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A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry connects it with Largs, Ayrshire on the Scottish mainland.
Its neighbouring island of Little Cumbrae to the south-west is privately owned. Both islands have been inhabited since the end of the last ice age, and have examples of the raised beach effect - as the ice melted, the land rose many metres relative to the sea level.
The Ordnance Survey Triangulation point (The Glaidstane ) at the top of the island gives a panoramic view of the upper Clyde estuary, the much larger islands of Arran and Bute and onwards to Ben Lomond in the north and the Paps of Jura to the west.
Cumbrae's past has long been linked to Christianity in Scotland, and at one time the island had many standing stones. The Aberdeen Breviary (printed in Edinburgh) of 1509 gives an account of two of the island's early female missionaries, Saints Beya and Maura . The island has the smallest Cathedral in Europe, the Episcopalian Cathedral of the Isles. It was the base for the American Fisherfolk community (The Community of Celebration) during the 1970s and 80s.
In 1999 the final feudal landowner, Le Mans winner Johnny Dumfries , now Bute, of Mount Stuart HouseMount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute, Scotland is a vast Neo-Gothic extravaganza dreamed up by the liberal minded 3rd Marquess of Bute and his architect, Sir Robert Rowand Anderson. Entrusted to the current Marquess of Bute, it recently hosted the marri, put the island up for sale to his farmer tenants. For many centuries previously the island had shared ownership, with the Marquess of Bute in the west and the Earl of Glasgow in the east.
See also: Millport
Cumbrae, along with Bute and Arran, is famous with generations of daytrippers from GlasgowFor other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, located on the River Clyde in West Central Scotland. It is also one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, officially known as the City of Glasgow and, like many west of S as one of the resorts visited going "Doon the watter" - meaning taking a trip aboard a Clyde paddle steamer. After the growth of package holidays to SpainThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc and the Balearics in the 1960s, Cumbrae slipped into decline.
Today it has regained at least some of its popularity, with the population during the summer months growing by several thousand every weekend. Hiring a bike and cycling around the island's 11 mile encircling coastal road is a must-do for visitors, as the roads are relatively quiet compared to the mainland. The season's highlights are the Country and Western Festival and the September Weekend Fireworks display. The island's Golf Course attracts golfers from around the world.
The harbour, with visitor moorings, is a popular destination for sailors in the summer, and the National Watersports Centre at the ferry slip has young sailors in boats and windsurfers all year round. There is a small boat yard at the western tip of the island. The most dived site on the Clyde is just south of the ferry slip - a WW11 CatalinaCatalina is an island 20 miles off the coast of southern California also known as Santa Catalina Island. In aviation contexts, Catalina may refer to an aircraft such as the PBY Catalina. In Java programming language contexts, Catalina may refer to the Jak flying boat.
A recent BBC Radio 4 series, Millport (written by Lynn Ferguson , the voice of Mac in Chicken Run by Aardman AnimationsAardman Animations is a British stop motion animation studio founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton in 1972. Nick Park joined Aardman in 1986, bringing his creations Wallace and Gromit with him. The company is based in Bristol and is the centre of a siz) humourously covered most of the tired cliches about an island community stuck in a cosy 1950s timewarp - but perhaps these sentiments explain why the island is still so popular in the minds of both nostalgia-seeking 30-somethings and fresh-eyed visitors.
If you are flying to the states from Glasgow Airport, look out for a fantastic view of the island - the flight path usually crosses the path of the ferry.
Other attractions include: