26/06/2022
Saturday morning Eloise had an inkling that Lachlan was going to sleep in past 07:00, not wanting to see pigs fly, Eloise charged into his room in good spirits to wake him up. She was disappointed that Lachlan would not give her a morning smoochy kiss but very kindly snuck Ruby into his cot.
Super Mum had a quick check of the Metaverse, the helpful Glasgow With Kids page provided the goods again, to the car! It was a wet 45 minutes drive to Largs. When we arrived we had to do a quick Morrisons stop as the back seat bandits had already put a significant dent in their daily snacks.
When we arrived in Largs it was chilly but at least the rain had dried up. We were on our way to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae. This involved a wee 8 minute, as in 480 seconds, ferry ride, the kids’ second Scottish ferry adventure. You could easily see the island from Largs. No bookings were required and we did not need to worry about morning timings, as a ferry departed every 15 minutes. The big question was, do we take the car across or not? A quick check of the radar suggested it would clear up, so we grabbed the Batmobile and jumped on the ferry.
Lachnado could not sit still, as per usual, he was very excited. The boys decided they would ride up top leaving the girls behind.
We did not count but can confirm it was a super quick ride and just like that we were on “Scotland’s most accessible island”. Like clockwork, we jumped off the ferry and onto a bus to Millport, much to Eloise’s amusement.
The first point of call was the “the narrowest house in the world”. It was definitely narrow, “world’s narrowest” is a big call though. Eloise thought she was funny saying “Daddy Pig no fit, Daddy Pig, big tummy”. Thanks Eloise.
We wandered up Curious George street to The Cathedral of The Isles & College of The Holy Spirit, Eloise flew up the steep slopes by herself while yelling at us to “hurry up”.
The Cathedral of The Isles and Collegiate Church of the Holy Spirit is a Category A listed cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the town of Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae. It is one of the two cathedrals of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles, the other being St John’s Cathedral in Oban… Construction finished in 1849 and the cathedral opened in 1851 as a collegiate church. The Chapel of the College of the Holy Spirit was raised to the status of a cathedral in 1876.
After a quick look in the cathedral, it was obvious that it was not big enough for our two kids. As we left Eloise hit the afterburners to explore the gardens.
As predicted the day was clearing up. Although it was seriously windy, difficult to walk down the street windy. It was potentially the windiest spot we have ever been, including Aberdeen. With difficulty, we cut through the wind to get to the beach and see the town’s second most popular tourist attraction, Crocodile rock. Lachlan won best dressed for the day, a pure coincidence.
It’s been around for millions of years, but just over 100 years ago a local by the name of Mr Brown was passing by after a lunchtime drink or two, or maybe three, and saw the bare rock as a crocodile (or so the story goes) and decided to set to work with a brush and paint. Over the years it has become a famous landmark that has attracted many generations of children to have their photograph taken with the Millport Crocodile.
Overloaded with excitement we could not walk past the beach again without building sandcastles. Lachlan pulled out his crocodile sand toy, everything was coming up Milhouse.
In the background behind the kids we could make out a large mountain, we believe that is Goatfell on the Isle of Aaran, which we visited on May Day.
Goatfell was recently conquered by best friends of the blog Jennine and the lighthouse keeper. We knicked your photos. Impressive!
We battled our way along the coast until Eloise started jumping up and down like her life depended on it, she had seen a mini games park. A day trip to a Scottish isle is not complete without playing a poorly maintained putt-putt course. Eloise and Lachlan had no excuses as they had got their eye in putting at St Andrews last weekend.
Eloise was having a tough time on the tricky 15th hole. Full of energy Lachlan subbed in to help her out.
By this stage, we were getting peckish so we fought the wind along the coast to find lunch. This proved to be challenging, we are not sure what people on this isle eat? Suddenly out of nowhere the Isle of Cumbrae RBLS Pipe Band marched past us to celebrate FIK first landing on the isle. Thank you!
They were actually marching along the main street as “Armed Forces Day events return to Scotland after two years”. After following the pipe band we had been blown back to where we had begun, still foodless. We were then blown into Garrison House, luckily they served food, it would have to do.
