There are three bike hire shops available in the main town of Millport, and the island will not fail to delight with its miles of stunning coastline. But if the town can be said to have a heart, then it can probably be found at the harbour, towards the western end of the main promenade.Ĭumbrae is a great spot for outdoor enthusiasts It extends for the better part of two miles along the shore, yet for much of that length is only one or two streets deep. Garrison House provides a focal point, both geographically and in terms of community activity. It also does much to improve the appearance of the whole of the centre of Millport.
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It now provides a range of community facilities including the Museum of the Cumbraes, a library, and a cafe, plus medical services and council offices. Thankfully a major restoration has since been completed, resulting in a rebirth of this magnificent building. A fire in 2001 did little to improve matters. With the Cathedral of the Isles set back from the sea, the most striking building in any view along or across Millport Bay is Garrison House. This is the name now given to what was previously known as The Garrison. Until 1997 this was used as council offices, but it was then abandoned due to its poor condition. It’s especially popular with cyclists, most doing the 10 mile circuit of the island on bikes. Today’s Millport retains its sandy beaches and slightly old-world resort feel. The town was for many years the terminus for a direct passenger ferry link to Largs and Wemyss Bay, but this ceased with the advent of the roll-on roll-off services to the newly-built Cumbrae Slip in 1972. The building was completed in 1851, and in 1876 it was consecrated as the Cathedral of the Isles. It remains a must-see part of any visit to the island.ĭespite a boycott in 1906 over harbour dues, Millport was an important stopping off point for Clyde steamers until the 1960s: and it remains a regular port of call for the Waverley, the world’s last sea-going paddle steamer. In 1849 the 6th Lord Glasgow funded the building of a theological college in Millport. It also grew as the island holiday resort of choice for the Victorian chattering classes. In 1833 Lord Glasgow built a pier at Millport and the town rapidly became a regular port of call for Clyde steamers. The ship’s captain built a barracks on the seafront to accommodate the crew, which became known as The Garrison. The Garrison was remodelled in 1819-20 when it became the family home of the island’s owner, Lord Glasgow. Originally the villages of Kames and Kirkton overlooked different ends of the bay that forms most of Great Cumbrae’s south coast, but they gradually grew together as Millport.įrom the mid 1700s Millport was used as a base for a fast customs cutter, ideally placed to keep track of shipping passing through the Firth of Clyde. Millport is home to Britain’s smallest cathedral, the Cathedral of the Isles, which was completed in 1851 to a design by William Butterfield, one of the leading Gothic revival architects of the day. The only settlement is Millport, a seaside town with a Victorian promenade which curves around an attractive hilly bay on the south coast. It is still possible to experience a traditional day out on the PS Waverley which operates from both Glasgow and Ayr during the summer. Today most visitors are daytrippers, mostly due to the growth of foreign package holidays in the 1960s. Tourism grew in the 20th century, and Millport became a popular stop for Clyde steamers and families going ‘Doon the Watter for the Fair’ (Glasgow Fair holidays). In 1999 the final feudal landowner, Le Mans winner Johnny Dumfries, now Bute, of Mount Stuart House, put the island up for general sale, with first refusal given to his farmer tenants. Ballochmartin Bay and Portrye (derived from Gaelic elements meaning “king’s harbour”) are suggested locations for the Norwegian-anchorage.įor many centuries the island was under shared ownership, with the Marquess of Bute in the west and the Earl of Glasgow in the east. In 1263, Haakon IV, King of Norway, may have used the eastern coast of the island as an anchorage for his fleet, before the inconclusive Battle of Largs. The Cathedral of the Isles is reputed to have been built on the site where St Mirin preached. Legend has it that St Mirin, on his return to Scotland from Ireland around AD 710, arrived in Cumbrae and, following the example of St Patrick, rid the island of snakes. The island has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age.
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