press release for Muirkirk Village

Scotland’s First Audio Village Tour

Scotland’s first village audio tour is currently being developed in the village of Muirkirk in East Ayrshire.

Muirkirk statue Muirkirk is rich in history from religious rebellion to industrial revolution, from mining monks to Britain’s last pit ponies, from innovators such as John Loudoun Macadam to dissenters, from famous poets to famous footballers such as Bill Shankley.

Muirkirk’s local path network is soon to be incorporated into the River Ayr Way which will be Scotland’s first sea to source route.

In collaboration with Muirkirk’s innovative local enterprise group, East Ayrshire Council’s Outdoor Access Unit decided that Muirkirk would be the ideal place to make first ever use of the new media technology that has been developed by ATS Heritage.

Louise Kyle, Tourism and Marketing Officer for the Outdoor Access Unit said,

“In its heyday, Muirkirk was a bustling industrial village. The idea behind the tour is to try and bring the village’s rich and varied history back to life in a dramatic and interesting way for visitors. We felt that audio would be one of the most effective ways of doing this. The local community are all very committed to the project and many, including local primary children, will feature in the audio tour.”

Daldorch path Muirkirk

Once completed, the self guided audio tour will mean that visitors will be able to visit the sites of Muirkirk’s most important historic sites at their leisure whilst appreciating some of the village’s beautiful surrounding countryside. The tour will be supported with interpretation panels and leaflets to help enhance the visitor experience.

around Muirkirk The audio tour has been made possible through the Coalfield Access Project which is a £2.5m project that East Ayrshire’s Outdoor Access Unit are involved in which is supported by 14 different funders who are: East Ayrshire Council, European Union, Fresh Futures, Heritage Lottery Fund, Minerals Trust, New Opportunities Fund, Paths to Health, Scottish Coal, UK Coal, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Social Inclusion Partnership – East Ayrshire Coalfield Area and South Ayrshire Council.

Louise Kyle of the Outdoor Access Unit said,

“Being involved in the Coalfield Access Project has meant that we have been able to fund the audio tour but of course without the support from Muirkirk’s Enterprise Group and the local community and the expertise and innovation of ATS Heritage the audio tour would not have come to fruition.”

The launch of the audio tour is planned for Easter 2005. Details of the launch will be available later in the New Year.