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Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small village of Monkton to the north. It had a population of 14,901 at the 2011 census.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is on the town's outskirts, providing passenger flights to European and historically, transatlantic destinations, as well as international cargo flights.
The town was the first home of the Open Golf Championship, which was played on the Prestwick Old Course from 1860 to 1872.
Robert the Bruce is reputed to have been cured of leprosy by the waters of the well at St Ninians church. The well still exists behind the church.
Although it has been a Burgh of Barony for over a thousand years, it was a village until the railway arrived in the 1840s and the middle class from Glasgow started to build large houses along the coast. Prestwick Burgh Hall was completed in around 1837.
The Prestwick Bathing Lake, known as the Lido, was opened in 1931 by the Secretary of State for Scotland, William Adamson. It was the largest swimming pool north of the border. It could accommodate 1200 bathers and 3000 spectators. It hosted swimming galas, diving exhibitions, moonlight swimming sessions and regular fireworks displays and was the venue of some of the Miss Scotland competitions. It was closed in 1972 and subsequently demolished.
On 28 August 1944, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (42-72171) of the United States Army Air Forces, on approach into Glasgow Prestwick Airport in bad weather, crashed into a residential area of Prestwick, killing all 20 passengers and crew and five people on the ground.
During World War II the US Army Air Corps had a base at the airport, and Elvis Presley set foot in the UK for the only time there on 3 March 1960, when his US Army transport aircraft stopped for refuelling en route from Germany.
Though a period of decline in the 1980s and 1990s saw it lose its status as Scotland's primary transatlantic airport, Prestwick continues to handle US military flights. In July 2005, the airport was the main transport hub for world leaders attending the G8 conference in Gleneagles. The airport now caters to one low-cost carrier, Ryanair. In addition, BAE Systems, Goodrich Corporation, Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aircraft Engines have maintenance/manufacturing facilities adjacent to the airfield.
Prestwick is a major air traffic control centre, with both the Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (controlling 70% of UK airspace) and Prestwick Oceanic Area Control Centre (Shanwick Oceanic Control - responsible for air traffic over the eastern half of the North Atlantic) located at the NATS owned 'Scottish and Oceanic Area Control Centre'.
The A79 road runs directly through the town, and is normally reached from the A77 trunk road between Glasgow and Stranraer, or from the A78 Ayrshire coastal route to Largs and Greenock.
The Prestwick Old Course hosted the first Open Golf Championship in 1860. The first twelve Open Championships were played there, from 1860 to 1872. (the Championship was not played in 1871). The town also hosts two other golf courses, St. Nicholas and St. Cuthberts. St. Nicholas is a traditional links course south of the town. Prestwick St Ninians Golf Club was founded in 1912. The club continued until the 1950s. "Prestwick Golf Clubs", "Golf’s Missing Links".
The Shaw Monument stands on the high ground overlooking Prestwick Airport. On Ardayre Road in Prestwick is a Polish memorial. Its origins can be traced to a memorial erected by the Polish Air Force at Monkton. Discovered there in a dilapidated and vandalised condition, it was moved by Kyle and Carrick District Council in 1986 to its present site in the gardens of the RAFA Club which overlooks the sea. The memorial was repaired and placed on a new plinth. On 2 May 1987 the memorial was unveiled with a commemorative plaque by the Polish Naval, Air Force and Ex-Combattants' Associations. On the 45th anniversary of the sinking of the ORP Orkan (G90), 8 October 1988, another commemorative plaque was installed in memory of the Polish Navy, Merchant Navy and Coastal Command airmen who died in the Battle of the Atlantic. On Polish Navy Day (10 February) at the memorial, in a service that both Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen participate in, the memories of those that perished are remembered in a spirit of friendship and comradeship between Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen.
The Oval is a public park in the centre of Prestwick with two full size football pitches with indoor changing rooms, a tennis centre with three indoor courts and eight outdoor, a 25m indoor swimming pool and gym, indoor bowling green and cricket club. The park was gifted to the town in 1954.
Prestwick Academy is a secondary school fed by all these primary schools. St. Ninian's pupils can go on to Queen Margaret Academy or Prestwick Academy. The primary schools in the outlying villages of Monkton and Symington also 'feed' the secondary school.
| Prestwick | Hugh Hunter | Independent | |
| Martin Kilbride | Scottish Conservative Party | ||
| Ian Cochrane | Scottish National Party | ||
| Cameron Ramsay | Scottish Labour Party | ||
Prestwick Golf Club is a classic links golf course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hinterland. The course is near the Prestwick airport, and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course. The Open Championship originated at the club, and was played there 24 times between 1860 and 1925.
Famous sportspeople from Prestwick are footballers Bob Anderson, Craig Conway, James Forrest, Giovanni Moscardini, Andrew Thomson, footballer turned MP Ian Welsh, professional wrestler Drew McIntyre, professional golfer William McGowan and figure skater Lewis Gibson.
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