A Car-Free Adventure On The Isle Of Bute, Scotland

From an epic road trip in Argyll to the complete opposite on the Isle of Bute, these two adventures that were just a couple of weeks apart couldn’t have been more different. I’ve said a few times that Argyll & Bute is without a doubt one of my favourite areas of Scotland, and I have plenty more to write about Argyll, but it was finally time to visit Bute, an island almost connected to the Cowal peninsula of Argyll.

We were visiting on the longer ferry route though, from Wemyss Bay (pronounced “Weems”). This is a perfect public transport route from Glasgow, with a train to Wemyss Bay and then, without even having to go outside, a ferry straight over to Bute. Historically this was a very popular weekend getaway for Glaswegians, and made for a perfect day out to the beach. In fact, Bute is so accessible that it barely feels like an island at all.

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However I will admit we took our car for the first leg of the journey, as it was much easier to drive from Edinburgh straight to Wemyss Bay rather than changing stations in Glasgow with a dog in tow. Luckily, parking at Wemyss Bay is easy, with train station parking costing just £3 per day, so £6 for our whole trip.

Even better, I wanted to visit Wemyss Bay station anyway, because it’s one of the best examples of a Victorian-era train station in Scotland. How lovely is this?!

Anyway, why Bute? Well, we’d never been. I had two things on my list to see there: the grandeur of Mount Stuart house, a lavish mansion built from the largest wealth in Britain at the time, and… er… some public toilets. You’ll see why.

Not being armed with a list of things to do felt wonderful; we could truly relax. I had no real expectations, which is why I was surprised when we arrived and immediately loved the Victorian town of Rothesay.

You can see the bygone era etched on the face of Rothesay and much of it has been preserved wonderfully, like the visitor centre and all the ornate lamp posts. Sadly like most of these British seaside resorts, there is plenty of wear and tear too, with hotels boarded up.

The hotel we stayed in, Glenburn Hotel, has only recently re-opened after Covid, with high running costs making it difficult to run. Glenburn was Scotland’s first ever spa, but now the spa is gone and instead it’s just a nice hotel, though perhaps not as iconic as it once was. Either way, it’s a lovely and affordable place to stay, and dog-friendly too.

It’s actually also been taken over by the same company that owns Stonefield Castle, the hotel we stayed in a couple of weeks before. Like Stonefield, we got this on a winter deal, but we didn’t realise at the time that they were the same parent company which is why they will have had similar deals.

Book the Glenburn Hotel here for a relaxing break on Bute!

Needless to say, there’s a lot of history in Rothesay, which can be explored in the visitor centre and also the Bute Museum. We didn’t visit the museum, but we did make sure to check out the visitor centre. Next to the visitor centre is a really lovely park, Winter Park, where lots of kids were out playing and people were walking with or without dogs. Not a phone in sight. It really felt like we’d gone back in time!

After dropping our bags (I feel the need to point out that the luggage storage room at Glenburn has a Still Game picture on the wall; I had a laugh about this with the reception staff!), we headed straight out for some lunch and to explore Rothesay.

There are several lovely cafés around, but it was such a nice day that we decided to get a few things from Electric Bakery and sit with them by the castle.

Rothesay Castle

Yeah, so remember how I wanted to see a mansion and some public toilets? I didn’t even mention the castle, did I?! Yes, Rothesay has a castle smack bang in the middle of town.

We didn’t go in, but after our lunch we walked around the whole perimeter and it’s pretty impressive, complete with a moat.

The castle was built in the 1200’s as a defence against the Norwegians who, at that point, ruled the land. It was beseiged twice by Vikings but ultimately won against them. Eventually the castle was left to ruin, until the Crichton-Stuarts restored it to what it is today – more on them below.

And, of course, we checked out the public toilets. I know you’ve been dying to hear about those.

Victorian public toilets, Rothesay

Obviously they are not just any old public toilets. Well, unfortunately the women’s are… which is why I had to go into the men’s.

It’s not often I’d recommend going to look at toilets, but it’s actually worth it because these are the original Victorian design! Honestly, very cool. And yes, you are allowed to go into the men’s regardless of gender, just make sure nobody’s in there first.

There’s even information on the walls about the toilets with historic photos, like a wee museum (pun intended).

These are right next to the ferry terminal, between there and the visitor centre, so I highly recommend a visit. They are worth paying for, although I’ll mention now that the barriers were open when we visited. Not sure if that’s a seasonal thing or if we just got lucky.

With Bute being a very popular Victorian seaside resort, this feels very inkeeping with their heritage too. Can’t believe I’m trying to justify toilets to you guys.

Mount Stuart House

The following day, we headed south to Mount Stuart. Luckily this is really easy to get to on the bus and it’s only about 15-20 minutes from Rothesay.

One thing that did confuse us is that the bus we aimed for said it was only going as far as Kerrycroy on the timetable, which is about a 20 minute walk along the coast from the grounds of Mount Stuart, and made no sense as surely the majority of people would be going to the most popular attraction on the island to coincide with its opening time? We decided if that was the case, it would be a nice walk with Bonnie. However, when the bus turned up, it said it would be terminating at Mount Stuart itself! Perfect.

(As an aside, Kerrycroy looked gorgeous – a tiny hamlet with black and white Tudor-esque houses next to a small beach. So certainly no hardships if we had ended up terminating there!)

