Millport, Isle of Cumbrae

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

Millport is the only town on the Isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The town is 4 miles south from the Largs-based Caledonian MacBrayne ferry slipway.

Due to its small size, the island and its town are inextricably linked in the minds of visitors and residents. For more information about the immediate area, it may be helpful to also refer to the Isle of Cumbrae page.

The town has the smallest extant cathedral in the British Isles: the Cathedral of the Isles of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

1 History
2 Current Developments
3 Retail Facilites
4 Tourism
5 Recreation
6 External links

[edit] History

The Garrison House in the centre of town was formerly the barracks/Captain's mansion, then the home of the Earl of Glasgow, and during 2004 was made subject to a Lottery Funds appeal after being destroyed by arson in 2001, with funding of a level sufficient to get work underway eventually secured (see "Current Developments", below).

During the development of the River Clyde as a main thoroughfare for goods, shipbuilding and smuggling, Millport was a strategic base for Customs and Excise. Several of the streets in Millport are named after crew members of the Revenue Cutter, "Royal George".

The Victorian era was a period of rapid growth, both in terms of population, governance, amenities and property. To the west and east of the old harbour, many fine Victorian and Edwardian villas were built, along with new tenements. These still form the backbone of the housing stock.

[edit] Current Developments

After many years of hard work by all concerned, the completion of a complete renovation of the Garrison House is imminent. This stage has been reached using mostly traditional skills, materials and Eastern European workers, and the Garrison House should prove to be a major attraction for residents and visitors. It is hoped that North Ayrshire Council will desist from incorporating necessarily ugly street furniture, like bus stop shelters, within the sightlines of this B Listed building.

Currently a large development of around 40 family sized homes is underway between the Bowling Green and Penmachrie Farm. It is notable that the houses are being built primarily by private individuals - with the land having been sold off in the form of single plots.

[edit] Retail Facilites

For a town of it's size, Millport is very well served by shops. Amongst the shops available are newsagents, grocers, craft and gift shops, clothes shops, electrical and hardware stores. There is a small fuel station in the town although this currently (March 2007) sells only diesel as the petrol pump is in a state of disrepair. There are three cycle hire shops, with several hundred bicycles between them.

There are Indian and Chinese restaurants, two chippies and several other restaurants making eating out easy to come by. There are five pubs - two of which have a dancefloor where discos are held primarily during the summer season.

[edit] Tourism

Millport, along with Rothesay on the Bute, is famous with generations of daytrippers from Glasgow as one of the resorts visited going "doon the watter" (down the water), meaning taking a trip aboard a River Clyde paddle steamer. At one time it was common for visitors to stay for several weeks over the summer, however nowadays the primary tourist trade comes in the form of daytrippers. This is mostly due to the growth of package holidays to Spain and the Balearics in the 1960s. It is still possible to experience a traditional day out courtesy of the PS Waverley which calls at Millport twice a week during the summer, once originating at Ayr and once at Glasgow.

The town has hosted a Country and Western Festival in September for the past 11 years, and a fireworks display is held during September Weekend.

Millport Bay contains a number of free-to-use visitor moorings, and is a popular destination for sailors in the summer. There is a small boat yard at the western end of the town.

[edit] Recreation

Millport has an excellent 18-hole golf course, with spectacular views over the Arran hills. Other recreational facilities include a crazy golf course and two football pitches, one at either end of the town. For fishing, there are two fresh water reservoirs beside the golf course where fly fishing is available and excellent sea fishing, primarily for Mackerel, is available. The best place for this is from the rocks at Farland Point, just inside the town limits.