GREAT CUMBRAE IN A DAY

Plenty to see and do and just a stone’s throw away

David Milloy

If you fancy an island adventure that won’t break the bank and can be done in a single day then you’re in luck, for as we found out for ourselves, the perfect island lies only a short distance from the Ayrshire mainland: Great Cumbrae.

The first step on our adventure was to head to the ferry terminal at Largs where, depending on the time of year, up to four ferries an hour make the short trip across the Firth of Clyde to the slipway at Great Cumbrae. The ferries accommodate both passengers and cars, both at very reasonable cost. Today, though, we’ve left the car parked on the mainland and headed to Cumbrae as foot passengers, making sure to get there early so that we can make the most of our time on the island.

The ferry slip on Cumbrae is located on the east of the island, about three miles from Millport, the island’s main settlement. We could walk there but instead we’re going to hop onto the bus that runs from the ferry slip to the heart of Millport. And just in case you’re wondering, the bus fare isn’t included in the price of the ferry ticket.

Once on the bus, we keep our eyes peeled for one of Millport’s best known rock formations, Lion Rock – so named because it resembles a prowling lion. Situated on the landward side of the road about a mile from Millport, its size (about 10 metres high by 50 metres long) makes it easy to spot. We’ll take a closer look at it later but right now we’re on the lookout for our next target, the Robertson Museum and Aquarium. Operated by the Field Studies Council, it’s situated about half a mile past the Lion’s Head, on the eastern outskirts of Millport. We’ll check it out later too.

On arrival in Millport, we find a pretty little seaside town with shops, cafés and bars to enjoy. Right now, though, we’re looking for another of the island’s famous rock formations, Crocodile Rock. Situated on the shore adjacent to Guildford Street, it’s easy to find, the features that give it its name being colourfully picked out in paint.

We’ve decided that our adventure should include a trip right around the island. It’s a relatively short (11 miles) but scenic journey on a coastal road that’s very quiet by mainland standards. We could walk it but it’s much quicker to travel by bicycle, and that means we can spend more time at places of interest and less time travelling between them. It’s something of a no-brainer, given that hiring a bicycle on Millport is both easy and fairly inexpensive.

Having hired bicycles, we decide to visit some of Millport’s best-known attractions before heading out of town. Firstly, we head back along the shorefront in the direction of the ferry slipway and turn left onto College Street and our first destination: the Cathedral of the Isles and the neighbouring College of The Holy Spirit. Dating from the 19th century, the Cathedral of the Isles is both the tallest building on the island (its spire has a height of 123 feet) and the smallest cathedral in the British Isles.

Even smaller – much smaller, in fact – is our next port of call: The Wedge. Situated on Stuart Street, The Wedge is a privately-owned house that’s just four feet wide at its narrowest point, which makes it the narrowest house in Britain.

Having returned to the shore front, we head to Garrison House, home to the Museum of the Cumbraes. The museum, which is free to enter, tells the story of Great Cumbrae and its smaller sister, Little Cumbrae, through the ages. Garrison House and its grounds are also home to the island’s public library, a model railway display, shops selling gifts, a café, and a small outdoor funfair, which has been operated by the Newton family since its inception in 1974.

It’s been a busy but very rewarding day so far, so we treat ourselves to an ice cream before venturing onto the coastal road and embarking on our clockwise trip around the island. Leaving Millport, we enjoy the views over to Little Cumbrae and Arran before we proceed up the west coast.

After about a mile, we come across a junction to the right which leads us to Millport Golf Club and its 18-hole golf course (there’s also a more direct road from the town which avoids the coast road). Originally opened in 1888, the course was redesigned in 1913 by James Braid, whose fame as a course designer was eclipsed only by his prowess as a golfer, he having won the Open Championship five times between 1901 and 1910.

Returning to the coast road, our next port of call is Fintry Bay, about halfway up the west side of the island. Here can be found the Fintry Bay Patio & Restaurant, so we drop in for some refreshments, which we enjoy whilst taking in yet more great vistas, this time of Bute. It’s tempting to stay put for a while but we’ve more to see, so we get back on the bicycles and head north in search of another of the island’s stone residents, The Indian Head, whom we find amongst some trees on the landward side of the road. He’s rather smaller in scale than the Presidents heads carved into Mount Rushmore in the USA but, thanks to some regularly applied paint, is a whole lot more colourful.

As the road turns and the west of the island becomes the north, we’re treated to yet more splendid sights, this time of the Cowal peninsula and the northernmost reaches of the Ayrshire coast. It’s a scene that’s worth savouring, so we stop at the wooden tables next to the monument to two young sailors from HMS Shearwater who perished in a boating accident in 1844.

Views duly savoured, the east coast of the island awaits. We pass the ferry slip at which we disembarked earlier today and head back towards Lion Rock, stopping there to take the obligatory photographs. From there, it’s a short pedal to the Robertson Museum and Aquarium. We’re unable to visit the museum, which is closed due to planned construction works, but the aquarium remains open to the public from 11am to 3pm each day. It’s small but well worth a visit, and is particularly appealing to children.

Admission is free.

Returning to Millport, we realise that we’ve got enough time left to make a quick expedition to the centre of the island and two more stones, both of which lie adjacent to a road that loops back to Millport. To reach the first of the two stones, Cumbrae’s only standing stone, we head up Ferry Road and keep pedalling for a couple of miles until we reach Craigengour Wood, in which the stone stands. It’s believed that the stone, which is about six feet in height, was erected as a memorial to Vikings killed at the Battle of Largs in 1263 and possibly once formed part of a larger structure.

That leaves one more place for us to visit: the Glaid Stone. About a mile along the road from the standing stone, it marks the highest point on Great Cumbrae. The extra physical effort required to reach it after a day in the saddle is, we’re happy to note, rewarded by some fabulous views.

From there it’s back to Millport, where we return the bikes, do a bit of shopping for gifts, and grab some food before taking the bus back to the ferry slip. It’s been a great trip, one which we’ll be only too glad to repeat. And, who knows, maybe next time we’ll be able to spend more than just a day on the island – it would certainly be time well spent.