Glenbuck

File:Bill Shankly Memorial, Glenbuck.jpg

Bill Shankly memorial at Glenbuck

Glenbuck (Gaelic: Gleann Buic) is a small, remote village in the hills to the east of Muirkirk parish, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town is positioned slightly to the west of Glenbuck Loch, on the River Ayr, very close to the border between Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.

Glenbuck was once a thriving coal mining community, but the mine was closed in 1931. The village was unable to provide jobs for the unemployed miners and suffered decline as a result.

The village is best known for being the birthplace of Bill Shankly, who played football for Preston North End and Scotland before going on to manage Liverpool. Glenbuck Cherrypickers, the town's obscurely-named football team, were also successful - given the town's meagre population - and produced a steady stream of professional footballers. The team folded in 1931 before Shankly was old enough to play for them, although several of his brothers did.

Little of the original village exists . Opencast coal mining in the 1990's resulted in the purchase and demolition of many of the properties that remained.

Glenbuck is mentioned by Robert Burns in his poem The Brigs of Ayr.

External links

• Abandoned Communities ... Glenbuck and other coal mining villages in Ayrshire

55°32′N 3°59′W