Cumbrae
Cumbrae - Great and Little (or Lesser) The islands of Cumbrae consist of Great Cumbrae Island and Little Cumbrae Island, and have fine views to the mainland and across to Arran and Bute. Great Cumbrae Island is about four miles long and 2.5 miles at its widest. The island is quite hilly and rises to just over 400 feet at Glaidstane, and the only town is Millport, which is elegantly arranged around Millport Bay with its sandy beach. Millport is home to the Cathedral of the Isles, a small church which can seat only 100 worshippers, believed to be the smallest cathedral in Britain. Unlike many islands in the Hebrides, the population actually grew during the 19th century, from 506 in 1801 to 1784 in 1891, and it is now around 1500. This was mainly due to the island becoming a tourist attraction for visitors from Glasgow coming `loon the water'. Little Cumbrae island, 1.5 miles south of Great Cumbrae at Millport, is about two miles long and one mile wide. The island is rocky and hilly, and also rises to over 400 Feet.
Prehistoric monuments include several burial cairns, and there is an early Christian site at Mid Kirkton. The island was held by the Vikings, and King Hakon is said to have made camp here before going on to defeat at the battle of Largs. Great Cumbrae was a property of the Montgomerys, then the Stewarts, and there was a castle and mansion at Ballikillet [NS 172560], although little remains.
Little Cumbrae was held by the Hunters of Hunterston, then the Montgomery Earls of Eglinton, and was maintained as a hunting forest. There are the rains of a small chapel dedicated to St Beye, and also of a castle, which was burned by Oliver Cromwell's troops in 1650.
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