HUGE crowds flocked to the Ayr seafront on Friday night and on Saturday to enjoy the spectacular sights and sounds of the International Ayr Show - Festival of Flight.
Stunning aerial displays on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon brought thousands of people out to witness the town's first air show since 2018 - with the warm weather on both days only adding to the atmosphere.
The festivities, organised by South Ayrshire Council, continued into Sunday with beach sports, an assault course and water games, along with a variety of activities and entertainment at the Festival Village throughout all three days of the event.
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
The Gazelle helicopter display squadron (Photo: Paul Johnson)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Aerial displays on Friday and Saturday came from the Calidus Autogyro, the RAF Black Jack Typhoon, Airborne Pyrotechnics, the Strathaven Balloon Festival organisers, Gravity Industries and their jet suits, the Team RaVen aerobatic display team in their Vans RV-8 aircraft, the Strike Master Pair display team, an RAF Chinook helicopter, the OV-10 Bronco Demo Team, the British Army's parachute display team the Red Devils, the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's historic Spitfire, the Starling Aerobatic Display Team, the Gazelle Squadron helicopter display team, a Rolls Royce Heritage Spitfire and then, bringing Saturday's displays to a thrilling climax, the RAF's world-famous aerobatic display team, the Red Arrows.
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
The OV-10 Bronco display team (Photo: Paul Johnson)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Back on the ground at the festival village on the Low Green were aviation art displays, a classic car exhibition, a funfair, a cinema with classic aviation films and documentaries, live music, food and drink stalls and stands featuring a huge array of traders, charities, military organisations and more.
With big attractions came big crowds, and warnings in advance of significant delays to traffic in the area, though social media saw some complaints around traffic management arrangements at the dedicated parking areas at Ayr Racecourse and Belleisle Park as well as reports of long delays on the A77 and other surrounding roads.
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
Big crowds and plenty of attractions at the International Ayr Show Festival of Flight (Photo: Charlie Gilmour)
The Airborne Pyrotechnics team
The problem appeared to be particularly acute at Ayr Racecourse after the aerial displays ended on Saturday, with a number of people taking to Facebook to complain of a wait of up to three and a half hours to exit the site, and one person calling traffic management at the racecourse site an "absolute shambles".
ScotRail also said it would be providing extra carriages on trains between Glasgow Central and Ayr, with a park-and-ride bus service linking the railway station with the seafront, though one train service user still described the situation at Ayr station as "carnage".
Most people, however, had nothing but praise for the show itself and particularly the aerial attractions, with one person taking to social media on Saturday evening to describe it as "a brilliant two days", and another calling the event "amazing".
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