Great Cumbrae and Millport.

                                                    ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN. 

As it's been a few years since I've visited Millport and Great Cumbrae I thought it was time for a return trip so this day walk occurred mid July of 2025. According to the blog my last visit happened just before Covid lockdown, early 2020, with snow still covering the Arran peaks. This time it was the school summer holidays so I suspected it would be busy, arriving in Largs by car just before 10:00am. Like everywhere else these days it can be hard to get parked if you arrive after that time though in Largs you can always get parked in a quiet back street in the fringes of the town. Largs above, near where I parked.

A view of Largs in the other direction, toilet block on this grass slope still open and free to use. As is the parking strip here. Horray! I'd deliberately picked a cloudy overcast day as I thought it would be less busy coupled with the fact that I was finding Scottish summers a bit too warm now for my liking with high humidity and an average of 22c (71 f)  to 28c (82f) throughout July. Summers used to be cool in Scotland mostly but for the past few years from May to September it has been warm enough to sit indoors with just shorts on, nothing else, not even socks, past midnight. And as my bedroom faces the sun all day, even with blinds closed and windows shut, it can reach oven like night time temperatures, brick walls and attic acting as storage heaters. Which is handy in winter but if it keeps up I may have to invest in a cooler unit rather than just a fan, Scottish houses, up until very recently, not requiring any air con in them. On days when it's above 25c I just drape a damp sheet over the bed before going to sleep, like a mosquito net, and this does help to cool the air beneath it.... and me. Cheap DIY air con.

The island of Great Cumbrae from Largs as seen from the Gogo Water. Great Cumbrae is not very big, around 16km following the coastal road around it, so this is most of it in this view apart from the town of Millport, out of shot on the left hand side.

The great thing about it is it's easy to get to, a mere ten minutes crossing and with 26 sailings a day in summer you can just turn up, as a foot passenger, and if you miss one ferry another turns up 15 minutes later. A real bonus in modern times as so many places and things now require you to pre book in advance rather than just turn up on the day. Sometimes weeks or months early. Even pre booking years ahead in certain popular cases. The down side of smart phones and the internet. Obviously if you want to take a car across you may have to book that.

Unlike every other time I got a bus into Millport. I usually walk across the island via the highpoint, The Glaid Stone at 127 metres (416 feet) which has great views and rural island scenery but this time I wanted to explore Millport more. Free bus travel with my over 60s card too but bus (£4?) and ferry (4:50?) combined still under £10 for one day return foot passenger. The reason for the ? is because I got an OAP discount on the ferry and never thought to look at the full price but the younger guy next to me was charged £4 return on bus. This is worth it as it's still a great little island. Part of Millport above and where I got off the bus as I wanted to walk into the town from the outskirts along the coastline.   

A rock garden.

Getting nearer. One of several sandy beaches in Millport. It is also a great island to explore at any time of year and I have enjoyed many memorable winter trips here in the past with the Arran peaks plastered in snow, crunching across this beach on a carpet of ice. Yet still a fine outing as it was sunny with no wind and surprisingly pleasant. Far less tourists about then.

This time it was as busy as I've seen it with maybe around 300 to 500 folk on the island in total but obviously I've avoided photographing them all where possible. I was surprised, given the number of people around, to see several of the outlying small shops were shut ( it was a Saturday.) as I'd assumed this was the time to make money if any money was to be had. But maybe with online sales they did not need to be open. Or maybe covid hit them hard. A puzzle that one fleeting visit would not solve. The bike shop, hiring all kinds of bikes including multi group vehicles, ( like 4 to 6 person peddle golf carts) and adult with child trailers I spotted all around the coastal road. Many folk also brought their own bikes across with them on the ferry.

I don't remember this wall and benches on my last visit as I think I might have photographed it if I had spotted it then but new or otherwise I was certainly impressed by it. A nice feature.

Apart from an attractive walkway and seating it may also double as flood defences.

I think I'm right in saying that all the islands in the Firth of Clyde are volcanic in origin. Volcanic plugs or ancient lava flows. This may explain why Millport has such an attractive shoreline with several small islands, rocky pools and stone platforms as well as sandy beaches. 

I forgot how beautiful it actually is here and it has retained its old fashioned feel. Nothing wrong with that as everyone I passed... be it eating ice cream cones, or cycling, or walking, or sitting, or playing crazy golf, or bouncing on the inflatable amusements looked really happy. And no one, for a change, appeared glued to their smart phones.

The painted Crocodile Rock was still getting families approaching it for a better look....

 

 An old family favourite for generations of children. 

but I found a larger creature lurking nearby. The less well known Dragon Rock.

The world's narrowest house is still going strong in central Millport. It even has it's own QR code now. ( black door and one window above it. Enough room for a bed, a TV and a chair presumably. That would do me. Don't need much else for a holiday bolt hole.)

The magic island. Some local walks. This was why I took the bus as it gave me a chance to explore and the energy to do some local Millport paths I hadn't done before. It was still hot and humid, around 24c but I arrived fresh, thanks to the bus.

First footpath sign I spotted led straight uphill from the town centre to a white/grey church which was getting renovated.

This is it here.

A path on the right hand side of the church took me round the top of Millport's outskirts.

It was all very Alice in Wonderland and I didn't mind being Alice for a day. No summer dress though. I draw the line at that.  The rabbits would show up later :o) White or otherwise.

Being high summer it was a bit overgrown in places but still easy to follow...

Past the Cheshire Cat.... not looking very cheery here though. Smile ye not... Hot summer and a thick fur coat maybe not the best combination.

And down again past a bridge troll.

After a good wander around the various town trails I decided to walk the full length of the western coastal road as that is the longest route around the island and as such one I've only done a handful of times over the decades... and the opposite side to the bus route.

There is a pavement all the way round this road and being high summer it was covered in flowering wild plants. 

It is the wildest and most rugged part of this small island and to my imaginative mind, in the sticky heat, it did start to resemble a smaller version of Hawaii ( A higher and more recent volcanic chain of islands which was used for the Jurassic Park films... and the TV series Lost.) 

Large impenetrable cliffs follow the coast road here most of the way with birds of prey, ravens, crows and large gulls soaring in the skies above. Still don't think it looks like Jurassic Park....?  

Well .... all of these latter day dinosaurs are meat eaters so the White or Grey rabbit (s) stood no chance. Cars on Great Cumbrae have increased slightly, especially in high summer, but the roads are still quiet enough for safe cycling. 

From the birds point of view it's ideal. Sit on your bum on the cliff edge until a bunny gets run over then glide down and have breakfast, lunch or dinner. See.... Just like the Jurassic Park of Scotland... yet only a tenner to get here. Dozens and dozens of bikes trundled past me but I appeared to be the only one walking.

A more secluded beach on this remoter side of the island with not a soul on it. As morning passed into afternoon and the muggy weather increased it got very dark and thundery. You couldn't see Arran at all and could barley see Bute. Both other larger neighbouring islands in the Firth of Clyde

I began to think a thunderstorm was brewing... which would have matched the lush and  sweaty tropical climate at this point.

The mainland at Largs was even darker...

...but although it threatened to produce thunder and lightening it did not rain.

This was a morning shot taken from the Ferry. Largs and 'The Knock.' (The small green hill.)

And this was my return to Largs in the late afternoon. I walked around 12 miles or 19km in total, most of it on hard pavements so I was a bit footsore returning to the car. A great day out though.

Still a magic island. A hill cottage above the town of Largs.