5 days ago
The charming Scottish seaside resort that survived against all odds
Gone are the days when half of Glasgow thrashed 'doon the water' on holidays to the Firth of Clyde resorts. The advent of cheap jet travel has spirited Glaswegians off to the Spanish Costas, sounding the Clyde's death knell. Ayr no more. Ardrossan no more. One resort town, though, survived the onslaught. Largs is the beguiling Clydeside resort they forgot to close down.
Behind the town's evergreen tourist appeal are an embarrassment of natural charms. The emerald cloak of the surprisingly wild (and wildly beautiful) Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park provides a rugged natural amphitheatre, with Knock Hill a brilliantly rewarding yomp. The famed beachfront promenade unfurls over two miles, with Great Cumbrae sparkling just across the water. The isles of Bute and Arran glower beyond, competing with the hills of Argyll for cinematic attention.
'Largs is lovely and it just oozes nostalgia,' beams Janet Martin of Tasting History Scotland Tours, who hasn't looked back since moving up from Kent 40 years ago. There is only one place for us to meet – Nardini's, a graceful old Art Deco ice-cream parlour and café that ushers us gently into a different time. It's a warmer, more innocent world, the 1930s when the 'war to end all wars' had supposedly brought enduring peace to a war-ravaged Britain.
'That was a different Britain back then and visitors today enjoy tapping into the comfort of that age and its heritage,' muses Janet.
If the name Nardini sounds familiar it's because – outside of Scotland's west coast – it's more synonymous with the actress Daniela Nardini, who scooped ice creams for customers as a child long before winning awards for her role as Anna Forbes in the BBC Two series This Life. Her Scottish family of Italian heritage are part of Largs' solid Ayrshire sandstone backbone. Their Art Deco creation has stood proudly since 1935, even surviving the dark days of the Second World War, when all able-bodied Italian men of fighting age were incarcerated on the Isle of Wight, despite one of the Nardini family fighting for the Allies in the Great War.
In its heyday, a six-man orchestra struck up and a crooner sashayed around charming customers. The stage still stands. Though there is no live music today I savour delicious nostalgia with traditional haddock and chips and a strawberry milkshake topped up with double cream.
Long gone, of course, are the halcyon days when dozens of paddle steamers swished into Largs daily, disgorging delighted holidaymakers for meanders along the town's palm-fringed waterfront. The palms still sway, but only one paddle steamer – the heritage vessel PS Waverley – still calls in summer. You can catch one of the modern ferries that ease across to the island of Great Cumbrae, home to a cracking gin distillery, the trim village of Millport and the only cathedral in the Hebrides.
That ferry link and the hourly train service are the oxygen that Largs needs to continue winning its battle for survival. The railway arrived in 1885. More hotels, guesthouses and cafes followed suit, along with Barrfields Theatre. Remarkably it's still open today and has had a swimming pool and history museum (Vikingar!) wrapped around it. The roster of past performers is as impressive as it is eclectic, with everyone from Billy Connolly and Gregor Fisher (Rab C. Nesbitt), through to Ronnie Corbett.
During Largs' golden age most people came for a day trip or just a night, a trend that continues today, but historically some more unwelcome visitors lingered longer in the Firth of Clyde. Much longer. The Vikings first descended on the Scottish isles with the shock sacking of the religious community of Iona in 795 AD. They ravaged, settled and then ravaged again, seizing control of almost all of Scotland's islands, as far south as the Isle of Man, a Scottish possession at the time.
At Vikingar!, local schoolkids learn that Largs had Thor long before Marvel, as they're stirred by proud tales of how the mighty Norse eventually met their match in the Battle of Largs in 1293. The museum's Joe Thompson tells me, 'Largs was pivotal as it's when we finally sent the Vikings home to think again. Without Largs, Scotland today might have been very different.'
Largs really does spread its wings far and wide. A plaque marks the sight of the hotel where Churchill and Eisenhower cemented Normandy as the site of D-Day landings. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, inventor of the Kelvin Scale, loved Largs so much he built a mansion here and Largs luminary Sir Thomas Brisbane made such an impact as governor of New South Wales they named Queensland's capital after him.
Largs has also had a seismic impact on football. The roll-call of managers who have honed their skills or taught at the legendary Inverclyde National Sports Centre, overlooking the town, includes Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson, Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni.
Footballers may hate sitting on the bench, but people in Largs love them. The resort must have more benches – and more shades of them – per capita than anywhere in Britain. They're well-used: a couple share their love of Nardini's ice cream with their daughter, while a brace of fish-supper quaffing bikers fend off the gulls and two mature gents bemoan another defeat for Scotland at Hampden Park.
My head swims in thoughts of the famous Largs alumni; my heart sways at the Arran Hills poking through the cloud that hangs low over the isles. I make a last stop on the waterfront at a pub called The Paddle Steamer. As the slick modern hybrid CalMac ferry glides in I raise a toast to Largs, the Clyde resort that survived against the odds.
