Murdoch's Cave

The Glenmuir Water is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland.The river rises high in the hills south of Muirkirk. On reaching Lugar the Glenmuir is joined by the Bellow Water and is renamed the Lugar Water. Ayrshire Rivers Trust monitor water quality for the river and visit annually.

Bello Mill (also spelt Bellow Mill) was a mill dating from the 18th century on the river called the Lugar Water, on the estate of James Boswell, Lord Auchinleck in Ayrshire, in Scotland. Before being rebuilt in the 1940s, it had three different sets of mill stones. It had one pair of millstones for rough grinding, and the two pairs of millstones for grinding oatmeal, The neighboring Bello Mill Cottage is famous for being the birthplace of William Murdoch, who was born in 1754. Murdoch invented gas lighting and did experiments on steam engines in the nearby Murdoch's Cave. Murdoch's father John Murdoch was tenant and millwright at Bello Mill, which he had taken over in 1754. In 1760, John Murdoch installed the first iron-toothed gears used in a mill in Britain at Bello Mill. These gears were cast at Carron's Foundry in Falkirk. Bello Mill was at that point the most technically sophisticated mill in the UK. Bello Mill no longer is intact, but the gears are still visible. It was used until the 1960s. The roof is now missing and it is danger of falling into the river. The Bello Mill Cottage is still inhabited.

Cronberry is a small hamlet situated north-east of Cumnock and one mile north-east of Lugar, in East Ayrshire, Scotland.

Excavations in Cronberry, East Ayrshire, Scotland by Headland Archaeology revealed a medieval turf building and a nearby enclosure of unknown date. The turf structure was sub-rectangular and contained a hearth surrounded by some paving. Pottery dating to no later than the 16th century was recovered from the interior. The enclosure was also constructed of turf. The full plan of the turf building was exposed during excavation. Due to the construction materials and nature of the building it had been greatly affected by soil processes from the time it went out of use to the present. The walls appeared to have been made from a mixture of turf and soil of local origin. Preservation was found to vary with the south end showing the best. Extensive slumping had occurred, and this combined with subsequent decay, made excavation difficult. The presence of charcoal and charred cereal grains within the walls suggested that material from earlier occupation may have been incorporated and the remains may have represented more than one structural phase. On the interior of the building the level of the floor was indicated by the hearth and some slabs. Elsewhere, the floor was likely to have been of beaten earth, which is no longer recognisable due to the mixing of soil. There was no evidence for internal partitions within the building

Lugar is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. Lugar is in Auchinleck Parish, Kyle District, Ayrshire. It is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) ENE of Cumnock, and about 1-mile (1.6 km) from Cronberry and 2 miles (3.2 km) from Gaswater. Lugar was a station on the Mauchline and Muirkirk branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Lugar is about 16.5 miles (26.6 km) SE of Kilmarnock. Lugar was once dominated by a large ironworks with several blast furnaces. Like the mining industry in nearby areas, though, the iron industry has been destroyed by economic decline. The Lugar ironworks closed long ago. Lugar was built to accommodate the workers at the ironworks around 1845. They were housed in "miners' raws" (sic). On the 1860 Ordnance Survey Map the rows included Peesweip Row, Craigstonholm Row, Store Row, Back Row and Hollowholm Row.(This map also shows a Curling Pond). Other maps included Laigh Row, Double Row and High Row. The population grew to 753 in 1861, and 1374 in 1871. By 1881 it had 1353 people and 1891 people, according to the Ordnance Survey. The Lugar Institute was created in 1892 by a Mr. Weir of Kildonan. The Institute consisted of a lecture hall with a capacity of 400, a reading room, recreation room (for chess etc.), billiard room and bowling alley. It was partially demolished, and some of the remaining parts have been recently restored. A local church, established in 1867, is another prominent feature of Lugar. The Lugar Boswell Thistle Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer) club based there. The club is nicknamed The Jaggy Bunnets. They were formed in 1878 as a senior team, turning to the juniors after a short spell. The 65th Ayrshire scout troop in the Kylesmuir District is based in Lugar. Near Lugar, at Bello Mill Cottage on the estate of James Boswell in Auchinleck, William Murdoch was born in 1754. Murdoch did some important experiments on steam engines and was the inventor of gas lighting. Murdoch's Cave where he carried out a lot of his experiments on coal gas can still be seen on the riverbank of the Lugar Water.

Lugar railway station was a railway station serving the Lugar Ironworks, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.

Logan (Scottish Gaelic: An Lagan) is a village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Cumnock, by the Lugar Water. Logan is served by a regular daytime bus service (#49A) to Cumnock operated by Shuttle buses Ltd of Kilwinning. The nearest train station is Auchinleck. The village mostly serves as a dormitory village for Cumnock and further afield with very little industry in the village. In addition to this, the Ayr to Cronberry line would have passed behind the village, back when it functioned. After is closure in the 1960s, the track bed now serves as a popular footpath.

Cronberry railway station was a railway station serving the hamlet of Cronberry, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.

Airds Moss is a large area of moor in East Ayrshire, the site is a protected area because of the extensive blanket bogs. In 1680 it was the location of a clash between troops loyal to King Charles II and the covenanters under Richard Cameron in which Cameron was killed.

Cumnock railway station was a railway station serving the town of Cumnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. The former site of the station is now a care home. The station is located just off the A70 at Barrhill Road. This is near the Woodroad Viaduct.

Commondyke railway station was a railway station on the Muirkirk branch that served the mining village, farms and community of Commondyke and Birnieknowe, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway before passing to the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, then the London, Midland and Scottish upon grouping and closing under British Railways. Passenger services to Muirkirk station ceased in 1950.

The Woodroad Viaduct, also known as Bank Viaduct or Templand Viaduct, is a viaduct carrying the Glasgow South Western Line over the Lugar Water at Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. Since April 1971, it has been recognised as being a category A listed building.The Woodroad Viaduct, which comprises 14 semi-circular arches, was designed by the civil engineer John Miller and built by the contractor James McNaughton. Construction was complicated by the presence of several coal workings in the vicinity, as well as the Lugar Water itself. It is largely composed of locally sourced white sandstone. The viaduct was completed during 1850, after which services of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) commenced across it. It has been claimed that Miller considered the structure to be his finest work.Today, the viaduct is still in service and carries the Kilmarnock to Dumfries section of the main line from Glasgow to Carlisle. During the 21st century, national railway infrastructure company Network Rail formed a partnership with the Woodroad Regeneration Forum to preserve and maintain the Woodroad Viaduct for the long term; several future upgrades have been reportedly planned for the structure.