Garrison House in Millport was built in 1745 as the residence of the Captain and officers of the Revenue Sailing Ship the ‘Royal George’. Stationed at Millport, the Royal George played a key role in the Revenue (customs) ‘hot pursuit’ of smugglers… Throughout the 19th century various amendments were made to the original Garrison House which is an excellent example of early 19th century gothic battlement architecture… Following a major fire in 2001, the building then sadly became a derelict eyesore. However, the community stepped in and last year celebrated the opening of Garrison House following a two year restoration project of this landmark building.
The best way to see Isle of Cumbrae is by bike. Lachlan was the happiest kid around when we cycled through the tulip farms in the Netherlands. We thought he would have a blast cycling the 10-mile circumference of the Isle of Cumbrae. He certainly looked chuffed as we set off.
It was a beautiful ride with scenic views off the coast. However, not before long Lachlan’s giggles had stopped and he had fallen fast asleep. It was lucky we had got him a helmet as he was repetitively knocking his head on his armrest. We had to keep stopping to check on him, but we think he was alright, maybe…
Eloise thought that Lachlan sleeping on the ride was hilarious. Not before long, she joined him in Napville.
We found a nice place to stop, well we found somewhere we could stand Eloise up as we deployed Darryl.
We do not think any kids were permanently harmed in the making of the below video.
It was hard yakka cycling around the island with strong gusts that always seemed to be against you. It brought back good memories of cycling around Rottnest Island, minus the quokkas. UK folk, it is near Henderson.
There was a mad sprint to the finish line to make sure we returned the bikes back in an hour and a half. Exhausted we grabbed ice creams to celebrate.
We then caught the bus and the 8 minute ferry back to the bigger island.
Great Cumbrae is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is sometimes called Millport, after its main town. Home to the Cathedral of The Isles and the FSC Millport field study centre, the island has a thriving community of 1,300 residents.
Our timing was a bit awkward, it was almost 17:00, we went to the chippy to tie us over until we got home. However, this chippy looked incredible. Liam is a semi-professional fish and chips connoisseur, he had to try some. Possibly the best he has ever had, sorry Muzza Bizza, a solid 9 out of 10. We were not game enough to try the haggis fritters, perhaps next time.
“Scotland’s best chippy” also came with “Scotland’s largest seagulls”. We had been warned by Glasgow With Kids about the “big gulls” Eloise was on high alert, but not confident enough to charge these ones down, her favourite pastime.
Super Mum had managed to get sunburnt or wind burnt or something burnt. Lachlan’s toupee was clinging on with all its might. It was time to head home after a fun family day and put up our feet with our favourite loader.
This morning started with Boomerang lessons from Mr Kangaroo and Mr Wallaby, Lachlan was taking notes. A nice slow start to the day after yesterday’s escapades.
Eventually, we all had to get out of our pyjamas. For Eloise, it was on with the lycra in the hope for another return to the bike shop today. Mum was not having any of it. The day then turned into a “little trolley” extravaganza. We all know who loves a “little trolley”.
“Little trolley” day started off at IKEA. Always entertaining taking the kids through, they are both like magpies darting through each room and trying out all the furniture.
It was a successful trip as we managed to buy an appropriate sized coffee table for the living room, finally, time to get rid of the world’s largest coffee table. Eloise also picked up a Lachnado and Bear too.
It was then time for FIK new supermarket so Elosie could continue browsing with her “little trolley”.
It was back on with the rain jackets this afternoon for a summer shower.
Thank you all for listening, today Mr Murdoch announced that “extra flights will be scheduled into Adelaide from Doha and Auckland to keep pace with growing post-Covid demand”.
[…] Our new coffee table was a big hit, so much so, Eloise turned it into her “tree house”. Lachlan was quite jealous of the treehouse but was chuffed when he finally got a shot too. This week Super Mum has done a stellar job entertaining the kids inside, it has been a wet week, plenty of summer showers. […]