Rothesay, Bute

The town of Rothesay (Baile Bhòid) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th century, and which is unique in Scotland for its circular plan. Rothesay lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde.

History
Rothesay was the county town in the civil parish of Rothesay in county of Bute, which included the islands of Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and Arran. The county buildings, now partially closed down, overlook the castle.

During the Victorian era, Rothesay developed as a popular tourist destination. It became hugely popular with Glaswegians going "doon the watter" (lit: down the water, where the 'water' in question is the Firth of Clyde), and its wooden pier was once much busier with steamer traffic than it is today. Rothesay was also the location of one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments during the 19th century boom years of the Hydropathy movement. The town also had an electric tramway - the Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway - which stretched across the island to one of its largest beaches. However, this closed in the mid-1930s. The centre of activities was the Winter Gardens building (built 1923) which played host to some of the best known music hall entertainers of the day.



The bauhaus-inspired pavilion of 1938, stands-out on the seafront.

From the 1960s onwards, with the advent of cheap foreign package holidays, Rothesay's heyday was largely over. The Winter Gardens closed and lay derelict for many years. However in the 1990s, it was redeveloped and is now a tourist information and exhibition centre.

Duke of Rothesay
The heir to the British throne is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland. This practice was begun by Robert III, who regularly resided at Rothesay Castle, and first granted the title to his son David in 1398. The title was given to the heir of the Scottish throne until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Unlike the equivalent English title of Duke of Cornwall, there is no land attached in the form of a Duchy. The main landowner on the island is the Marquess of Bute, whose principal seat, Mount Stuart, is located a few miles to the south.

Rothesay today
Rothesay is no longer the seaside town it used to be, with more tourists going to Spain etc. However since the recession tourist numbers have increased. Rothesey has also been granted a multimillion pound harbour devolpment project just in time for a arrival of the next generation lower firth ferries Argyle and Bute.

Culture
Rothesay has hosted the National Mod twice: in 1908 and 1952.

Sport
The most successful sporting club on the island is Bute Shinty Club which plays at the highest level of the sport (the Marine Harvest Premier League). In 2006 Bute won promotion to the Premier League by winning the South Division One. Bute also won the Ballimore Cup and was runner up in the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup in 2006.

The town has a senior amateur football club called Rothesay Brandane F.C. which plays in the Caledonian Amateur Football League, and an under 15 youth team called Rothesay Brandane Rovers which competes in the Paisley & District Youth League.

Bute County Cricket Club plays in the Western District Cricket Union Championship.

The island has three golf courses, one of which is situated on the outskirts of the town, the 18-hole Rothesay Golf Club, another, the 9 hole Bute Golf Course, near the sands of Stravannan Bay on the west coast of the island, and the other, the rather unusual, 13 hole Port Bannatyne Golf Club, situated on the hills behind the village.

The town hosts the High School of Glasgow rugby camp every summer.

Education
There are currently three primary schools; St Andrews Primary, Rothesay Primary School, North Bute Primary and one secondary school, Rothesay Academy, in the town. In 2007 a joint campus school was opened merging Rothesay Primary with Rothesay Academy. Rothesay Academy has now closed in favour of the joint campus school.

Notable people

 * Richard Attenborough, actor and film director (Gandhi, Chaplin, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park)
 * Johnny Dumfries, former Formula One racing driver and current Marquess of Bute
 * Thomas Bannatyne Gillies, New Zealand lawyer, judge and politician
 * George Hunter, the colourist painter
 * Ashley Lilley, actor, Ali in Mamma Mia
 * Sir William Macewen, pioneer of brain surgery
 * Jim McAlister, footballer (Morton FC and Dundee F.C.)
 * Billy McIsaac, keyboardist in Slik, PVC2 and The Zones
 * John Morrison ex footballer for Torquay United (played in Wembley cup tie in 1989)
 * Jane Ross, Scottish international footballer, and reserve forward for Team GB's squad for the London 2012 Olympic Games
 * Sir Graham Watson, UK Lib Dem politician and Member of the European Parliament
 * Lena Zavaroni, singer and child star

Climate
As with the rest of the British Isles and Scotland, Rothesay experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Given its island location, the risk of severe frost is negated by the surrounding waters. Temperature extremes range from 28.5 C during August 1975, down to -8.4 C during January 1982.