The Isle of Bute, sitting in the middle reaches of the Firth of Clyde, is about 15 miles long by up to 4 miles wide.  The main ferry connection is between Rothesay, the only town on the island, and Wemyss Bay on the mainland.  The journey takes 35 minutes, the service being approximately hourly throughout the day.  Wemyss Bay is about 50 minutes from Glasgow by rail or road.

At the north end of the island, where it is separated from the mainland by a mere 300 yards, there is a second ferry, with a half-hourly service, which connects the island to the Cowal peninsulars and the rest of Argyll.

The island has a population in the region of 6,000, the vast majority of whom live in Rothesay and its adjoining settlements which stretch for about 4 miles along the east coast.  The remainder of the island is sparsely inhabited, being cultivated farmland, forestry or moorland.

Although set in a landscape comprising the much higher mountains of Argyll and Arran, the island itself rises to no more than 912 feet at its highest point.  Geologically, it sits astride the Highland Fault, so that technically its northern part is in the highlands, its relatively fertile southern part being in the lowlands.

On a small, easily accessible island, there is a wonderful variety of scenery and habitats available to the walker and the botanist – or just anyone who simply enjoys being outdoors!   The choices are almost limitless:  from sandy dunes to shingle beaches and saltmarshes, from deciduous woodland to open moorland, from acidic bogs to free-draining soils, from stony cliff faces to arable fields, from the more exposed west coast to the more sheltered east, from the wetter northern end to the (relatively!) drier south – and more!

Why not come and find out for yourself?