Great Cumbrae

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Great Cumbrae and other south-west coast islands

Great Cumbrae (Scottish Gaelic, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland (at grid reference NS169566). The island is 3.9 km long by 2 km wide rising to a height of 127 metres above sea level, and the western coastline in particular is characterised by some of the best examples of the raised beach effect in the UK.

From the Ordnance Survey Triangulation point adjacent to The Glaidstane (the stone marking the highest point on the island) there are breathtaking panoramic views of the upper Clyde estuary and onwards to Ben Lomond in the north, and the much larger islands of Bute, Arran, over the Kintyre peninsular and to the Paps of Jura in the west. Ailsa Craig (commonly referred to as Paddy’s Milestone) is visible beyond Little Cumbrae, some 40 miles distant to the south.

Flights across the Atlantic from Glasgow International Airport can provide a good view of the island.

The island's only town, Millport, is spread around a large bay which constitutes the entire south coast of the island. The usual population of the island in the 2001 census was 1,434 (with a much larger residence during the holiday season), while the island has been inhabited since the end of the last ice age. The land on the island is primarily owned by the farmers, with the other major land owner being the Millport Golf Club.

A Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry connects it with Largs, Ayrshire on the Scottish mainland. A new ferry, MV Loch Shira, [1] built at Ferguson Shipbuilders in Port Glasgow, is due to enter service summer 2007. There are concerns, due to the design being based on an inappropriate, crude and outdated vessel form factor, that conditions such as equinox tides and winds over 40mph will compound service reliability problems. Major alterations to Largs pier are necessary in order to provide an ideal berthing solution for the new boat - as of March 2007 these have not begun and this will mean that the new ferry is likely to have to sail to Fairlie every night to be tied up. The increased length of the new vessel will also mean that the tail end will protrude from Largs harbour at certain states of the tide - which could be problematic during spells of high winds.

The island was immortalised in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series, Millport, written by and starring Lynn Ferguson, the voice of Mac in the animated film Chicken Run.

1 History
2 Current Developments
3 Tourism
4 Marine environment and wildlife
5 Environmental issues
6 Notable residents
7 References

[edit] History

Cumbrae's past has long been linked to Christianity in Scotland, and at one time the island had many standing stones. The Aberdeen Breviary (printed in Edinburgh) of 1509 gives an account of two of the island's early female missionaries, Saints Beya and Maura.

In 1999 the final feudal landowner, Le Mans winner Johnny Dumfries, now Bute, of Mount Stuart House, put the island up for sale to his farmer tenants. For many centuries previously the island had shared ownership, with the Marquess of Bute in the west and the Earl of Glasgow in the east.

[edit] Current Developments

It is currently being proposed (March 2007) to initiate an environmentally friendly facility at Wine Bay, near the north end of the island. This would at least involve a vegetable garden and composting facilities and it is hoped that this would eventually become self-sufficient and employ local people. Some concern has been raised however about the distance from the town (around 4 miles by road) making it difficult to get to for many, and also the possibility of pollutant emissions from vehicles travelling to the site negating any environmental benefits.

A forestry project is underway on the hillside above Ballochmartin Farm, on either side of the Inner Circle road. Trees are being planted throughout spring 2007.

[edit] Tourism

Approaching Millport, Great Cumbrae, on the P.S. Waverley.

During the summer, the population grows by several thousand every weekend. Hiring a bike and cycling around the island's 11-mile encircling coastal road is a popular activity for visitors, as the roads are quiet compared to the mainland, and cycle hire is amongst the cheapest and most readily available in the country. Fintry Bay, around 3 miles from Millport on the west coast, has a small cafe.

Millport Bay, with visitor moorings, is a popular destination for sailors in the summer, and the National Watersports Centre at the ferry slip provides tuition in most boating disciplines, such as powerboating and kayaking, all year round. The most dived site on the Clyde is just south of the ferry slip – a Second World War Catalina flying boat.

Other attractions include:

Cathedral of the Isles – William Butterfield, one of the great architects of the Gothic revival designed the cathedral church of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles, within the Episcopal Church of Scotland (Anglican Communion). George Frederick Boyle, 6th Earl of Glasgow acted as the founder and benefactor. Construction finished in 1849 and the cathedral opened in 1851. Formal gardens and woodland surround the cathedral, the highest building on Great Cumbrae and the smallest cathedral in the British Isles (and probably in Europe).
College of the Holy Spirit – attached to the Cathedral, this former seminary for ordination training is now a Retreat House and the Argyll Diocesan Conference Centre. It was the base for The Community of Celebration, or Fisherfolk, an international group of artists and musicians sharing a Benedictine lifestyle during the 1970s and 80s.
The Wedge – a private residence which has the smallest frontage in the UK – the width of a front door.
Museum of the Cumbraes
Marine Biology Station, Keppel Pier – run by the Universities of Glasgow and London, the station has an aquarium of sea creatures from the Firth of Clyde, and a museum which tells the story of the sea and of the Clyde area. It has a hostel which provides accomodation for visiting parties of marine biology students from around the UK - primarily over the summer months.
National Water Sports Centre [2]

[edit] Marine environment and wildlife

Cumbrae's marine climate can receive gale force winds from the atlantic at any time of year - these westerly or south-westerly gales can be severe and destructive. However, whilst the west of the island might be in the throes of a 70mph gale, the sheltered east side facing Largs can seem like a duckpond.

The well respected University Marine Biological Station, Millport (Universities of Glasgow and London, founded 1885 by Sir John Murray and David Robertson) just outside the town has an interesting curriculum and research programme, with a welcome influx of UK and foreign students throughout the academic year. A Museum and Aquarium is open to visitors. The station took delivery (May 2003, in the presence of Princess Anne) of the Macduff-built, 22-metre "RV Aora" marine Research Vessel. UMBSM also functions as a Meteorological Office Weather Station and Admiralty Tide Monitor.

Local wildlife, apart from Owls, Polecats, Rabbits, Common Kestrels and the occasional Golden Eagle and sea Eagle includes a large seabird population - Fulmars, Cormorants, Oyster catchers and many more. Other marine life includes Seals, Basking Sharks and Dolphins.

[edit] Environmental issues

Cumbrae lies close to two nuclear power stations - Hunterston A (being de-commissioned) and Hunterston B near Fairlie (Magnox and Advanced gas-cooled reactor respectively). The waters nearby are also host to the UK's current nuclear deterrent, Vanguard class submarines carrying Trident missiles, from HM Naval Base at Faslane/Coulport, further up the Clyde. The United States Navy, now departed, spent nearly 40 years at the Holy Loch, using the older Polaris Nuclear submarines. The oil-fired Inverkip Power Station (mothballed) lies to the north near Wemyss Bay, dominating the skyline.

See British replacement of the Trident system for current debate on this issue.

A wind farm lies behind Hunterston B on Busbie Muir, above West Kilbride. It contains 12 100-metre high turbines, which can be spectacularly seen from Cumbrae, especially in early morning and late evening light.

There is a curling pond near the top of the island, with a bothy, which due to possible climate change factors has not been playable for several years.

[edit] Notable residents

Duncan Macrae (actor and comedian, Whisky Galore, The Prisoner)^[1]
Stephens Orr (society photographer)
David Robertson (naturalist)^[2]
Donald Swan (a respected 20th_century portrait and landscape painter)^[3]
The Saxon (a Clyde puffer which provided a shipping service to the island) and which featured in the TV series The Vital Spark, based on Neil Munro's Para Handy stories about the Vital Spark.