Largs

Largs is a small seaside resort on the Clyde coast of North Ayrshire. It’s where Viking power in Scotland was broken, at the Battle of Largs in 1263, and the Vikingar Exhibition is the town’s main attraction. Largs is the ferry port for the short crossing to the Isle of Great Cumbrae, and a base for exploring Ayrshire.

Largs coast from Macbraynes pier

The battle itself was probably a small and indecisive affair, but it spelt the failure of a Norwegian sea expedition to re-assert their control in this region. Subsequently they ceded Strathclyde, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland, while retaining Orkney and Shetland. The Scots named the place An Leargaidh, “the slopes”. Not much else happened in Largs for another 600 years, and then its fortunes rose as the city of Glasgow expanded, becoming a fashionable place for city merchants to have a country retreat. Lord Brisbane, governor of New South Wales, was born here in 1773, and the physicist Lord Kelvin lived here. In the 19 C Largs became part of the “Costa Clyde” or “Glasgow Riviera” – the string of small resorts such as Troon, Ayr, Girvan and Arran. It remains popular in summer with day-trippers from the city.

Get in

By train

Trains to Glasgow Central run hourly, taking one hour; they continue south to Troon, Prestwick and Ayr.

By bus

Direct buses run every half hour or so to Greenock (45 mins), Ardrossan (30 mins), Irvine (50 mins) and Ayr (75 mins). For central Glasgow (Buchanan Street), change at Greenock.

Get around

Largs is relatively small and easily explored on foot. Taxis are also available.

See

Cumbrae ferry at Largs

Stroll along the prom for grand views over the Firth of Clyde towards Arran, Cumbrae, Bute and Argyll. There are amusement arcades along the prom. Towards the north end, the leisure centre contains the Vikingar exhibition.

• 🌍 Vikingar, Greenock Rd, Largs KA30 8QL (on the sea-front at the north end of the promenade). 9 am to 9 pm Mon-Fri, 10 am – 5 pm Sat & Sun. Exhibition tells the story of the Viking period of Scottish history. There’s also a large leisure centre here with swimming pool, sauna and gym. (updated Feb 2017)

In the centre of town, the grounds of the former church contain two notable 17 C tombs, the Skelmorlie Aisle and the Brisbane Aisle.

• 🌍 Skelmorlie Aisle (In town centre). 2 pm – 5 pm daily May-Sept. If you find it locked, get the key from the adjacent museum.. The aisle is all that remains of a 17th century church, but it’s notable for the ornate tomb of Sir Robert Montgomerie and his wife Dame Margaret Douglas (killed young in a riding accident). The Montgomeries lived at Skelmorlie Castle, some miles north of town, but this is nowadays a private mansion and can’t be visited. The aisle is free. (updated Feb 2017)
• 🌍 Brisbane Aisle. same as Skelmorlie. 17th century free-standing burial vault of the Shaws of Kelsoland. (updated Feb 2017)

Do

• 🌍 Barrfields Pavilion. 500-seat theatre (updated Dec 2016)
• 🌍 Inverclyde National Sports Training Centre. (updated Dec 2016)
• Waverley. In summer the paddle steamer Waverley regularly calls at Largs for sailings round the Firth of Clyde. 

Events

• Viking Festival. In early September the town hosts the annual 'Viking Festival'. A small Viking village is erected on the promenade, plus a fairground. The next festival runs 2-10 Sept 2017. 
• Largs Live. A music festival held on the last weekend in June.
• Scottish Air Show. Held on the first weekend of September at nearby Prestwick Airport.

Eat

Nardini's Cafe

Largs has many pubs, cafes, and restaurants, the renowned spot being Nardini’s.

• Nardinis. restaurant on the promenade is famed for its authentic Italian food and ice cream. 
• Nardinis cafe. smaller is also situated by the pier. 
• Green Shutters. Nardini's also own this cafe which offers nice food and spectacular views of cumbrae. 
• Room. For the younger visitors, restaurant and the Lounge are popular. 

Drink

Largs probably has more pubs than it does shops. Some should be avoided on weekends but the majority offer a nice atmosphere, affordable drinks and good company. Again, there is a newly opened pub/restaurant on the beach front, Lanes, and is part of the Atlantis amusement arcade and bowling alley. It has a beachfront terrace to drink on which is lovely in the summer. Room and lounge are popular haunts for the largs youth at weekends and are upper class, modern drinking locations. The lounge is also open later on Fridays and Saturdays and is one of the two nightclubs in Largs. The other club being Fiddlers which is best avoided by the more classy visitors! More traditional pubs include McCabes and the Anchor, both very central.

Sleep

Largs is a popular tourist destination and has many hotels and B&Bs throughout the town. The bigger and more expensive hotels can be found on the beach front. In the summer Largs can be rather busy and pre-booking hotels is recommended however there are many Bed and Breakfasts which offer rooms at an affordable price on a non-booking basis.

• Brisbane Hotel. offers spectacular views across the water 
• Victoria Hotel. on the seafront now offers great live entertainment with Live acts on every weekend and often during the week too. You'll find many famous names playing at The Victoria as well as local and other Scottish talent - with its great atmosphere and live music it is certainly worth a visit. 

Stay safe

Like any town in the west of Scotland it is important to exercise caution at night and in certain pubs. The town centre is generally quite safe and there is usually a police presence. Tourists should be careful as to which pubs they choose to go to at the weekend as some may be the scenes of the occasional fight, however these pubs are quite recognisable. The Fiddlers may also play host to the occasional fight as 'neds' tend to come from neighbouring towns to pick fights with Largs locals. During the Viking Festival at weekends there is always fighting and tourists should be careful. Although there is usually a large police presence there are a few individuals that only come to the festival to cause trouble.

Go next

• Take the ten-minute ferry crossing for an outing to Great Cumbrae. The island is easily cyclable, but if you haven’t got your own wheels, buses meet the ferry and run to Millport. Ferries every 30 mins or so, see Calmac website. Little Cumbrae doesn’t have a ferry service, but occasional boat trips run from Largs.
• The Isle of Bute is easily reached by a 35-min ferry crossing from Wemyss Bay.
• Ayr is the best base for the Burns Heritage Museum at Alloway; it’s an easy day-trip by bus or train.
• Bute can be day-tripped, but it’s worth a longer stay; it also opens up a route to Argyll via the Cowal peninsula.
• The Isle of Arran really deserves a few days to explore. Frequent sailings from Ardrossan.
• Glasgow and Edinburgh are unmissable city destinations. For Ireland, head to Cairnryan for ferries to Belfast.