From Robert the Bruce is reputed to have been cured of leprosy by the waters of the well at St Ninians church.

[citation needed] Although it has been a Burgh of Barony for over a thousand years, it was a village until the railway arrived in the 1840s and the middle class from Glasgow started to build large houses along the coast.

[8] The Prestwick Bathing Lake, known as the Lido, was opened in 1931 by the Secretary of State for Scotland, William Adamson.

On 28 August 1944, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (42-72171) of the United States Army Air Forces, on approach into Glasgow Prestwick Airport in bad weather, crashed into a residential area of Prestwick, killing all 20 passengers and crew and five people on the ground.

It lies close to, and was the last European re-fuelling way-point on, the Great Circle route from London via Thule in Greenland to San Francisco in the US; it is now no longer relevant for modern aircraft with non-stop range.

During World War II the US Army Air Corps had a base at the airport, and Elvis Presley set foot in the UK for the only time there on 3 March 1960, when his US Army transport aircraft stopped for refuelling en route from Germany.

[10][11] Though a period of decline in the 1980s and 1990s saw it lose its status as Scotland's primary transatlantic airport, Prestwick continues to handle US military flights.

In July 2005, the airport was the main transport hub for world leaders attending the G8 conference in Gleneagles.

In addition, BAE Systems, Goodrich Corporation, Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aircraft Engines have maintenance/manufacturing facilities adjacent to the airfield.

The line continues south to the port of Stranraer on the Wigtownshire coast, but a change of trains at Ayr is usually required.

Thought to have originally been built in the 12th century, the small church building is now a ruin, and is surrounded by an ancient graveyard.

Discovered there in a dilapidated and vandalised condition, it was moved by Kyle and Carrick District Council in 1986 to its present site in the gardens of the RAFA Club which overlooks the sea.

On 2 May 1987 the memorial was unveiled with a commemorative plaque by the Polish Naval, Air Force and Ex-Combattants' Associations.

Four Councillors currently represent the Prestwick ward as part of South Ayrshire Council.

On the west side of the Main Street is a mixture of council, privately owned, rented and hotel/B & B accommodation.

Famous sportspeople from Prestwick are footballers Bob Anderson, Craig Conway, James Forrest, Giovanni Moscardini, Andrew Thomson, footballer turned MP Ian Welsh, professional wrestler Drew McIntyre and figure skater Lewis Gibson.