ROYAL ROTHESAY ’s First Royal Burgh Granted by Robert 3rd, 1401 Rothesay is the main town on the with a declining population, many of whom are in the elderly category. A good proportion of that age group have actually settled on the island for their retirement. Many have returned to the island of their birth, some have had very happy holidays here when they were younger, some have come to be reunited with family who have already retired here and, at least one husband and wife team have come to Rothesay after seeing photographs on Facebook!

Rothesay can be reached by a short sailing, approximately 35 minutes, on either MV Bute or MV Argyle, two of Calmac’s car ferries or by the shorter route from on the mainland to Rhubodach on Bute, approximately 5 minutes.

Rothesay, as a holiday resort, has declined in popularity since its halcyon days of the 50’s and 60’s when it was mainly a “paw, maw and the weans” attraction. The villages of and Kilchattan Bay were mainly more “couthy” resorts, popular with holidaymakers who preferred a quieter summer break.

There are still some aspects of the Old Rothesay around. The Victorian Toilets on Rothesay Pier are popular with visitors and coach trips, not only to “spend a penny (actually 40p nowadays) but to take photographs. Another Victorian item still in existence is Craigmore Pier. This pier was built in order that the cotton and tobacco barons from Greenock and Glasgow could be dropped off there without having to be dropped off in the main town. These business men’s houses were large and very ostentatious. In later years some became homes for the underprivileged, the Salvation Army and one became a Convent. Later on they were turned hotels or boarding houses with many of them now divided into family houses or flats. The pier itself has an interesting place in Rothesay’s history. If any holidaymaker missed the last steamer, mainly paddlers, the Rothesay Harbourmaster would telephone Craigmore pier and the owner would hoist a flag and that boat would have to call in to collect the latecomer(s) who had to pay for a taxi to get them to Craigmore. The taxi drivers loved that fare as the hire fee was usually accompanied with a tip.

Front Cover Photos reproduced with permission from @williamsjohn76 During 2019, Rothesay embarked on an initiative of upgrading and refurbishment to some of its major facilities. During the earlier par of the year, the Discovery Centre, originally the Winter Garden Theatre, had its rust infected panels replaced and repainted. The glass canopies around the building were replaced and the entire building was totally repainted. The entire project was not only completed in time but was Photo reproduced with permission from Picture Bute within budget. The interior of the building is well used by visitors viewing the photographs of “well kent” faces from the old seaside variety days, it is also the Information Centre and also houses a compact little cinema showing up to date films.

Rothesay Pier is, at present, undergoing an exhaustive strengthening programme to its underwater frontage. Since the pier and harbour were redesigned and improved, the propeller driven ferries were replaced by newer thruster driven vessels, which caused damage which had not been foreseen at the design stage.

The Pavilion, opened in 1938, has been closed since 2015 for a total, and much needed refurbishment. It has been a stalwart in the history and recreation of the town since its opening. At the commencement of WWII, it is reported that all of the evacuees brought to the island were bussed from the incoming steamers and were taken to the Pavilion for tea, soup and sandwiches, before being introduced to their new parents. Not all these introductions went smoothly as the adopters could make a lot more money renting out their spare rooms to summer visitors. Many of the evacuees return to their birth parents within a short time.

During the war, and in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s the venue played host to various types of dancing, concerts, boxing matches and due to a certain Eric Morley presented a Beauty Competition which, of course, developed into Miss World. Photo reproduced with permission from Picture Bute The Pavilion closed in September, 2015 and although it has been reported that the building work would be completed by the end of September, 2019, no opening date has been set.

Bute In Bloom has a sub group which undertakes to improve the appearance of the town centre and has, to date, painted almost a mile of seafront railings, upgraded the Council’s stock of wooden benches, from 18 to 44, by cannibalising a pile of old rotten benches lying in the Council yard. Last year we completely upgraded the appearance of ten of the elaborate lamp posts. This year we embellished a further 18 and coupled this to a fund raising initiative. The Committee of Bute In Bloom, despite being granted a donation last year from & Bute Council, have always been against grant driven culture of many of today’s bodies. We hung collecting tins around where we were working and we have received many donations from people who have stopped to watch us. The total amount collected is, at present, unknown but will be revealed to the judges on August 5th.

