An Ayrshire swim school has been left “high and dry” after learning it will lose access to its pools next month — leaving 500 swimmers a week, including hundreds of children with additional support needs, without lessons. AquaSharks Swim School, founded by Susan Pollock, has operated for the past three years at Sandylands in North Ayrshire and Sundrum Castle in South Ayrshire. But Parkdean Resorts, which owns both pools, has decided not to keep them open over the winter, sayi

A unique approach to forging a new future for three North Ayrshire towns has picked up a special national award. Beith, Dalry and Kilbirnie are thought to be the first linked towns in Scotland to create a local place plan for a cluster of communities, rather than each working in isolation. The result of that work - the Our Garnock Valley vision - has been described by the community alliance leading it as “next generation regeneration”. And the trail that it could lead for ot

Dobbies Garden Centres is hosting a free-to-attend monthly gardening workshop on Sunday 2 November at its Ayr store, for children across the country to discover how they canencourage winter birds into the garden.   During November’s Little Seedlings Club workshop, children will learn about the different types of winter birds, how birds survive during winter, what kinds of food give them the most energy, and why certain foods should be avoided. They will also explore different