Glenbuck birthplace of Bill Shankly. Photo: Jeff Gilbert
Glenbuck is a small, remote village in East Ayrshire. It nestles in the hills 3 miles east of Muirkirk, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The site of the village was slightly to the west of Glenbuck Loch, on the River Ayr, very close to the border between Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The Loch was created 1802 by one James Finlay for his Catrine Lace Mill and powered turbines there till 1967 [1] the water also powered a dozen other water mills downstream. The dams creation largely drained the valley downstream and thus allowed the road to be relocated into the valley floor along the route of the modern A70 and paved the way for the adjacent railway line around 1839. Previously the land was a dense bog with the old coach road higher up on the opposite side of valley running below Wee Darnhunch then west across the fields along to Darnhunch Farm where gaps in the stone walls (dykes) shows the old Toll Route . The village is best known amongst the general public for being the birthplace of Bill Shankly, who played football for Preston North End and Scotland before going on to manage Liverpool. Glenbuck Cherrypickers, the town's obscurely named football team, were also successful - given the town's meagre population - and produced a steady stream of professional footballers (38 at least). The team folded in 1931 before Shankly was old enough to play for them, although several of his brothers did. This history appears frequently in the press. The supreme 'world' champion of Quoits was also from Glenbuck and his skill was remarkable. Thomas Bone 1866-1916 won the Ballochmyle Silver Quoit on an unequalled fourteen occasions as well as the Scots and UK cups.
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Muirkirk, near Glenbuck, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Photo credit: © Jeff Gilbert / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ayrshire, ayrshire birthplace, bill, east, glenbuck, glenbuck muirkirk bill shankly scotland, shankly glenbuck muirirk ayrshire scotland footballer village birthplace, shankly muirkirk
