Whether in summer, when the waters of the Firth of Clyde offer respite from the heat of the sun, or in autumn, when the hills are purple with heather and ablaze with gorse bloom, or in winter, when the warm winds seem to ward off the snow and frost, or in spring, when the young lambs skip upon the fresh green flanks of the Sheughans, there are no places more attractive in appearance, more seductive to the eye, than Bute and the Cumbraes, those fair jewels that bedeck the bosom the Firth of Clyde.
Rothesay, the capital of Bute and a town greatly favoured as a holiday resort, is reached by steamer from the mainland. The Chief feature of Rothesay is its castle, a venerable old structure said to have been originally built by Magnus Barefoot in 1098.
From Rothesay one may ascend the hill of Craigmore by the aptly-names Serpentine Road. The summit affords entrancing views in every direction, and no less than seven counties can be seen from it. Rothesay Bay seems to be at our feet, while to the north the Kyles of Bute pierce the heart of the Cowal Hills. Towards the east the Cumbraes raise their brown heads above the bluish-green waters of the Firth. Farther off, the hills of Argyllshire, crowned by the more distant Ben Lomond, form the horizon. In the opposite direction the foreground is attractively broken by Loch Fad and Loch Ascog; in the middle distance is the Sound of Bute, while the cloud-topped peaks of Arran make an imposing background. Towards the west the beautiful isle of Inchmarnock lies between us and the inhospitable shore of Kintyre.
North of Rothesay the road follows the shoreline out to Ardbeg Point, beyond which lie Kames Bay and Port Bannatyne. From here it is possible to cross the islands at the narrowest part to Ettrick Bay, a fine stretch of sand with glorious outlook upon the west. The northern half of Bute, beyond this point, is made up of heather-clad hills, picturesque to the eye and rich in bird-life, but quite un-productive.
In the very north of the Island is Buttock Point. This can only be reached by scrambling round the shore, for road there is none; but the difficulties of approach are well rewarded by the view. Two standing stones near the Point are known as “The Maids of Bute.” North of Buttock Point are several small wooded islands, upon one of which , Eilean Dearg, the insurrection of the ninth Earl of Argyll came to a disastrous end in 1685. The mouth of Loch Riddon has a quiet rustic beauty, though without the silence of desolation that haunts Loch Striven, or the charm of variety that lingers round the Kyles themselves. East of Buttock Point the Burnt Islands are scattered across the narrow waterway, forming an almost complete bar to navigation, while to the west the other leg of the Kyles stretch down towards Tighnabruaich.
Near the south of Bute is the ruined church of St Blane, one of the most important early religious sites in Scotland. “A lovelier or serener site could scarce be found in any land. The monastery itself was embowered beneath the wind-shelter of a rocky ridge which looks down on the vitrified fort of Dunagoil.”
Adjoining the church are two churchyards. For centuries man only were buried in the higher one and women in the lower of the two cemeteries. Tradition has it that St Blane came to Bute from Rome taking steps of three leagues and in this way strode straight from Ailsa Craig to where his church now stands, and where the mark of his foot is still to be seen.
Along the west shore of Bute there are many bays, Dunagoil Bay, Stravanan Bay, Scalpsie Bay, St Ninian’s Bay and the rest, which form ideal sites for picnics. Just off the west of Bute is Inchmarnock, the isle of St Marnock.
In crossing from Largs to Millport on the Great Cumbrae the steamer passes near the site of the Battle of Largs, where in 1263 the Norwegian king was defeated by the strategy of the Scots and the force of an October Storm.
The town of Millport is set snugly round the shore of a semi-circular bay in the south of the Great Cumbrae. Here can be found fine sands and open grassy spaces, and swimming, and fishing, and boating, and fine walks – in fact everything for the perfect holiday.
The distance round the Great Cumbrae is ten miles only, and on a clear day, when the distant hills stand out against a blue sky and wind is blowing the waves on to the rocks in foaming masses, it is exhilarating to walk round the island. Along the east coast of the island we pass Keppal Pier and the Marine Biological Station. Then we come to the Lion Rock, which in outline looks like some huge beast escaped from the sea and rushing up the hill. Although the geologists tell us that it is a intrusive dyke of hard stone which has withstood the weather better than the surrounding sandstone, a more romantic explanation is that it is a relic of a bridge which the fairies sought to build from Cumbrae to the mainland. In the north of Cumbrae, at Tomond End, we pass a memorial to two midshipmen who perished nearby in 1844. Then we pass Wine Bay and Brandy Bay we may take a shortcut back to Millport over the Sheughans, from the heights of which we may behold the peaks of Arran beckoning to us over Bute, and almost at our feet is the narrow passage connecting the busy towns of Clyde with the open sea.
Above Millport is the Gledstane, the highest point on the island, overlooking much of the Cumbraes and the Firth of Clyde, and a wide and varied scene. The Cumbrae itself offers green fields and rolling hills. Bute, expanses of heather-clad uplands and thick woods, and Arran’s high mountains rise steeply and grimly from the water’s edge.
To the south of Millport is the island of Little Cumbrae. It has no pier or harbour of any size, and is not visited by steamers, but can easily be reached by motor-boat from Millport.
Upon the east side of the Little Cumbrae, on a reef of rock that is cut off at high tide, stand the massive remains of an ancient tower or castle. Upon the highest point of the island is an old beacon, which was built in 1750.
The visitor, roaming the tine island, will find much to interest and please him – scanty ruins of old houses, the site of an early chapel, mounds that mark prehistoric or Viking burials, and a cove that monks once slept in; but to my mind the thing that makes strongest appeal is the feeling of freedom produced by the wind and the sea and the rocks, by the near presence of God’s work and the absence of man’s.