shewhomust | The day we went to Rothesay, O

Before this weekend, I knew very little about Bute. We had driven across the island, between ferries after our midsummer in Kintyre. but even at the time I noted that this didn't count. I knew, as a result of that trip, that the main town of the island is Rothesay; and I knew a song about Rothesay - this one, sung by Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor (though I had this record). It's the tale of a raucous excursion from Glasgow (lyrics here).

A drive north along the coast from Ayr: a very pretty drive, with views across to - is that Bute? is that Kintyre beyond? you'd need a better map, and I'd rather watch the scenery - in gathering cloud and then rain, brought us through the pleasant seaside town of Largs to Wemyss Bay. How did those Glaswegians get to Rothesay on their excursions? By train, of course, but Wemyss Bay station still came as a surprise:

That's barely half of it; it extends out parallel to the jetty where the ferry docks. Not to mention the inside: you can just catch a glimpse through the arched entrance on the right:

Not to mention the second-hand bookshop in the corner, run by the Friends of the station, where I bought the first postcards of the trip. They were secondhand, vintage and extremely random, but judging by the (non)availability of postcards throughout, I suspect all postcards will be vintage collectables soon. Anyway, there was plenty to look at while we waited for the next ferry (this may or may not be the fault of Rishi Sunak, who apparently took up more than his share of space on the ferry that day - but not necessarily that ferry).

So Wemyss Bay sets the tones for Rothesay as Victorian seaside destination, and Rothesay O suggests mass urban tourism, and all that is definitely there, but the island is also much more various than I had anticipated. We were there because D. wanted to see Mount Stuart, which was closed, but the sun shone and we had a lovely time exploring, which I may wellpost about when I've had more time to play with some pictures.

And now we have gone our separate ways. D. and

valydiarosada will break their journey home at our house, and

durham_rambler and I are spending a last couple of nights near Falkirk - and hoping the rain will stop and allow us to explore the canals tomorrow!