We got to Mount Stuart shortly before the house itself opened, so we grabbed tickets (10% off if you’ve taken the bus, which is a fantastic green initiative as you’ve already saved on the parking too) and walked through some of the grounds first. Dogs are allowed in the grounds but not in the house, so we had to take it in turns going inside.

While Ash went in, I took Bonnie for a walk through a large part of the grounds, wandering past statues, taking paths through rows of trees, and eventually ending up on the coast. Which was absolutely gorgeous on such a nice day, though you can see in the distance that we were just missing the rain.

We took the coastal path back along and then in towards the house, which was perfect timing as we met Ash out the front of the house!

So, the house. It is unbelievable. Prepare yourself.

It is truly one of the most ostentatious displays of wealth I’ve ever seen – and absolutely captivating. It was built by the 3rd Marquess of Bute, the richest man in Britain at the time, using his vast wealth to create something special out of all of his passions.

Everything is in the details, from the stained glass windows representing the zodiac, to the marble statues of goddesses as he wanted positive female influences for his daughter. His bedroom ceiling is like a planetarium, and the drawing room is full of wares he collected from his travels around the world, including four stunning Japanese vases, as well as secret drawings in the marble pillars. I’ve never quite seen anything like it!

In fact, I’d honestly say it’s the most impressive house I’ve ever been to. It’s just unreal!

The library is another highlight, filled with thousands of books and an astonishing grandfather clock. An absolute dream. On par with the excellent library in Abbotsford House in the Borders.

Oh, and then there’s a chapel, a beautiful room on the end of the building with a ceiling that keeps going up and up. I found it quite funny that after taking this photo looking straight up at it, it looks a little… Satanic!!

But the actual highlight is the main hall, one of the first rooms you’ll enter. It is *mindblowing*. The ceiling, in keeping with his keen interest in astrology, is made to look like stars in the night sky, and every detail is astonishing.

Upstairs, you can get an even better view of the ceiling.

The staff here are also brilliant. I find that the guides can really add to places like this, but I’ve rarely come across any as passionate as the staff at Mount Stuart. I didn’t get most of these facts from reading information boards; I got them from the people working there. Make sure to stick around for the talks in each room, particularly the dining room and drawing room, where a lot of the history is brought to life in tales of John Crichton-Stuart’s life, and how he became the richest person in Britain at just six months old.

He had so many passions that are evident all throughout the house, and it made it feel so much more personalised than somebody just throwing money at something for the sake of it.

However I wouldn’t have nearly as much respect for somebody who simply inherited wealth if this was all he did with it. Like many rich people, and unlike so many rich people now, he invested money into things like expanding universities, restoring castles and palaces (Cardiff Castle and Falkland Palace being two notable examples), and even on Bute, preserving a local chapel so that it wouldn’t be left to complete ruin. He also helped to preserve Rothesay Castle.

Needless to say, this is a fascinating place to visit, and is far more than just an impressive interior.

ESSENTIAL INFO
Mount Stuart is open from 11.30am to 3pm in the summer (April – October, check exact dates here), and the gardens 10am to 5pm. I’d recommend at least an hour and a half, and more if you’d like to walk the grounds.
Adult tickets are £18.25 and parking is £4, but as above if you take the bus (or walk or cycle) you get 10% off. Also if you are a UK tax payer, your ticket lasts for a year with GiftAid so you can come back!

We had grabbed some more food from Electric Bakery in the morning (highly recommend!) to eat while we were there, although there is a café on site. We wanted to sit in the grounds with a little picnic anyway, and this worked out perfectly as the weather was on our side for once – even though it actually wasn’t meant to be!

After lunch, it was time to head back to Rothesay, pick up our bags, and catch the next ferry. The great thing about not having a car is that we didn’t need to book the ferries; we could just turn up as foot passengers.

Out of all the Scottish islands, Bute is probably the easiest to visit without a car. There’s a good bus service around the island, and we could have used it to visit Ettrick Bay, a popular destination for beach-goers. From Glasgow, it’s an hour on the train plus a half hour ferry ride.

It’s also perfect for a relaxing break. We spent the evening in our hotel as our deal included dinner, which meant a great escape from the rain that had descended. If the weather’s nice, the path along the waterfront is lovely and peaceful.

Did I mention there’s a monster in the water too? It’s not quite the crocodile rock of Cumbrae, but it’s a solid effort.

I also think it’s a very “local” destination, as it’s one of the few places in Scotland we’ve been where we’ve pretty much only heard Scottish accents (by contrast, we met quite a few Americans, Australians and English people in Kintyre, which is relatively off the beaten path). I say this as someone who doesn’t really have a Scottish accent, with an English(ish) husband who definitely doesn’t!

So if you’re looking for somewhere a bit off-beat with some great attractions that locals love, Bute is ✨ the one ✨.

Want some more Scottish island adventures? Check these out!
⭐ Four Islands, One Epic Weekend On The Isle Of Mull
⭐ Landscapes & History On Lewis & Harris: A Five Day Itinerary
⭐ 50 Photos To Make You Want To Visit Orkney
⭐ A Great Day Out Puffin-Spotting On The Isle Of May, Scotland
⭐ Spending A Perfect Weekend On Skye