Fairlie, North Ayrshire

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For other uses, see Fairlie (disambiguation).

Fairlie is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Fairlie sits on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde and looks across to the Isle of Arran and the Cumbraes. It is currently little more than a commuter village, with few businesses still running within Fairlie. These include a petrol station, a post office, a Chinese takeaway and a small gift and flower shop.

The Fife Yachts were built in Fairlie in the first half of the 20th century. Their maker, William Fife, was born and brought up in the village.

The Royal Navy ASDIC research establishment moved from its base at Portland to Fairlie in November 1940. They took over the yard of yacht-builder William Fife. They also worked on other forms of anti-submarine warfare and in 1941 developed the Fairlie mortar. This was not very successful but evolved into the very successful Squid. A boom defence depot remained post-war and there was a plan for an anti-submarine boom from Fairlie to Great Cumbrae then continuing to Bute. ^[1]

In recent years a succession of industrial and military developments has somewhat changed the character of the village. Hunterston B nuclear power station, Hunterston deep sea shipping terminal and a NATO base (including a net to close the upper firth to submarines in the event of invasion^{[citation needed]}) have been built along the shoreline.

Fairlie Pier, closed in 1971, provided links to Clyde ferry services and the Largs Branch. The other railway station in the village still exists and is served by Ayrshire Coast Line services.