The Barnweil Monument to William Wallace
Between Symington and Tarbolton, South Ayrshire
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Built in 1855 and paid for by William Dobie of Beith and built by Robert Snodgrass, also of Beith, a small town about fifteen miles north of here.
The story that it's called Barnweil because William Wallace stood here as his troops burned the barns of Ayr and remarked These English, they barn weil is totally false. Sadly. It's named after an old parish near here called Barnweil that was suppressed in the 17th century.
There's no parking available (room for one car on a grass verge) but the monument has brown tourist signs to guide visitors. The roads are a bit narrow. It's a sixty foot high stone tower on a hilltop. It's not hard to find.
Sadly the tower is no longer open to the public due mostly to the radio masts on the roof and the associated risks of danger from the electricity supply. The monument is a Category A listed building and is now in the care of South Ayrshire Council.
