Carrick, Scotland

Carrick (from the Scottish Gaelic carraig, meaning 'rock') is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.

Carrick saw some involvement in the Scottish wars of independence under the said Robert the Bruce, which culminated in his victory over the English at Bannockburn (1314).

It witnessed much inter-family feuding during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with various branches of the powerful Kennedys contending for land and honour.

[1] Carrick's scattered villages and rugged terrain made it a favourite haunt of the persecuted Covenanters in the seventeenth century, and its rocky coastline with its many hidden coves and inlets has made it a favourite location for smuggling.

[1] Robert Burns made his living as an exciseman along that coastline in the late-eighteenth century.