Largs and M.V. Loch Shira, North Ayrshire

Largs

On day 2 of my North Ayrshire based trip, the weather looked favourable to pursue an outdoor activity highlighted in the next post, so Largs became the primary destination for this day out.

Largs is situated downstream on the Firth of Clyde about 33 miles from Glasgow.

The town has historic Viking links as a result of The Battle of Largs in 1263 when the Norwegian invaders failed in their campaign.
(On a side note I've had spam invaders to my blog recently and even though I may have fought them off, sorry to any commenters from the last post that have got infected with them. I'm considering comment moderation rather than just Google users or followers of this blog. Any thoughts? )

In more recent military times, it was the scene of a conference that planned the successful Normandy Invasion of World War II.

M.V. Loch Striven

From small beginnings, Largs became a fashionable seaside resort during the mid nineteenth century with the construction of hotels and a Pier to import the rich and famous on the Victorian Grand tour.

With the passage of time, Largs is a much sought after place to live thanks to the later arrival of the railway and reasonable commuter times into Glasgow.

My experiences of Largs as a child weren't much and I didn't know what to expect today. Unfortunately the classical railway station no longer survives and the busy street going down to the ferry terminal didn't really lend itself to photography thanks to the human footprint :-)

Nardini's Largs

For the British tourist, Largs isn't thought of much as a destination or an accessible town in Scotland when I tell you you that it's been 28 years since I last visited it albeit briefly. Many resorts around Great Britain suffered in the latter part of the 20th century due to erratic weather and cheap Mediterranean flights with most having some weapon to fight back in the 21st century.

The fighting spirit that conquered the Vikings continues in the town with an unlikely weapon of an Ice Cream shop.

Nardini's Ice Cream parlour originally opened in 1935 as the largest restaurant in Great Britain.

The Art Deco building was refurbished and re- opened in 2008 under new management after a four year closure and a long running family business feud.

The Restaurant gets mixed reviews on Trip Advisor for several reasons but if it's just an Ice Cream in a cone you want to take out of the shop, I'd certainly travel an hour to sample it again.

M.V. Loch Shira

As I mentioned earlier, it has been some considerable time since my last visit here, so I shouldn't have been surprised to see the earlier depicted M.V Loch Striven supplemented by a newer ferry.

Although maybe not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye, M.V. Loch Shira seems to be a lot more substantial.

It was built by the nearby Clyde shipbuilders Ferguson at a cost of £ 5.8 million and launched in December 2006. Unlike many other smaller vessels in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet, M.V. Loch Shira has plyed it's trade solidly on a single route, Largs to Great Cumbrae (No prizes for guessing where the next post will be from !)

With a speed of 10 knots, the 54 metre long ferry can carry 36 cars and 250 passengers but congestion issues on a busy road may have curtailed this figure to a much more practical 24.

First on board with a welcome from the crew and off to the next destination, leaving me strange questions about Largs in my head ...

Do people travel from all over the world .. and Universe to sample the Largs Fish and Chip shops ?!