Millport (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Port a' Mhuilinn) is the only town on the island of Great Cumbrae in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

off the coast of mainland Britain, in the council area of

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east a ...

. The town is south of the ferry terminal that links the island to the Scottish mainland. Due to its small size, the island and its town are often linked in the minds of visitors and residents and Cumbrae is often referred to as Millport. The island offers views across to the Isle of Arran as well as of its smaller neighbour which lies barely a kilometre away, called

Little Cumbrae Little Cumbrae ( sco, Wee Cumbrae, gd, Cumaradh Beag) or Little Cumbrae Island is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The island is known locally as Wee Cumbrae. Etymology The Gaelic name ''Cumaradh'' means "place of th ...

. The Cumbraes are referred to as the ''Kumreyiar'' in the medieval Norse '' Saga of Haakon Haakonarson''.

Etymology

The Gaelic name ''Cumaradh'' means "place of the Cymric people", referring to the Brittonic-speaking inhabitants of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Alternatively, the name Cumbrae may derive from ''Kil Maura'' meaning "cell or church of a female saint".

History

Garrison House, Millport, Cumbrae, Scotland 04

The Garrison House in the centre of town, constructed in 1745, was formerly the

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

/Captain's mansion, then the home of the

Earl of Glasgow Earl of Glasgow is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for David Boyle, Lord Boyle. The first earl was subsequently one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Union uniting the Kingdom of England and the Ki ...

, and is now in community ownership (see "Current Developments" below). During the development of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

as a main thoroughfare for goods,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

and

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are variou ...

, Millport was a strategic base for Customs and Excise. Several of the streets in Millport are named after crew members of the

Revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive rev ...

cutter ''Royal George''. The

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

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 The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

villas were built, along with new tenements. Many of these used rock mined from

The Eileans The Eileans are two small, low-lying islands located in Newtown Bay, Millport on the island of Great Cumbrae, Scotland. (). The name is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic, ''eilean'' meaning "island". Unusually for the west coast of Scot ...

. These large houses still form the backbone of the housing stock. The Cathedral of the Isles of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

, completed in 1851, seats only 100 people. It is the smallest

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and is variously described as "the smallest cathedral in Europe", "the second smallest in Europe", or "probably the smallest in Europe". Various other churches such as the cathedrals in Nin and

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

lay claim to this title. The local Lady Margaret Hospital was founded in 1900 and bears the name of Lady Margaret Crichton-Stuart, daughter of John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute as a tribute and mark of respect to the eldest daughter of Lord Bute.

Residents

The usual island population of 1,376 as recorded by the 2011 census was a slight fall from the 2001 figure of 1,434. The population increases substantially during the summer tourist season. The island has an active and engaged community with a wide range of interest groups represented in the many clubs and associations on the island. The island has its own radio online station, Radio Millport.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

reported that Cumbrae was number 8 in British online property searches in 2021, attributing this to the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown then in force.

Governance

The community is represented by The Cumbrae

Community Council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

. Council members are elected by the residents, and all groups and individuals on the island are invited to its monthly meetings. The community council provides a connection with North Ayrshire council, and its members are formal members of Locality Planning Partnerships.

Developments

The Garrison House was badly damaged after an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

attack in 2001. Cumbrae Community Development Company, the local

development trust Development trusts are organisations operating in the United Kingdom that are: *community based, owned and led *engaged in the economic, environmental and social regeneration of a defined area or community *independent but seek to work in partners ...

, made a successful bid to the National Lottery and other funders to enable the building to be re-constructed for community benefit. After several years of work renovation of the property was completed in 2008 at a total cost of £5 million. It now houses the Museum of the Cumbraes, a library, council offices, a GP surgery and the Garrison Café. , developments on the island include: * A flood protection scheme is being developed for the south of the island. * A marina is proposed as part of the flood protection scheme works. *

Millport Town Hall Millport Town Hall is a municipal building in Clifton Street, Millport, Cumbrae, Millport, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The structure is used as a community events centre. History Following significant population growth, largely associated with th ...

is being brought back into use. * A proposal is underway to buy the former National Watersports Centre and make it into a community facility called The Wave. * A large development of around 40 family sized homes is underway between Millport Bowling Club and Penmachrie Farm. * In 2011, Millport considered applying for city status, on the basis of having a cathedral. It would have been the smallest city in the UK.

