Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a popular harbour, with a small

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

marina and boatyard and an unusual 13-hole golf course rather than the standard 18.

Geography

Port Bannatyne lies on the Firth of Clyde, approximately north of

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

on the Scottish

. Rhubodach is a further north away on the A886 and a

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

ferry service to the

Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arroch ...

peninsula. This ferry runs every 30 minutes during the day. In Rothesay there is a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry service to

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have alway ...

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hist ...

. This ferry leaves every 45 minutes (journey time 35 minutes) during the day. Substantial slate and stone houses face the sea around Kames Bay. The village's focus was the stone pier mid-way along the south shore of Kames Bay. The bay provided mooring for yachts and fishing boats. On the seafront are a shop/Post Office, and the Anchor Tavern (a bar for the brave). The Port Royal Hotel, just along the road is the old village inn. It was bought in 2000 by a Russian family who renovated the building and turned the old pub into a replica of a Russian Tavern of Imperial Times. It has five guest rooms and serves fine seafood and Russian Cuisine (according to TIME OUT in the top five affordable serious restaurants in Scotland). Above the village, with views across the sea to the Isle of Arran and the Argyll hills, is the Port Bannatyne golf-course. Built in 1912, the course now has 13 holes and wild deer grazing the herbage. The village has strong links overseas and has its own club for the French game of

Pétanque Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...

, with a pitch, or piste, on the seafront. In 2005, work was started on the new yacht marina. The small boatyard has grown into a stone-built sea wall enclosure of part of the bay, providing 105 berths.

History

The village started in 1801 with the building of a small harbour on Kames Bay. Lord Bannatyne of Kames Castle, at the head of the bay, planned the village in an attempt to rival Rothesay. Initially known as ''Kamesburgh'', by the mid-19th century, steamers were calling there regularly. In 1860 the Marquess of Bute purchased this part of the island and renamed the village Port Bannatyne in honour of the long historical association of the Bannatyne family with the area.

Boat building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood Wo ...

became an important local industry. In 1879 a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

horse-drawn tram linked Port Bannatyne with Rothesay. This was electrified and extended across the island to Ettrick Bay in 1902. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

s exercised in the bay and nearby Loch Striven. The luxury Kyles Hydro Hotel, overlooking the Port, was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as the HQ for midget submarine (x-craft) operations. In particular, it was from here (hotel renamed ) that the top secret and audacious attack on the Tirpitz was masterminded.

References

External links

Canmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, General site recordCanmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, Shore Road, North Byte Parish Church site recordCanmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, 37 Marine Road, Port Royal Hotel site recordCanmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, Kyles of Bute Hydropathic site recordCanmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, Former Steamer Pier site recordCanmore - Bute, Port Bannatyne, Marine Road Quay site record
{{Portal bar, Scotland Villages on the Isle of Bute Ports and harbours of Scotland Firth of Clyde