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Bypass Art formed in 2017, shortly after the Scottish Government announced the construction of the long awaited Dalry Bypass.  We saw this as an opportunity to create a gateway into Dalry and a chance to highlight and promote our local history via the siting of a piece of public art on the Hillend Roundabout near Dalry.
Bessie Dunlop of Linn is the popular choice for our public art. On the 8th of November 1576 Bessie Dunlop was tried and found guilty of witchcraft at Edinburgh High Court and was burnt at the stake shortly after on Castlehill, Edinburgh.

2023 will see the completion of our many heritage projects and will provide a long awaited opportunity for Bypass Art to concentrate on our main objective, ‘Bessie On The Bypass’

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So what have we been doing since 2017?
Let’s just say we kinda got carried away highlighting and promoting Dalry’s history!

Visit our facebook page ‘Bypass Art’ to view our following projects:

Commemorative Paving at The Old Post Office Corner - each of the seven pavers features an interesting fact or some lines of poetry about Dalry.

Our Town - Dalry, Heritage Board  tells the story of Dalry’s growth from a village into a town. It lists the possible reasons behind some of our street names and also mentions some of our notable people. The timeline along bottom plots Dalry’s journey from stone age times right through to the 21st Century. It’s a truly magnificent board and smaller versions were donated to the local primary schools.

The Park Heritage Board includes information about the Bowling Club, War Memorial and John Blair WS - donor of Dalry Public Park.

Heritage Quiz Nights - loads of laughs and what a fun way to explore our local history.

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3 Films which recorded the memories of local residents about living and growing up in Dalry.

Memory Plaques at Rosearden Garden - memories provide us with an insight into a person, a place or an event and inadvertently reflect social change.

5 excellent Dalry Heritage Trails on the Garnock Connections placesthatweknow app
Trail booklets which due to popular demand are in short supply and are only available by contacting our Facebook page.

'The Hilltap Toon' is a community recital of John Hodgart’s poem. It is beautifully written in the Scots tongue and recounts Dalry’s journey through the ages as narrated by the people of Dalry - ‘twas a fantastic project and involved over 150 members of the community.

Coming soon:

Bessie Dunlop audio book.

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Next time you are in Dalry, have a wee walk around out Town and check out some of our projects.

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