Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde. It was a royal burgh from 1205 until 1975 and the county town of the former county of Ayrshire. Ayr is the administrative centre for South Ayrshire Council. The town's population registered in the 2001 Census was 46,431. In 2002, it was one of four Scottish towns competing for city status to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, but it lost to Stirling.
To the north of Ayr is the adjoining town of Prestwick, famous for its golf and its aviation industry, thanks to the presence of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Other neighbouring places include Alloway, known for its associations with the poet Robert Burns. To the south is a Haven (formerly Butlins) holiday camp, and the fishing village of Dunure, where there is a ruined castle formerly owned by the Kennedy family.