Sunday 17th 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
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