Troon
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Esplanade and South Bay, looking over the town to the Isle of Arran. |
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Troon shown within South Ayrshire | |
Population | 14,680 (2012) |
OS grid reference | NS345255 |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Troon |
Postcode district | KA10 |
Dialling code | 01292 |
Police | Scottish |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
EU Parliament | Scotland |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Ayr and 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight services at its yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O operated a seasonal ferry service to Larne. In May 2006, a ferry service to Campbeltown was added, although this was withdrawn the following year.
In the 2001 census the population of Troon, not including the nearby village of Loans but including the Barassie area, was estimated at 14,766—a 4.77% increase on the 1991 estimate of 14,094.
The name Troon is likely from a Brythonic or Pictish name cognate with Welsh trwyn ("nose, cape"). When Scottish Gaelic became the main language, it is possible that the Gaelic form An t-Sròn ("the nose") pronounced [ənˠ̪ t̪ʰɾɔːn] was used for the name Troon. Since the words sròn and trwyn are cognate, it could have been easily adapted from one language to the other. This is similar to the Gaelic name of Stranraer (An t-Sròn Reamhar, the fat nose), which lies further south on the coast. However, it is not certain if An t-Sròn was the Gaelic name, as its usage cannot be traced back any further than Johnston’s Place-names of Scotland (1932). It is more likely that a gaelicized respelling, such as An Trùn, was used.
The name An Truthail was used by Gaelic speakers on nearby Arran Island up until the 20th century.