| Place-name: | Sandy Syke (Afton Water) |
| Suggested Meaning: | ‘sandy-peat sluggish stream’ |
| 1st element: | Scots sandy ‘sandy peat’ |
| 2nd element: | Scots sike, syke ‘sluggish stream’ |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | No Entry |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Sandy Sike |
| Location: | Sandy Syke |
Sandy
This may be a reference to sandy peat ‘a peat containing a good deal of earthy matter [1]’. This Sandy Syke flows into Afton Water.
There is another Sandy Sike in the parish, which flows into the Water of the Deugh. There is also a Sunny Sike , where sunny may be a variant of sandy.
Sike, Syke
The name appears as Sandy Syke on the Ordnance Survey Map while the Ordnance Survey Name Book entry gives Sandy Sike with Sandy Syke and Sandy Burn as various modes of spelling.
A Sike or Syke is described as –
A small stream, rill or water-course, especially one that meanders through a hollow or across flat or boggy ground and is freqently dry in summer
Dictionary of the Scots Language [2]
the sheughs and the sykes
Sandy Sike flows into the Water of Deugh in the south of the parish.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Dictionaries of the Scots Language |sandy |
| [2] Dictionaries of the Scots Language |syke, sike |
| [3] The Laird of Logan, Or, Anecdotes and Tales Illustrative of the Wit and Humour of Scotland |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1: Ordnance Survey 6 inch (1892-1960) |Sandy Syke |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Sandy Sike |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 