Cumbrae Ferry

The Largs to Cumbrae ferry is the main way to get to Great Cumbrae Island. The route of the ferry used to go to Millport but these days it goes to Cumbrae Slip which is just over 3 miles from the old pier in Millport, the only town on the island.

The ferries on the route are modern. The older ship on the route is called the MV Loch Riddon while the MV Loch Shira came into service in 2007 which provides 32 cars and 250 passengers. It is a busy route and while the sailing is scheduled to take ten minutes, it is a little less.

History

In 1963, Cumbrae only received a ferry link on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This operated in conjunction with the Rothesay Ferry service out of Wemyss Bay, and arrived at Millport. The crossing took 50–80 minutes (depending on whether it went via Rothesay or not) and cost from £1 16s to £3.

Largs Pier

The ticket office and waiting room at Largs Pier

The Largs terminus is a concrete slipway in the old harbour on the north side of Largs Pier, which dates back to 1839. The slip, which was built in 1972, runs diagonally from the south east corner of the harbour and enables boarding and disembarking at all states of the tide.

The pier was substantially rebuilt between October 2008 and September 2009, a project which included creating increased berthing space for stabling the ferries and dredging of the approaches to the pier and the slip.

There is a Caledonian MacBrayne ticket office with waiting room and toilet facilities at the pier.

At peak times, especially during the summer tourist season, traffic queues for the ferry build up on marked bays on the streets to the south of the pier.

Cumbrae Slip

Approaching Cumbrae Slip on a ferry from Largs

Also built in 1972, the concrete slipway is located at the north east corner of the island, where it enables the shortest crossing to the mainland.

There are no buildings at the slip, other than a bus shelter and a phone box. A bus service meets each ferry and takes around 10-15 minutes to reach the centre of Millport.

A car park on the other side of the B896 is for the use of islanders travelling to the mainland by foot on the ferry.

At peak times, especially during the summer tourist season, traffic queues for the ferry build up directly on the rather narrow B896.

Ferries

Name	IMO	Operator	Dates	Notes
Loch Shira	9376919	Caledonian Macbrayne	2007-date	36 cars
Loch Riddon	8519875	Caledonian Macbrayne	1997-date (summer service only, 1998 onwards)	12 cars
Loch Alainn	9147722	Caledonian Macbrayne	1998-2007	29 cars
Loch Linnhe	8512308	Caledonian Macbrayne	1986-1998	12 cars
Loch Striven	8512293	Caledonian Macbrayne	1986-1997	12 cars
Isle of Cumbrae	7521625	Caledonian Macbrayne	1977-1986	12 cars
Coruisk		Caledonian Macbrayne	1972-1977	An older landing vessel of the same name as the current Coruisk
Largs		Caledonian Macbrayne	1972-1977

Routes

Largs Side

Route	To	Notes
A78	Greenock
A78	Ardrossan, Irvine

Cumbrae Side

Route	To	Notes
B896	Millport

Links

• Timetable & prices
• Undiscovered Scotland