ABSTRACT
Typical of a turnpike trust was one for Ayrshire formed in 1767 which improved the links between towns, either by repairing and widening existing roads or by constructing new roads between such places as Kilmarnock and Irvine, Ayr and Irvine, Irvine and Saltcoats, and Ayr and Sanquhar. The town expanded to over 17,000 people in the interwar period when Methil remained Scotland's leading coal export port. Until the end of the eighteenth century, the sea satisfied most of the country's transport requirements and most burghs were situated on or near the coast, each with easy access to a natural harbour. The site chosen was a narrow neck of land between the Sea-Lock and the new cut of the River Carron Their most valuable contribution was to Glasgow, for without the benefit of cheap, bulk transport the fuel situation in Glasgow would have become critical in the years before railways.
