a free festival for everyone to enjoy and is scheduled for the last part of July in Kirkton Glen in 2009.

In Kirktonhall Glen, you will be amazed at the scarecrows on exhibit, as well as taking in the museum, the galleries and of course your choice of refreshments and meals, not to mention the games, entertainers and the music that will also be available for your enjoyment. Each day there is a list of the events taking place along with the timetable for each so make sure to check for events of interest to you. By doing that, you won’t miss something that you’ve been waiting to see.

Although first hosted in West Kilbride, the Scarecrow Festival is now celebrated in other areas of Scotland, such as Montrose, Thornton Hough Village Green, and Kettlewell. Typically the festivals are free and fun for the entire family however they are also used as a fundraising vehicle to raise money to refurbish some buildings and other community and charitable works. It is definitely something worth checking out.