Old-fashioned fun

Having in the past cycled around the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland, riding Great Cumbrae was always going to be a breeze. “Scotland’s most accessible island,” proclaimed the leaflet I picked up before boarding the ferry from Largs. Indeed. After just four hour’s drive from Yorkshire and the 10-minute crossing we were on the island. For me Great Cumbrae was almost not remote enough – although it was perfect for my nine-year-old son, Bertie, with whom I hoped this was the first Scottish island adventure of many. No point in hitting him with the hard stuff quite yet …

We began our 10-mile circuit in the merry, little Victorian town of Millport, the only settlement on the island, strung out around a large bay in the south. In keeping with the pint-size of Cumbrae the town contains the Cathedral of the Isles, the smallest in Europe, and what is “recorded as” the narrowest house in Britain called The Wedge, which squeezes into a two-yard gap next to a bistro on the seafront.

You can’t go wrong with the route as it follows the B-road that tightly hugs the coast. We set off by cycling around the back of the island’s best and biggest beach, Kames Bay. We rounded the bulky south-eastern headland and past Lion Rock. Just across the sea to the south we could see Portencross Castle and Goldenberry Hill and, next to them, Clydeport freight terminal and the Hunterston marine construction yard and power station, further reminders that Cumbrae is anything but a far-flung Scottish island.

There are lots of natural things hereabouts too – including shag, cormorant, eider duck and grey seals. The Clyde sea area, swilling around on a shallow plateau of glacial debris, is one of Britain’s classic marine heritage regions as we found out at a small museum and aquarium at the University Marine Biological Station. Its origins date back to 1884 when the station was a floating laboratory on a boat called The Ark.

To all intents and purposes the coast road is a cycle track. We encountered a large group of roller skaters, a four-some on a covered quadricycle and, most extraordinarily, a team of seven on what’s called a conference bike. You can also hire a Raleigh Chopper to really cut a retro dash. We passed the ferry slipway and then the Toment End monument which marks the northernmost point of the island and commemorates two teenage midshipmen from HMS Shearwater which sank here in 1844.

The greatest concentration of cyclists was, inevitably, at the Fintry Bay tearooms. They are very modern now but this was once the site of a lemonade factory where drinks for sale included the owner’s very own ginger ale and Cumbrae Grog, the name of which encapsulates the “Five Go Mad” feel of the island. We’d found out about the ale earlier at the excellent Museum of the Cumbraes housed within the Garrison House. Recently restored, it was built in 1745 as a communal barracks for customs staff seeking to counter smuggling up the Clyde.

A new addition to the circuit is a poignant war memorial a little further around the coast which is dedicated to “the men and women of the British and allied forces who sacrificed their lives for our freedom and have no grave.” Cut-outs of figures representing the army, Royal Navy, RAF and merchant navy direct your gaze to the sea and sky.

Before we knew it we were back on the outskirts of Millport. A row of imposing Victorian villas formed a guard of honour as we rounded the final south-eastern corner.

We ended the coastal circuit wanting more exercise, a little altitude and fewer cyclists. At least, I did – so we set off on a supplementary circuit of Cumbrae’s inner loop. We’d been around the walls and it was time to get up on the roof. The road took us up the short, steep Barbary Hill, which provides a panorama and peacefulness that was well worth the effort. The dramatic, serrated silhouette of Arran beckoned. Bute and Wee Cumbrae are also close by and we could also see as far north as Ben Lomond in the Trossachs and south as the distinctive muffin shape of Ailsa Craig.

With that we completed a speedy descent into Millport to reward ourselves with a game of crazy golf and ice creams at the Ritz Café.

This eaterie is so authentically Sixties – complete with booths of red bank seating and menu displayed in letters stuck to a white board – it could be a museum piece. Mods, due in town for a scooter rally the following weekend, must love it here. For us, after enjoying Scotland’s Isle of Wight, next time for us it’s Arran.

Getting there

Great Cumbrae is an hour from Glasgow by car, bus or train. The ferry to the island takes 10 minutes and they run every 15 minutes in summer and every 30 minutes during the winter months.

For bike hire: On Your Bike, Stuart St, Millport. 01475 530300. onyourbikemillport.com. Full day’s hire £5.40. Very helpful.

Alternatively Bremner’s Stores, Cardiff St, Millport. 01475 530707; Mapes, Guildford St, Millport. 01475 530444. mapesmillport.co.uk