Bike: Great Cumbrae circular

Great Cumbrae | Millport | Cycle route | ★★

[Cycling around Great Cumbrae, just south of the ferry slipway]

Almost everyone exploring the island of Great Cumbrae does so by pedal power: the island's coast road is quiet, scenic, flat as a pancake and - at 10 miles in length - easily manageable for most people. Little need for cars on the island means little traffic to contend with; in fact, bikes outnumber motorised vehicles in summer, and the island is sometimes referred to as The Island of a Thousand Bicycles (perhaps just by the cycle hire shops looking to drum up trade). Beaches, headlands, monuments and painted rocks provide countless excuses to stop and admire the panorama: to the Ayrshire mainland on the east side, north into the Highlands, to Bute on the west side, and south towards mountainous Arran. They say pictures tell a thousand words; apart from the first two, the photos on this page show the route in anticlockwise order.

[White Bay]

📌 Bike: Cumbrae circular ★★
Start / finish on Guildford Street (B896), Millport town centre, Isle of Bute, G.R.: NS 161548 ///skirt.before.bystander. Alternative start at the island's ferry slipway if you're bringing your own bike.

▶ 16 km / 10 mi | ▲ Negligible
Terrain: Tarmac public road, mostly quiet and nearly flat.
Bike hire: Several options in Millport town centre.

Route & map

Circuit of island in either direction, following coast road.


Route credit: Scotland Off the Beaten Track

On our visit

Weather: Sunny, fairly light winds, temperature in mid teens.

Also on this ride

>> Millport ★★★
>> Museum of the Cumbraes ★★
>> Robertson Museum and Aquarium ★★

Chronological photo guide

[Millport]

[Lion Rock]

[Looking towards the mainland from the southeast corner of the island]

[Oystercatcher]

[Heading north along the east coast]

[Just south of the ferry slipway]

[Busy Firth of Clyde]

[HMS Shearwater monument]

[Across the firth to Largs]

[White Bay]

[Hooks for wartime anti-submarine nets at Skate Point]

[Skate Point]

[Indian Rock!]

[Bell Bay]

[Not quite sure what this is supposed to be...]

[War memorial]

[Southwest corner of the island, with views to Arran]

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