Island #2 - Great Cumbrae

Sunday 17^th February 2013

Having spent Saturday in the south west area of Scotland, there was an opportunity to visit another island on the Sunday. Great Cumbrae appeared ideal as it was easily accessible and of a size that it could be explored fairly well in a couple of hours. To do this, myself and my Father took our bikes, and planned to cycle around the road the encompasses the perimeter of the island, a distance of 10 miles.

Great Cumbrae is approximately four miles by two miles, rising to a height of 127m at the Glaid Stone. It is thought to have been inhabited since the Ice Age, and it is believed that the graves of Norsemen killed at the Battle of Largs in 1263 are found at the north end of the island. Cumbrae as a place name is derived from Cumaradh meaning place of the Cymric people, i.e. land of those who spoke Cumbric, an early British language. Much of the land is farmed, with a golf course on the western side also prominent.

The boat departs every 30 minutes from Largs slipway and the crossing of the Firth of Clyde takes about 10 minutes. You get a lovely view of Largs, which is a pleasant seaside town famous for its ice cream, and the steep hills behind. To the north, there is an array of hills on the horizon, mainly in view are the Dunoon peninsular and the Isle of Rothesay. A rather incongruous industrial chimney in Wemyss Bay starkly intrudes on the view in that part of the world. This is nothing compared to the view south however, as the Hunterston Coal Terminal, and slightly further south, the Magnox nuclear power station dominate the view of land and shore. Both remain prominent once on the island, indeed the coal terminal stretches half way across the Fairlie roads (the term for the stretch of water between Cumbrae and the mainland), which I initially thought was an illusion but on checking the map, is indeed the case.

The boat costs £3.80 on foot, or with a bike, and your ticket is checked only outward from Largs, effectively the other way is free if somehow you arrived on Great Cumbrae by parachute or by swimming. We rested our bikes in the corner of the car deck as advised by the crew and made our way upstairs to the deck of the boat. Indoor accommodation was also available but we braved the chilly sea air and were rewarded with some great views, the light was particularly vivid as it broke through the clouds and glistened on the rippled sea. You get a full panorama of the east side of the island to give you a flavour ready for arrival, the island rose steadily upwards but it wasn’t quite possible to see the summit.

As we got closer to the other side, we could see more and more windsurfers just to the south of the slipway. This is Scotland’s National Watersports centre and there must have been at least 30 people enjoying what I would expect to be perfect windsurfing conditions. Later we even say two kayaks with mini sails attached to assist. As the boat pulled in we saw the bus arrive, which shuttles between the slipway and the only town on the island, Millport, which is 5 miles away in the south facing bay. For some strange reason, despite the boat departing every half an hour, the bus is advertised to run every 20 minutes, which doesn’t seem very sensible.

A handful of cars and two other cycles left the boat, and after we had taken a few photos, we set off on our bikes in a clockwise direction for a lap of the (handily) 10 mile long B896 which virtually follows to coastline of the island all the way round. This meant heading into a stiff wind to begin with. We soon learned one of the endearing features of the island was a lack of traffic which gives a relaxed air and makes cycling very pleasurable. It was certainly the ideal way to explore the island and I will try and cycle wherever possible on future trips. I would estimate we saw more cyclists than cars, and probably an equal number of walkers enjoying a pleasant Sunday February day, where despite the chilly wind, the weather was reasonable, as the sun gradually broke through the clouds.

There were a few whitewash cottages dotted about, and we passed the wooden chalet like Watersports centre, which wasn’t that large, as well as the road to the top of the island (of which more later). There were great views into the straights and across to the mainland, though still in part dominated by the Hunterston industries. The view ahead as such wasn’t much as the road was fairly twisty, but for cyclists it was of a decent enough standard, there were very few potholes. After 3 to 4 miles the road began to bear right and some bigger buildings appeared, the first of which was a hostel and then a university marine wildlife study centre. There then followed a long strip of cottages, as we turned right, escaped the wind, and entered Millport Bay.

The view was wonderful at this point, as the full panorama of the town opened out, curving neatly round the bay, with Little Cumbrae island (privately owned) providing natural shelter and a couple of smaller rocky islands in the base of the bay. The Cathedral of the Isles, Europe’s smallest was prominent behind more whitewashed cottages and shops, backed by the green hills beyond.

Out of wind, we cruised round a left hand bend, and the houses turned to shops on our right, whilst a small thin promenade appeared to our left, with a sandy beach beyond. It was great to see that every shop was different and unique, I didn’t recognise any high street names. I had also noticed, amazingly, that some of the houses had their front doors open, though I guess there must be little crime with only one was on or off the island. We continued through the town to the west side where a large strip of grass on the seaward side was used for football and a playground, while the houses on the right were larger and more individual than earlier, less charming but still impressive. There were a number of turnings off the main road through Millport but we continued, and after a small incline rounded another right hand bend we left the town behind and were again alone with just the coastline to our left and hills to the right. The sea was a lot calmer on the Western side and the views across to the Isle of Bute were magnificent. With the wind behind us, we were moving fairly well and caught and passed a lone cyclist. To our right there was a long strip of rocky crags of fairly substantial height, onto one had been painted a red Indian, who seemed to change expression as we cycled past. Again on this side of the island there was the occasional building, though we did also pass a small caravan park and a closed tea room.

We approached the north end of the island and again the wonderful view up the Firth of Clyde opened up in front of us, as we began to feel the wind again. On this end of the island we passed several groups of walkers who presumable were going the opposite way around, but before we knew it we had arrived back at the ferry slipway having completed our ten mile circumference of the island in just over 50 minutes.

We decided it would be good to see the island from the top, however I also wanted to do a flying lap on my bike, as it would be good training and I was interested to see how fast I could cover the ten miles. This meant leaving my Dad behind but he was fine with that. I directed him on the road to the top of Galid hill and set off myself. It was a gentle climb for over a mile or so, then there was a sharp right and we hooked round towards the summit, when the climb got markedly steeper and was quite a struggle. However this was the top and I dismounted and walked the small distance to the trig point at the top, adjacent to the Glaid stone itself, which is a natural rock, not a monument of any kind. There was also a copper plate directing your eyes towards other landmarks. As I thought, the views were spectacular from the top, words can’t really do them justice but maybe the photos will. It was only marred slightly by the obligatory set of communication masts, which were protected by that ugly metal fencing you normally get, albeit in green. Surely if front doors can be left open this sort of protection isn’t needed. I was also confused why coverage couldn’t be provided from the mainland which wasn’t a great distance away.

I got back on the bike and descended in a southerly direction back to Millport, a slightly hairy descent as the road was narrow and well used by farm vehicles, so was loose and quite rugged. There were also a couple of very sharp bends, but further down the surface improved and I whizzed past the Catherdral back into Millport. Turning left, I put my foot down and began to attack a lap of the island in the opposite direction to before (anti-clockwise). This blog isn’t really about my physical exploits, but I really pushed and despite a strong headwind on the west side, just broke the 30 minute barrier which I was quite pleased with. It would have been nice to explore Millport a bit more, but time was pressing so I eased of back round to the slipway to meet Dad who luckily has stocked up on drinks once he had reached Millport. We had just missed a sailing, so had plenty of time to eulogise over the views from the Glaid stone which we agreed we magnificent. In no time at all the boat returned, this time we were just two of around a dozen bikes. The sun had now fully broken through as we sailed away from the island, reflecting on a calm, peaceful and beautiful couple of hours.

VITAL STATISTICS – Great Cumbrae

Mode of Transport – Boat/Bike

Distance Travelled on Island– 28.1m

High Point – 127m, Glaid Hill

Population – 1431 (2001)

Area – 4.5sq.miles

Largest Town – Millport

Highest Point – Glaid Hill, 127m

LINKS

Wikipedia

Millportwebsite

UndiscoveredScotland

Ferry Info

Further Reading

I found the Shell book of the Islands of Britain in Oxfam bookshop York, which by default is going to become the backbone of this odyssey. There appear to be very few books published which cover the Nation’s islands as a complete work, certainly none published recently. This book, written by David Booth and David Perrott, was published as long ago as 1981, but the geographical and historical content is certainly just as relevant today. Indeed I do not expect substantial change since the Authors compiled the book, I imagine the bigger changes to be transport based, such as the bridge to Skye and various causeways that have been built to improve access. But we shall see.

There are many books that deal with Scotland’s islands, mainly tourist guides and in small groups. I don’t really intend to delve into this field, however I may look for some travel writing of an island nature, to compare and contrast experiences. Also in the very growing world of travel literature are list based books, such as ‘1000 places to see before you day’ or one I recently spotted ‘Britain’s 1000 wildest places’ which included several island locations. I remain unconvinced of the merits of these list books as anything other than coffee table fodder really, lacking in detail, although that could entice further investigation.  Also on my bookshelf are the 100 greatest cycling hills in Britain, and the follow up volume, so I need to check out if any of these are on islands…

Island #1 - Isle of Sheppey

Sunday 10^th February 2013

This wasn’t the lengthiest of visits, in fact at 32 minutes it could be the shortest amount of time I spend on an island. Therefore I won’t claim to be doing the Isle of Sheppey justice, but I’ll tell you what I saw.

The Isle of Sheppey is at the mouth of the Thames Estuary and also is to one side of the River Medway as it flows into the Thames, the Isle of Grain being on the Northern side. It has a fairly rectangular appearance, albeit slightly rounded, and is 36 square miles in area. Predomiantly flat, it is believed the name Sheppey comes from the Anglo Saxon term Scaepige, meaning Sheep, a description than remains precise today.

