Beautiful Bute

As a prelude to Hebridean island hopping, and travels to some more remote parts, we started our travels with a few days on one of the islands in the Firth of Clyde, the relatively small but accesible Isle of Bute. 

Driving north we'd stopped for one night in Gretna (after a lunchtime stop at Tebay services on the M6, now the star of its own TV show on Channel 4) having found a comfortable and reasonably priced guest house, that offered everything we needed for an overnight stay. 

Gretna is a rather non descript village, just across the Scottish border, next door to its more famous neighbour, Gretna Green. We arrived earlier than expected so killed an hour walking around an 'outlet village' - a rather souless experience - and then checked in to our guest house. Our room was comfortable but after several hours of driving I wanted to stretch my legs so suggested to Mrs B that we walk to Gretna Green. A 15 minute stroll brought us to the focal point of Gretna Green, the Old Blacksmiths Shop, which is essentially devoted to two things: hosting weddings and parting tourists from their money. The Old Blacksmiths Shop is surrounded by several shops that sell an abundance of Scottish themed 'tat' although I suspect they would prefer to describe their merchadise as gifts. I wandered through a few of the shops out of curiosity, without being remotedly tempted to purchase anyhing, although a wall dedidated to Tunnocks in one of the shops was quite impressive.

All things Tunnocks...

Dining options in Gretna were limited, fine dining wasn't on the cards, but the one and only pub just a few minutes walk from our guest house did serve food and we both had some surprisingly excellent fish and chips.

Next morning we abandoned any pretence of eating heathily, and had a cooked breakfast complete with haggis. Then we hit the road again, driving through Glasgow and onwards to Weymss Bay to catch the Caledonian Macbrayne (Calmac) ferry to Rothesay on Bute. We timed our arrival perfectly, bought tickets and boarded promptly but just had time to have a quick look at the adjacent railway station, a rather striking Victorian building.

Weymss Bay railway station

Approaching Bute

The crossing was smooth and in no time at all we disembarked in Rothesay the only town on Bute. Bute became a popular holiday destination in Victorian times. Glaswegians flocked to the island by train and steamer. This tourist boom resulted in the building of many grand villas, tenements and solid looking stone clad houses. A fishing industry provided employment and for a while Bute must have had a booming economy. This is now in the past, and as we wandered around Rothesay it is evident the grand facades of yesteryear are starting to crumble. That said I quite enjoy seeing places with faded grandeur and there's obviously a strong sense of community on the island. The seafront looks out across the Firth of Clyde with the mountains of the Trossachs in the background and on a sunny day everything looked very beautiful. It was easy to see why the Victorians had come here.

Bute seafront

Rothesay is a compact town, and at the centre is the ruin of Rothesay Castle, surrounded by a moat, dating back to the 13th century and formerly home to the Stewart family. It is currently closed for inspection and repairs so we couldn't go inside. Like much of Rothesay the castle is in need of renovation. Despite the obvious challenges it faces, like many seaside resorts, the centre also had a selection of independent cafes, bookshops, and characterful pubs and a good range of amenities.  

Rothesay Castle

After getting in some food supplies we checked into our accomodation, a quirky, 70's themed Airbnb apartment on the top floor of an old tenement building in the nearby village of Ardbeg. It was quite a workout lugging our bags up to the entrance but the view from the dining area looking out across the roof tops made the effort worthwhile.

A room with a view....

For our first full day on Bute we decided to explore the island with a focus on some fine examples of Victorian architecture. After a slow drive around the island, stopping off on the way at some viewpoints, we made our way to the entrance to Mount Stuart House and Gardens, after a slight hold up with an unexpected roadblock, (some cattle had decided to take a Sunday morning stroll along the main road). 

A Bute traffic jam...

Mount Stuart House is the home, or more accurately one of the homes, of the Marquess of Bute. Built by the 3rd Marquess in the 1870's the house is a large, extravagant Victorian stately home built in the gothic revival style of architecture with touches of arts and crafts influences. The scale and flamboyance reflects the enormous wealth of its owners and the prominence they hold in the Scottish aristocracy. They can trace a lineage back to Robert the Bruce. More recently it was inhabited by Johnny Dumfries - who had an illustrious career as a racing driver, winning the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1987, before inheriting the title of 7th Marquess a few years later.