Recreation

As well as its numerous beaches, Millport has an 18-hole golf course with views over the Arran hills and the

. Other recreational facilities include a crazy golf course, Millport Bowling Club with a putting green, and two football pitches. In addition to coastal

sea fishing Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless technique ...

, primarily for

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight fishing lure, lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is Casting (fishing), cast using a fly rod, Fishing reel#Fly reel, reel, and specialized Fly line, weighted line. T ...

is available at two fresh water reservoirs. The Eileans of Cumbrae

The perimeter road around the island is used by walkers and cyclists and provides access to the island's beaches.

Tourism

Millport has a hotel and guest house, and many properties are available as holiday lets. A motorhome site caters for short term stays. The wide sandy beaches close to the centre of the town are popular for paddling and swimming. A live webcam at Newton Bay shows the weather on the island. One of the best known landmarks in Millport is the Crocodile Rock, a rock on the foreshore that has been painted to look like a crocodile. It has been a feature since at least 1913 when Robert Brown was acknowledged by the council for the work. Sam Crawley currently of East Kilbride in Glasgow, created the iconic paintwork which is a tourist highlight on the island. Millport has the world's narrowest house, The Wedge, which measures at its front. The house is 22 feet long by 11 feet wide at its widest point (). Millport Bay is a popular destination for sailors in the summer, and has a number of donation-based visitor moorings. There is a small boatyard at the western end of the town. The town hosts Scotland's biggest independent country music festival, the Millport Country Music Festival, in September each year, and a fireworks display is held during September. The historic paddle steamer calls at Millport twice a week during the summer, on trips originating at Ayr and Glasgow.

Education

Schools

Primary-aged children on the island attend Cumbrae Primary School. Older children attend

Largs Academy Largs Academy is a Scottish secondary school, opened in August 1970, serving the towns of Largs, Fairlie, Skelmorlie and the island of Cumbrae, as well as taking placement requests from across Scotland, from places such as West Kilbride, Beit ...

on the mainland.

FSC Millport

FSC Millport FSC Millport, run by the Field Studies Council, is located on the island of Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The field centre was formerly known as the University Marine Biological Station Millport (UMBSM), a higher education institu ...

is a biological teaching and research centre operated by the

Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...

. The centre's origins can be traced back to 1885, when the oceanographer Sir John Murray set up a floating laboratory in a lighter which he called 'The Ark'. This led to the establishment of the Millport Marine Biological Station in 1897 by the naturalist David Robertson, also known as the 'Cumbrae Naturalist'. In 1970 the station became the University Marine Biological Station Millport of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. In 2014 ownership transferred to the Field Studies Council, which built new classrooms and accommodation for school and university visitors as well as providing holiday accommodation.

National Watersports Training Centre Cumbrae

The National Watersports Training Centre was a Sportscotland facility that taught a wide range of courses including sailing, windsurfing, paddlesports, cruising and yachting. The centre closed in 2020, and a local group is planning to reopen the site for community use.

Transport links

In spite of its relatively remote feel, Millport is only one hour's travel from major transport hubs of Glasgow Airport and

Glasgow Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Main Concourse at Glasgow Central Station.JPG , caption = The main concourse , borough = Glasgow, City of Glasgow , country ...

. Millport is accessible by public transport via the train at , with a ferry journey of seven minutes. A bus to Millport meets each ferry.

References

External links

Garrison HouseMillport Field Studies Council

Millport Golf Club
*Millport Tow
Hall

The Cumbrae Wave

Live camera and weather forecast on the Isle of CumbraeLive camera and weather forecast at Largs ferry slip
*Cumbrae Communit
Isle of Cumbrae Tourist Association
{{authority control Towns in North Ayrshire Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom Towns on Scottish islands Towns and villages in Buteshire The Cumbraes Firth of Clyde