Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about eight miles (thirteen kilometres) north of Ayr and three miles (five kilometres) northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
Troon has a port with freight services and a 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 In May 2006, a ferry service to Campbeltown was added, although this was withdrawn the following year.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.[5]
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 (pronounced [ənˠ̪ ˈt̪ʰɾɔːn]; "the nose") 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.[1] This is similar to the Gaelic name of Stranraer (An t-Sròn Reamhar, the fat nose), which lies further south on the coast.[6] 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.[1]
The name An Truthail was used by Gaelic speakers on nearby Arran Island up until the 20th century.[1]
Troon is home to the Royal Troon golf course, one of the hosts of the Open Golf Championship. The course is chosen to host this annual event roughly every seven years.
