Couple from Ayr, North Dakota visit Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland

A couple from Ayr recently dropped into County Buildings in Ayr for a quick look around as part of a project to research their roots and ancestry. However, this was no ordinary fact finding visit, as Robert and Mary Thompson hail from Ayr – in North Dakota, USA!

The pair were touring South Ayrshire, keen to learn more about Robert’s great grandfather, who was born in this area in 1825, before emigrating to America in the mid-1800s. 

Robert and Mary’s visit builds on a trip to Norway to explore Mary’s roots and they were both astonished by how warm and friendly their reception in South Ayrshire had been.  

Robert said: “We were on the train coming to Ayr and the person behind us heard Mary and I talking. When we got off at the station, they came over to us and gave us a lift to our hotel.

“Everywhere we have gone, the people of South Ayrshire have been fantastic and we really feel that Ayr in Scotland has become a home from our home in Ayr, North Dakota.

Mary added: “Our Ayr has a population of just twenty people and everybody knows each other. Ayr in Ayrshire is much bigger but the people here have been so nice, it really does feel like we are among family and friends!”

Robert and Mary received a further surprise when Provost Helen Moonie took time to meet the couple, offering them a brief tour of the building and posing for photographs.

Provost Moonie said: “Robert and Mary have come a very long way to visit Ayr and I’m overjoyed they found our legendary South Ayrshire welcome to be every bit as warm and hospitable as they hoped it would be.

“I trust they will return to Ayr in North Dakota having had a wonderful time with us here, taking back many happy memories and tales from their time in Ayr, South Ayrshire.”

South Ayrshire Council is a Founder Member of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle.