Over the last few weeks the Chronicle has run a series of articles digging deep into population decline in Cumnock and the Doon Valley and on what's being done to try and turn the trend around. In the final week of our series, our reporter Stuart Reid shares his own experiences of growing up in the area, what it offers young people, and its prospects for the future...

It surprised me when I found out that the population of Cumnock and the surrounding areas has declined over the past few years and is predicted to keep dropping in the future.

It seems like new houses are being built on every available plot of land in the area, so how can more people be moving out of the area than are moving into it?

What didn't surprise me was the link to a drop in population after the pits closed. Life in the collieries is probably something that links every family around here from one point in time.

The job gets you involved in all sorts.The job gets you involved in all sorts. (Image: The King's Foundation)

Confidence in getting a secure job like is something that not many people will experience around here when they leave school.

Growing up in Auchinleck and attending the village's primary school before moving onto the now-demolished Cumnock Academy, worrying about a job or my future opportunities was something that never occurred to me until about my fifth year at school.

I'd thoroughly enjoyed living in the bubble of Auchinleck and Cumnock growing up, maybe not releasing how much else was actually out there.

A lot of people I went to school with moved away to Glasgow or Edinburgh for better opportunities.

A young pup during my Cumnock Academy days.A young pup during my Cumnock Academy days. (Image: NQ Archive)

Some people went to university in Glasgow but stayed at home and travelled. I stayed at home and went to uni in Ayr, so it wasn't exactly a huge change.

Some of friends stayed in the area after finishing uni, while others moved away for a variety of reasons.

Cumnock, Auchinleck and all the surrounding areas have their good points, but I can see why people want to experience new things.

Part of me always wishes that I had moved away for uni, just to experience something different - but maybe that would have changed everything else.

Graduating from UWS in Ayr.Graduating from UWS in Ayr. (Image: NQ Archive)

When finishing uni, I was lucky enough to secure employment before eventually joining Newsquest in January 2021 and taking up the role of the Cumnock Chronicle reporter shortly after.

It seems like something is always drawing me back to living in the area.

I can see why people love living here and would never want to leave, and I can also see why people wanted to move away and never come back.

No part of me thinks the area is the pits of hell, and I'm proud to be from the area and to have grown up here and still live here.

I would never say that I will stay here for my whole life, though, because you never know what's around the corner.