Sheppey has a rich history, evidence has been found of a Bronze Age foundary, and the Saxons established a Monastery prior to AD675 which became home to the Queen of Kent. Later several Danish landings began here, including in 1004, King Sweyn of Denmark, whose son was the more famous King Canute of England. He spent much of his time at Shurland fortress on the Island.

Later, the Isle of Sheppey holds the infamous privilege of being the only part of inshore Britain to be successfully invaded, after the Dutch occupied the island in 1667 and had the Dutch flag raised above the courthouse at Queen borough.

In more recent times, shipyards dominated the Isle, until the Royal Navy closed its dockyards in 1960. The Sheerness steel mill opened in 1972 and employed many hundreds of people, but has struggled more recently and is currently closed, with hopes receding for a takeover and subsequent reopening.

It’s hard to avoid the feeling you haven’t reached an island if you don’t arrive by boat, or perhaps plane. It is easy to believe that some kind of removal from the mainland is required, to achieve the sense of isolation we often believe an island should give. The dictionary definition does not require this, so I am going to try and look beyond this and treat each place on its own merits.

On this occasion I was arriving by train, and by my estimations there’s only Anglesey & Holy Island where I’m also likely to arrive by train, so this is in fact England’s only mainland to island passenger railway link.

The short journey on what is one of the South East’s few remaining branch lines starts at Sittingbourne, and soon peels off the Medway line to the right. This is a triangular junction but only a few peak trains take the direct route to/from the London direction, the rest shuttling back and forth, usually in the hands of a 2 car Class 466 unit, today being no exception. The Sunday service is hourly but Mondays to Saturdays it is half hourly. The hourly service gave rise to an awkward decision on arrival at Sheerness-on-Sea, whether to spend 15 minutes or 1 hour 15 in Sheppey’s largest town. I left that decision until my arrival.

The train was quiet, with 20 or so aboard. Average temperatures on the Isle of Sheppey must be quite high for I overheard three separate conversations relating to how cold it was. I’d say the temperature was about 5 degrees but the locals seemed convinced that the second Ice Age was forthcoming. Maybe this was wishful thinking seeing as any rise in sea level could see them underwater. I can already see me getting sick of standard British weather conversations. Another woman talked about her dog and how it had been to see a dog psychologist to try and shed its fear of other small dogs.

First stop was Kemsley, still on the mainland, where the miniscule electronic screens display the departures for both platforms rather than just the one they were stood one. A man ran onto the other platform before realising the train wasn’t going his way, we stuttered away as the train appeared to struggle to pick up power, whining, groaning, stuttering, but we eventually got going.

 The dual carriageway joined us on the left, empty like the train and we hit the open landscape, flat green and grey. It was a bleak, typical winters day, the sky covered in a wet undercoat of battleship grey and the train windows streaked with raindrops as we went on.

Ahead was the flat expanse of the Isle of Sheppey, with a slight wooded rise to our right, the view was punctured by pylons and occasional scrubland, as well as some waterlogged patches. The dual carriageway began to rise onto the new bridge. A more featureless bridge you are unlikely to find, as if a 5 year old was ask to draw Daddy a big bridge, it simply rises to a great height on massive concrete stilts and falls away again. No girders, no cables, nothing. A triumph of function over form, but anything more majestic would surely be out of place.

The old road then drew alongside as we pulled into Swale station, a single platform as the two tracks have now become one. In terms of railway isolation, you may have heard of the usual suspects; Dovey Junction, Berney Arms, Rannoch Moor, in this travelogue age these places have become destinations in themselves. Not so Swale. What purpose this platform serves is not apparent, it stands guarding the river but now guarded by the behemoth bridge above, with not a sign of any life anywhere near, not even a sheep. The stop here is deeply mysterious, who would get on or off here? A walker who has taken a wrong turning perhaps. Request stops were invented for locations such as this.

Almost immediately on departure we glide over the Kingsferry bridge, which has parallel road and rail sections. The centre section rises vertically between two N shaped towers on each side, each of predictably, concrete construction. The bridge dates from 1960 and still rises to a height of 37m several times per day, though the road traffic must be minimal since the adjacent monster opened in 2006. Wikipedia appears confused on the history of the bridge but it is clear there have been several bridges on the site since the first railway bridge was built in 1860. It presents rather a brutal entrance to the island, but certainly holds more charm than the adjacent road bridge. These bridges are the only link to the mainland. To the unaware though, this could just be a river crossing at around 70m wide.

