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	Places to Stay: Bed and Breakfast Hotels and Guest Houses Pubs with Accommodation Self Catering
	Places to Eat and Drink: Cafes, Coffee & Tea Shops Pubs serving Food Restaurants and Bistros
	Places of Interest: Places to Visit
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	Specialist Shops: Antiques & Restoration Arts and Crafts Fashions Gifts Home and Garden Jewellery Food and Drink Shops

Darvel

Situated in the lovely Irvine Valley, Darvel is a small, attractive town which was laid out in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Like its neighbour Newmilns, it is a lace making town, the skills having been brought here by the Dutch in the 17th century. It was in Lochfield, near Darvel, that Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, was born in 1881. To the east of the town rises the immense bulk of Loudoun Hill, the plug of a former volcano. Both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce fought battles at Loudoun Hill against the English, in 1297 and 1307 respectively. South of the town is the quaintly named Distinkhorn, the highest hill in the area.