INVERKIP

The present-day Inverclyde plays an important role for exports due to its position on the Firth of Clyde,  however the area also used to be a hive of import activity, by no means all of it legal.  During the early 1700s duties were imposed on goods such as tobacco and whisky, a move which inevitably led to a temptation to engage in smuggling.  The bay at Inverkip was a perfect spot for bringing goods ashore, which was how the village came to be a hotbed of smuggling.  Almost everyone had a hand in the activity, even the local priests, and there was a constant game of cat and mouse with the customs officers who kept watch over the coast.  Smuggled goods were hidden in cellars and in caves such as one near Inverkip which is still known as Smugglers Cave.  Local characters implicated in these activities included milkmen Thomas Finnie and Robert Cochrane, who would hide whisky among the milk on their delivery carts.  Another thing Inverkip was infamous for going back even further in time was witchcraft.  During the 1600s the village was a centre of witchcraft and many women accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake there.  Even a local landowner, Alexander Dunrod, was thought to be a practising warlock.

Since the transformation of Inverkip into a resort, thanks to the arrival of the railway, activity in the village has been confined to more legitimate pursuits, most notably at the Kip Marina, the oldest one on the Clyde.  Nearby Ardgowan House with its 400 acre estate is still occupied by the Shaw Stewart family, who were responsible for the building of a much earlier castle during the time that the village was part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde.   Inverkip lies in the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, which includes Cornalees Bridge Visitor Centre offering glen and moorland walks and Lunderston Bay on the other side of the Ardgowan Estate, with a sandy beach and a picnic site.

Live streaming webcams from Kip Marina.

Map of the area. 

Ardgowan House and Inverkip Bay - geograph - 3629687. Photo by Thomas Nugent, via Wikimedia Commons

GOUROCK

Gourock is located around Kempock Point, although the outskirts of the town stretch along to Cloch Point, where the Firth of Clyde suddenly veers to the south.  It has a pleasant lawned esplanade and a ferry terminal offering services to Kilcreggan and Dunoon. There is also a rail link to Glasgow, in fact the town owes its rise in popularity as a resort to the arrival of the railway.  Prior to this, it was mainly a fishing community. The town of Gourock is dominated by Tower Hill, named after the tower built there as a folly in 1847 by the local laird.  It is worth making the effort to climb up to the tower for the magnificent views of the Firth.  Meanwhile, golfers can also enjoy the views from the elevated position occupied by the Golf Club.  There is also a Yacht Club, which hosts races in the summer off West Bay.  Cloch Point is home to an attractive whitewash lighthouse, built by James Clarkson in 1797.

Map of the area. 

Gourock from west with ferry. Photo by Greenockman-commonswiki, via Wikimedia Commons

GREENOCK

The area around the Clyde estuary seems to be full of places associated with pioneering and invention.  In the case of Greenock, it could be said that it was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, since Greenock was the birthplace in 1736 of James Watt, who perfected the steam engine.  Watt's father was in shipbuilding, which in those days was already an important part of the economy, but as is the case elsewhere this activity has since declined.  The British Pathe website has a number of archive videos from Greenock's shipbuilding days.  Those who want to find out more about James Watt and Greenock's past can head to the McLean Art Gallery and Museum.  The Custom House, designed in 1818 by William Burn, is a magnificent building which was captured in a painting by Robert Salmon and which is housed in the McLean Museum.  As well as housing customs offices, there was a customs and excise museum on the premises.  Sadly, as part of a rationalisation exercise on the part of HMRC, and in spite of fierce opposition by staff, unions and local politicians, the building ceased to be used in 2010 and now lies empty.  However, there have since been renewed signs of life on Customhouse Quay, which is home to a new arts centre called the Beacon Arts Centre, with performance spaces and a bistro/bar.  One of Greenock's most prominent landmarks is Victoria Tower, which is 75 metres tall and was completed in 1886.  The tower forms part of the Italianate Municipal Buildings. The Old West Kirk on the Esplanade has fine stained glass by artists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  Greenock's wartime contributions included the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which opened in 1910.  Later, during the Second World War, Greenock suffered badly, most notably in May 1941 when the town experienced its own "blitz".  TV buffs may be interested to know that since 2012 Greenock has been the setting for the BBC drama Waterloo Road, with filming taking place at the Greenock Academy.

Webcam view from Victoria Tower.

Map of the area. 

Custom House, Customhouse Quay Greenock - geograph.org.uk - 1395286. Photo by John Ferguson, via Wikimedia Commons

PORT GLASGOW

Port Glasgow, on the south bank of the River Clyde, was originally a village called Newark.  Ships used to arrive from France and the Low Countries bringing goods for Glasgow, and they were unloaded here and the cargo taken up the Clyde.  The present-day port dates from the 17th century, when port facilities and a grid-iron street pattern were established, and the Clyde was deepened.  In the 19th century the port became a major centre for shipbuilding, which was the principal source of employment in the area.  The first ship to be built and launched from there was the Comet steamship designed by Henry Bell (see the Helensburgh post).  Sadly, there is now only one shipyard left, Ferguson Shipbuilders.  In an attempt to reverse the inevitable resulting decline, work began in the 1990s to regenerate the waterfront.

Near Port Glasgow is Newark Castle, which was built in the 15th century by George Maxwell, and was later expanded by Patrick Maxwell, who added a 3-storey Renaissance mansion in the Scottish baronial style.  The castle has some fine Jacobean features on its exterior.  The area of foreshore called Parklea has a National Trust of Scotland wood, and is home to a bird sanctuary.  The Inverclyde Coastal Path takes in this area.  Another worthwhile place to visit is Finlaystone Country Estate, which has 10 acres of beautiful gardens with views over the Clyde as well as woodland walks and picnic areas.

Map of the area. 

Port Glasgow waterfront - geograph.org.uk - 1340382. Photo by Thomas Nugent, via Wikimedia Commons

OLD KILPATRICK

Much has been written about Hadrian's Wall, which separated England and Scotland in Roman times and much of which still survives to this day.  Much less well known is the Antonine Wall, the fortification built by the Romans which connected the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde.  The wall was relatively short-lived, the occupants retrreating to Hadrian's Wall in 162 after just 20 years.  The wall marks the northernmost territory that the Romans were able to conqueur, and its western extremity is near Old Kirkpatrick, a small town on the north bank of the River Clyde near the Erskine Bridge.  Roman remains were discovered here in 1790, when the Forth and Clyde Canal was being dug.  Old Kilpatrick is reputed to be the birthplace of St Patrick, hence the name.  An area called The Saltings has been bestowed with Local Nature Reserve status, quite rightly given the site is home to Swans, Grey Herons, Cormorant, Oyster Catcher and Curlew as well as unusual butterflies.  The Reserve also enjoys wonderful views of the River Clyde and Dumbarton Rock.  Other attractions include a Distillery.

Map of the area.

Old Kilpatrick 1109. Photo by Dave Souza, via Wikimedia Commons

DUMBARTON

Dumbarton, founded in the fifth century, was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, although the town's strategic importance dates from the Iron Age when Dumbarton Castle was built on a plug of volcanic rock known as Dumbarton Rock.  The castle has the longest recorded history of any fortification in Britain.  Nowadays, the mainly 18th century fortifications are accessible by pathways and steps up the Rock, which offers wonderful views of the Firth of Clyde.  Dumbarton is mainly a commuter town for Glasgow, but once upon a time it had a trio of thriving industries: shipbuilding, whisky and glassmaking.  These are now gone, but there is a reminder of the shipbuilding industry in the Scottish Maritime Museum, which gives pride of place to Denny's Ship Model Experiment Tank, Denny being the founder of William Denny and Brothers, a Victorian shipbuilding company.

Down on the foreshore there are redshanks, shelduck and buntings, while a launching ramp is the only reminder of a wartime flying-boat factory which once stood here.  Overlooking the town is Overtoun House, built in 1862, which as well as being an impressive building in its own right, lies in grounds offering wildlife, gardens and picnic areas.  The House has accommodation and a tea room and bills itself as a "Centre for Hope and Healing".  Dumbarton has a prominent Football Club dating from 1872, which regained its place in Divison One in 2012.  Another claim to fame for the town is that it was the birthplace of  musician David Byrne of Talking Heads, who was born there in 1952.  One of the main events in Dumbarton's calendar is the annual Royal Scottish Pipe Band Championships.  Dumbarton offers easy access to the only-just-landlocked Loch Lomond, which is reached by a short 5-mile drive along the A82.

Map of the area. 

Dumbarton Rock - geograph.org.uk - 614476. Photo by Thomas Nugent, via Wikimedia Commons

HELENSBURGH

It could be said that Helensburgh is the birthplace of television, because it was here in 1888 than a certain John Logie Baird was born.  Baird, the son of a clergyman, got off to an early start with his inventiveness, when as a lad he rigged up a telephone exchange which provided a link between his bedroom and those of his friends across the road.  It was after a move to the south of England that he finally succeeded in creating a television image, which he demonstrated in London in 1926.  There is a memorial window to Baird in the West Kirk and a display on his life and achievements in the library, which also has an art exhibition courtesy of the Anderson Trust.  Another pioneer who is commemorated in Helensburgh is Henry Bell, who designed the first seagoing paddle-steamer, the Comet, launched in 1812.  Bell and his wife moved to Helensburgh in 1807, where they superintended the public baths and ran an inn.  Perhaps as a nod to the latter, there is a branch of Wetherspoons in Helensburgh named the Henry Bell, and there is a monument to him on the seafront, erected in 1872. 

Helensburgh was laid out as a seaside resort to the east of an earlier spa, its tree-lined streets in a grid pattern in the style of Edinburgh New Town.  The Helen of the name was the wife of the town's creator Sir James Colquhoun of Luss.  There is a promenade and a sailing club, where the yachts and other small vessels share the water's edge with birds such a oystercatchers and redshanks.  In summer, boat trips can be arranged to Gare Loch and Holy Loch.  The Hermitage Park on Sinclair Street has tennis, bowling and skateboarding facilities, as well as walkways around Glennan Burn.  High above the town, overlooking the Clyde, is The Hill House, created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, run by the National Trust of Scotland.  To the east of Helensburgh is Ardmore Point, where walkers are rewarded with excellent opportunities for birdwatching.  

Map of the area. 

Helensburgh Pier - geograph.org.uk - 382399. Photo by Stephen McKay, via Wikimedia Commons