Onto the island itself, we scuttle onwards over the featureless flat lads which are first dominated by sheep and then by a pick up truck holding area. To the left, the north, the open view towards the Thames Estuary provides a bit more light, highlighting more pylons and dockland warehouses in the distance. An estate of 70’s council houses presented itself on the right, but no signs of life were seen through the drizzle. Some railway sidings drifted off to the left, disused but still visible through the undergrowth. We smoothly stopped at Queenborough the large station building still stands, cream coloured but would be better in brick, use unclear. Two of the arctic monkeys who were complaining about the cold braved the icy wilderness. It wasn’t long before we arrived at the left hand platform at Sheerness-on-Sea. I walked to the end of the platform and made my way out through the functional booking room.

The main road crossed in front, splitting in two to the right, one branch down the narrow High Street, which contained many shops, but being Sunday lunchtime, was deserted. A strip of land straight ahead led to the seafront, so with limited time I made my way over the road and onto the path. To my left were two ubiquitous British sights, which I wasn’t expecting too much of on my travels, a McDonalds and a Tesco. Having said that, it was a novelty to see them so close to a town centre rather than in some soulless retail farm on a ring road. To the right of the seabound path was a large play area, embedded deliberately in sand, but deserted on a miserable day like today. Then further to the left, was the more grown up, and indoor version, containing amusments, ten pin bowling, and Tantra nightclub. Bizzarely it was pumping out some Coldplay, which was at odds with the flashing hyperactivity of the machines inside, but apt in the greyness outside as I approached the sea wall.

It truly was a full palette of grey that unfolded before me, the wide expanse of the Thames estuary just about fronted by a thin fringe of pebbled beach. To my left a man kicked the stones with no real effort, as the water lapped at his feet. I looked for the dog he was walking, but couldn’t see one. The thin line on the Horizon to the left was Essex, but it was a long way away, several ships appeared not to move between here and there, I figured that Turner must have had a vivid imagination. This was not clearly an island coastline, it was very much a mainland coastline, with cycle signs and dog bins, concerete galore.

Time was pressing, and I had to make a decision to stay for another hour or not, so I decided to take a peek down the High Street, to see if this would be a worthwhile thing to do. As I retraced my steps, I noticed the signposts appeared in French, German and Dutch, as well as English. A hopeful gesture, I felt. I don’t think the Dutch will be repeating their invasion any time soon, even on the Tourist front.

The High Street didn’t offer much to the casual visitor, at this end at least, a couple of Charity shops, a newsagent, several takeways, and a pub that I couldn’t tell whether it was open or not. I tend not to trust pubs that have flourcescent starred card signs in any case. Further down the High Street contained your national stores, banks, chemists, phone shops that could be on any High Street in Britain.

I looked up where the nearest Good Beer Guide pub was, and it was in the Blue Town. Sheerness has three parts, the Marine Town, the Mile Town and the Blue Town, the OIdest, being at the tip of the island pointing into the Thames.  However, the thought of a mile walk to sit alone in a pub didn’t entice, and I decided to make my way back to station. As I did so, I passed a second hand electronics shop, and was amazed to see a first Generation Mega Drive holding fort in the window. Must have antique value now.

As I arrived back at the Station, I took a look at the community Noticeboard, which advertised Guided tours of the Island. Unfortunately they were only on the 2^nd Saturday of every month. However, noticing they started at the Blue Town Heritage centre, I quickly googled to see if I had found something to keep me occupied for a little longer and perhaps justify that pint. Alas it is only open Tuesdays to Saturdays, which left me persuaded the best thing to do was to get the imminent train back to Sittingbourne.

As we moved back towards the Kingsferry bridge, I felt that there was certainly more the Island to see, but the train journey and short walk certainly gave me a good impression, this is an island that is really just an extension of the mainland, but is certainly intrinsically linked with the sea, and perhaps the island should trade on some of its historic elements more, as nearby Chatham has done successfully. Certainly being flat and near to the sea, it could prove decent walking and cycling territory, but visually the landward parts are marred by industry so there is little to entice people over the bridge at present. An interesting start to my travels nonetheless, something I think will be a lot different from the forthcoming visits.

VITAL STATISTICS – ISLE OF SHEPPEY

Mode of Transport – Train/Foot

Distance Travelled on Island– 8.1m

High Point – Did not cross a contour! So about 4m, on the sea wall.

Population – 37,852 (2001)

Area – 36sq.miles

Largest Town – Sheerness on Sea

Highest Point – The Mount, 73m

LINKS

Wikipedia

Sheerness Steel Factory

Sheppey History

Introduction

To celebrate my 30th Year on this Earth, I've decided to attempt to visit 30 different islands off the Coast of Great Britain. I've always enjoyed visiting islands and exploring new parts of the UK. Whether I manage this is debatable, quite a big challenge, especially as I don't own a car! No planned itinerary as such, so I'll be fitting islands in with other activities or when I have time, and recording the results here. Hope you enjoy reading.
Cheers
Leon