Bellsbank is a village half a mile away from the market town of Dalmellington

Dalmellington

Dalmellington is a market town in Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2001 it had a population of 1407. The town owes its origins to the fault line separating the Southern Uplands of Scotland from the Central Lowlands...

 in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is the 2nd highest place in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

; only Muirkirk is higher than this. Bellsbank is now classed as a separate town from Dalmellington.

Bellsbank was originally established to provide housing for the population of Benquhat (one of several "ghost" villages in the Doon Valley that have been demolished).

Expanded between the wars to house miners from worked out areas that were relocated there. Laid out by the County Council the houses looked out over Bogton Loch, Craigengillen and the Loch Doon Hills.