On the 7th of April, 1913, Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Baden-Powell made his first visit to North Ayrshire to inspect the Scouts accompanied by his wife, Lady Baden-Powell. He began his visit with an inspection of the Skelmorlie troop at Weymss Bay Station at 11am, followed by two troops of scouts at Largs, then Fairlie and West Kilbride, before arriving at Ardrossan, where he inspected the two Ardrossan troops and the two Saltcoats troops at Eglinton School, Ardrossan. In the afternoon Baden-Powell went to Kilwinning where he inspected Dalry troop No. 55 and Kilwinning Troop No. 19, before visiting with Lord Montgomerie.
Afterwards, the Baden-Powells headed to Coodham House, Symington, where they stayed overnight with Sir William and Lady Houldsworth. That evening they attended a grand scouting rally at the Agricultural Hall, Kilmarnock. The scouting movement was begun by Lieutenant-General Baden Powell in August 1907 with a trail camp on Brownsea Island, Dorset. The following year “Scouting for Boys” was published which was translated into five languages in 1909. By the end of 1909, over 6,000 girls had joined the Boy Scouts and in 1910 the Girl Guides were established by his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell.