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Tour Cunninghame, Tour Scotland

April 27, 2012 catswhiskers Comments off

: St Maur’s Glencairn Parish Church, Kilmaurs, Scotland

Today, we embarked on the second leg of our Cunningham Ancestry Tour around S.W.Scotland.

First stop was St. Maur’s Glencairn Parish Church. The Minister here was very helpful, showing us around the Church and providing records of births, deaths and marriages.

The church was endowed by Sir William Cunninghame as a collegiate church in 1413 and rebuilt by Robert S Ingram in 1888.

The annexe in centre of the picture is not part of the church but a Cunningham family mausoleum known as the Glencairn Aisle. Regrettably, this building is not open to visitors due to health and safety reasons.

St. Maur's Glencairn Parish Church, Kilmaurs, Scotland

Here is a Cunningham memorial stone in the burial ground.

Cunningham Memorial Stone, Kilmaurs Church, Scotland

Here is a Cuninghame memorial which pre-dates the current church.

: Cuninghame Memorial Stone, Kilmaurs, Scotland

This is the pretty village of Kilmaurs with the old tolbooth at its centre. This (tolbooth) was a combined community centre, tax collection point and place of imprisonment and punishment.

Tolbooth, Kilmaurs, Scotland

Here is the former Glencairn Church, now a stained glass studio. The former church probably had a Cunningham connection as the Earls of Glencairn were Cunninghams.

Glencairn Church, Kilmaurs, Scotland

Next, we paid a brief visit to Dunlop and its church.

Street Scene with Church, Dunlop, Scotland

Next a photo opportunity at the small village of Cunninghamhead.

Cunninghamhead, S.W. Scotland

Next to Stevenston to view the ruins of Kerelaw Castle which sits, incongruously, in the centre of a social housing estate. This castle was in Cunninghams’ possession when in 1488 it was sacked and burned by the Earl of Eglinton, a Montgomerie. In revenge, the Cunninghams, led by the Earl of Glencairn, burned Eglinton Castle in 1528.

Kerelaw Castle, Stevenston, Scotland

We followed the coast road round to the popular and historic town of Largs. This is where a battle occurred in 1263 when a Scottish army defeated a force of Norwegians and thus ended Viking/Norse rule in the west of Scotland. Here we stopped for a pleasant lunch at the Marina.

Largs, Firth of Forth, Scotland

After lunch we followed the coast road round the Firth of Clyde to Greenock, Port Glasgow and eventually back to the hotel near Kelvingrove, Glasgow.

Ancestry, Ancestry Tours, Battlefields, Buildings, Castles, Churches, Glasgow, Greenock, History, Kerelaw Castle, Locations, Lochs & Lakes, Port Glasgow, River Clyde, Scotland tour, Tours, Viking none

Explore Firth of Clyde, Explore Scotland

March 12, 2012 catswhiskers Comments off

: Sailing, Firth of Forth, Scotland

This evening, I am focusing on the Firth of Clyde, S.W.Scotland. Firth is a Scottish word meaning bay or estuary which in this case means the broadening stretch of water where the River Clyde enters the sea. This area has a long history dating back to Roman times, has numerous castles dotted along the edges, was at the forefront of the Iindustrial Revolution but today is perhaps best known for activities such as sailing and as a cruise ship destination (Greenock). A summary of some of the more important places and sites is as follows:

Dumbarton Castle, location of a the centre of a former ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde ( before Scotland was unified in the 9th century AD).
Port Glasgow, famous for shipbuilding and base of the P.S.Comet, Europe’s first successful steamboat service dating from 1812.
Newark Castle, also at Port Glasgow.
Lurg Moor Roman Fortlet, high on the moor above Greenock. Today, large cruise ships call in at Greenock.
Helensburgh, an upscale residential area where can be found Hill House, by Rennie Mackintosh.
The holiday destination of Dunoon.
Inverkip, famous for its sailing boats and marinas.
Largs, site of a defining 13th centurymarine battle and now a popular residential location with a marina.
Isle of Bute
Interesting geology and raised beaches.
Great Cumbrae Island
Portencross Castle
Ardrossan harbour and ferry port. Also home to a marina.
Troon, famous for golf and and as a ferry port.
Isle of Arran

Firth of Clyde, Greenock and Helnsburgh. Scotland

Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, Scotland

Pencil Monument, Largs, Scotland

Inverkip Marina, Firth of Clyde, Scotland

Portencross Castle, Firth of Clyde, Scotland

: Firth of Clyde from Dumbarton Castle, Scotland

This part of Scotland has much to offer the visitor and is a popular holiday destination.

Arran, Ayrshire, Buildings, Bute, Castles, Glasgow, Golf, History, Islands, Locations, Lochs & Lakes, Mackintosh, Nature, Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, River Clyde, Roman Britain, Roman Scotland, Scotland tour, Sport, Tours, Troon none

Visit Tall Ship Glenlee, Visit Glasgow

December 17, 2011 catswhiskers Comments off

Tall Ship 'Glenlee' at Glasgow

This evening, I am focusing on one of Glasgow’s visitor atrractions, namely the Tall Ship ‘Glenlee‘ which is now moored on the River Clyde close to the new Riverside (Transport) Museum.

The Glenlee was built in Port Glasgow in 1896, just a few miles away from its current moorings. Here are some important facts and figures relating to the ship:

Length 74.4m, Beam 11.4m and Depth 6.8m.
Gross tonnage: 1613 tons.
Cargo capacity: 2,600 tons.
Orignally named Glenlee but renamed Islamount i 1899.
Employed as a cargo vessel under the British flag until 1919 when sold to an Italian company and renamed Clarastella.
Completed four circumnavigations of the world.
Acquired by Spanish Navy in 1922 for sail training purposes and renamed Galatea.
Acquired by Clyde maritime Trust in 1992 and returned to the Clyde.
Restored and opened to the public in 1999.

It is appropriate that this Clyde built vessel should find a final home on the Clyde and allow visitors to connect with the city’s long ship-building tradition.

A selection of images are provided below.