Another fund raising initiative, due to the paintwork on the railings and lamp posts was to contact all the residents along this area and we asked them, “If Bute in Bloom provide hanging baskets for these lamp posts, would they donate towards the cost”. The result was astonishing, many residents not only donated money but send photographs via Facebook, to friends and relatives throughout the word. Unfortunately, due to the “Cuts - no manpower - no funds” the Council were not going to put up their hanging baskets this year, however, due to this community action we will, hopefully, have a floral presentation along this area for years to come. Bute In Bloom have been active, along with various local community projects. Earlier in the year, ourselves and local charity “For Bute”, worked on helping to replant the main flower beds at the local hospital. Most of the plants were contributed by Bute In Bloom and “For Bute”.

Above: The happy volunteers relishing a successful planting session after various discussions regarding positioning.

Left: Planting the new plants in the local hospital flower bed

A member of Bute In Bloom and Lynn Simpson from Bute Pets, one of our main sponsors, deliver our annual contribution of floral and vegetable plants to Apple Tree Nursery. Last year was the first time that the nursery joined us in the Keep Scotland Beautiful Competition and enjoyed it so much that the children wanted to take part again this year, Behind the nursery is a natural gap site/ wildlife area and many of the children are acquainted with the names of various birds, bugs and insects. We were approached by the Harbourmaster of Rothesay Pier, who asked if we would be willing to upgrade the appearance of the paintwork around the harbours as it was almost 20 years since it was last done, i.e. on its installation. Argyll & Bute Council would pay for the materials, as per the sea front railings and the lamp posts. We agreed, with the proviso that the paintwork would be in two parts. Part 1 - The middle approach to the pier, around the waiting room area, the railings along the back of the inner harbour and outside the Victorian Toilets. Part 2 - The remainder of the paintwork round the harbour to be completed in the Autumn 2019. We also stated that we, Bute In Bloom, would enhance the area with a floral presentation and banners claiming that we are responsible for the work carried out. We also stated that we would have our collecting tins in the area that we were working. Once again the collecting tins have been a great success.

A very large PLUS to this project is that some locals have now offered to paint some sea front railings along the Ardbeg shoreline. Photographs of Rose Beds Planted and maintained by Bute In Bloom Ongoing Projects

In 2015, Iain Gillespie of Bute In Bloom was asked by the Argyll & Bute HELP Group, if he would supervise the upgrade of a gap site that had been shops and houses. These buildings were demolished and a small area laid out as a park in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, there was no maintenance regime and the area fell into disarray and became a gap site used for fly tipping and was regularly used by solvent and alcohol abusers.

The HELP Group decided that it had used up its budget and in a magnanimous gesture, as HELP thought, they gave the area back to the council. Unfortunately, once again, their was no maintenance budget and the project was not finished. Bute In Bloom stepped in and completed the task, although we had to approach Argyll & Bute Council to get reimbursed for the expense for further timber, hardware and fence preservative. Bute In Bloom took over the area and gradually improved it, plus part of the surrounding land and it is now, once again a well appreciated park. This work is ongoing, and hopefully, improving year by year. Incredible Edible Bute

Incredible Edible Bute is in its second year, supported by Fyne Futures Ltd as part of Climate Challenge Fund Project – Bute Carbon Free Families. Volunteers are growing fruit, vegetables and herbs in public space for anyone to pick for free. The group have targeted amenity sites that have fell into dereliction whether private or publically owned.

The main site – Chapelhill Garden was opened 24th June 2018. A large decked area is accessed by a DDA compliant ramp ensuring the garden is accessible to all. Raised beds and wheelchair friendly trugs are planted with seasonal vegetables and herbs. The second phase expanded the site towards the back wall where heritage apple trees are grown espalier style with raised beds containing a range of soft fruits. A bench seat has been added to encourage people to sit and enjoy the space. The third phase is still in progress: this consists of dealing with a difficult slope which consists of hard core and rubble from the demolished church. This area contains a small flower garden, half barrels planted with fruit trees and herb spirals. Interpretation signs have been added to provide people with information about composting, beneficial bugs and climate change.

Raised beds at Battery Place are in their second year, and it is expected that soft fruit crops will provide another bumper crop. Strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries all appear to enjoy the location however the blueberries are not fairing as well and may need to be transplanted elsewhere at the end of this season. Rosemary and Thyme have been added to the herb beds, to compliment the Sage which is thriving on the site. Hazelnut trees have responded well to the first year pruning, November 2018, however it is not expected they will crop until 2021 or 2022. Interpretation boards have been added to give people information about the different crops and enable harvesting.

Half barrels with pear, apple and plum trees have been in sets of three at Esplanade, Guildford Square and East Princes Street to add to the free food trail. There are also 4 new sites identified that will be brought into production over the course of 2019.