Bute ('fire' or 'beacon fire' or 'victory Isle') The island is about fifteen miles long and about three to five miles broad, and covers 48 square miles. Most of the island is very low and fertile, while the northern end is more hilly, rising to over 900 feet, as is the southern tip. There are fine beaches at Ettrick Bay, Scalpsie Bay, and at Kilchattan Bay, and the scenery at Kingarth is particularly fine. Bute was declared a Royal Burgh by Robert III in 1400, Rothesay (pictured right, click to large) is the main town on the island, dating mostly from Victorian times with its pier and Art Nouveau Winter Gardens of 1924 (now with a restaurant and cinema), and sweeps along Rothesay Bay and around Bogany Point. The Victorian toilets in Rothesay are a gem of a public convenience, although only for men.

On Bute you will find many prehistoric monuments, including standing stones or circles at Ettrick Bay, Largizean and Blackpark Plantation, as well as several chambered cairns, including those at Kilmichael, Northpark on Inchmarnock, Hilton and Bickers Houses (there are also others: Carnbaan [NS 006693] and Glecknabae [NS 008682]). There are also several forts or duns: Little Dunagoil was occupied through the Bronze Age and by Vikings in the 12th and 13th centuries. The medieval chapel and early Christian monastery at Kingarth are set in a wonderful location, and there is also a chapel, St Mary's, in Rothesay, with the stone effigy of a warrior.

The island was held by the Norsemen as part of the Hebrides, although seized by the Scots after the battle of Largs in 1263. The Stewarts held the island, and the fine castle at Rothesay, with its wet moat, before later moving to Mount Stuart. Other castles are at Karnes, held by the Bannatyne family; Wester Kames, a property of the MacKinlays, Spences and Grahams; Meikle Kilmory, held by the Jamiesons; and Kelspoke. Set in splendid grounds, Mount Stuart is the fine mansion of the Stewart Marquis of Bute, and is open to the public.

The Isle of Bute - by Norman S. Newton
Designed for the discerning tourist and island devotee, the "Pevensey Island Guide to Bute" describes everything the visitor needs to know about the island's heritage, landscape, climate, flora and fauna.

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