Mount Stuart House from the front lawn...(just the 2 acres)

The house sits in 300 acress of grounds on the shore of the Firth of Clyde and as it didn't open to visitors until midday we spent the morning following the paths through the woodland and along the shoreline, spotting a seal basking on a rock in the sunshine. 

The shoreline on the Mount Stuart estate

After walking for a good few miles we had a picnic and then made our way to the house for a self guided tour. The entrance hall is impressive. Marble columns with ornate carvings rise to a roof with surrounding with glass windows letting in glorious streams of coloured light.The celing decorated with signs of the zodiac and trying to take in everything involves craning the neck until it becomes too uncomfortable!

Views of the entrance hall, Mount Stuart House

We carried on walking through the house taking in the impressive decor, a rather grand library, grand bedrooms and a small exhibition of 19th century design showing some of the arts and crafts commissioned by the Marquesse including an intricate marriage brooch, embedded with pearls enamel and gold, designed and crafted by William Burges for Gwendolen, the 3rd  Marchioness, 

Mount Stuart House

Lady Gwendolen's Marriage Brooch

It was an unexpectedly beautiful building, and equally unexpectedly, relatively quiet and uncrowded.

THe house from the Rock Garden

Mrs B treated us to a cup of tea in the cafe and we shared a cake, before heading off to see the kitchen gardens, which were a little underwhelming, but all in all it had been well worth a visit and we'd had a really enjoyable day.

There was one other example of impressive Victorian design I wanted to see before we returned to our apartment. Rothesay's Victorian Public Toilets are now a tourist attraction. Built in 1900 and located on the West Pier to cater for the mass influx of day trippers and holiday makers arriving by steamer, the (male) toilets have ornate tiling, marble and were restored in 1994 and duly given listed building status. I went in late on a Sunday afternoon and took a few photos (fortunately nobody else was using the facilities) and gave Mrs B an idea of what she had missed.

Not your 'bog standard' public toilet...

For our final day on Bute we decided to explore some of the bays and sandy beaches dotted around the island, heading off first to Kilchattan Bay on south of the island. Before setting off I'd had an early morning walk, and saw a heron on the shoreline and then to my astonishment two deer, who crossed the road in front of me, heading away from the shore and up a pathway between two houses. They disappeared from view as I reached the entrance and vanished behind someone's back garden.

Kilchattan Bay was very peaceful. We followed the coastal path footpath, part of the West Island Way, with views across to the mainland and were surrounded by wild flowers - flag iris growing in large patches and little orchids scattered on the damp ground above the seashore.

Eventually we turned back and returned to the car, driving to Scalpsie Bay, on the western side of Bute. A steep path led down to a rocky shore and a hare ran from left to right in front of us - from the shoreline across to a nearby field. We tracked it as it went across to the other side of the field where it came to rest by a metal gate. As if this wildlife encounter wasn't enough, just a few more steps along the track brought into view a common seal, basking on a rock just offshore. I was able to slowly get a little closer to take a photo or two before leaving it in peace to continue sun bathing.

Spot the hare

In the afternoon, after lunch I did a solo walk, leaving Mrs B to paint with her watercolours. From our apartment I walked to Port Bannnatyne, before picking up the route of an old tramway that orginally took passengers who arrived by steamer across to the sands of Ettrick Bay on the opposite side of the island. I walked the whole length of the tramway (and the width of the island) before retracing my steps, getting quite warm as by now the sun was blazing down, having clocked up 7 miles.

The remains of the old steamer pier that brought 
Victorian tourists to Port Bannatyne

Ettrick Bay

Our time in Bute was drawing to a close and it had been a good choice as an 'aperitif' for out trip. There had been some beautiful coastal walks, wildlife and history as well as the evidence of decline that has left some imposing but delapidated buildings. We took one final stroll in the evening sunshine passing a rather incrongrously themed 'Scottish Rockabilly Hotel and Diner' - perhaps targetting a niche market - before returning to repack our bags and head north for our next island: Mull.