Things you didn't know about... the Isle of Cumbrae

The Isle of Cumbrae is actually four islands
It comprises Great Cumbrae, two tiny islets in its main bay, and Little Cumbrae, a private nature reserve south of the main island.

The Isle of Cumbrae, final resting-place of foreign occupation
In 1263 the Battle of Largs saw the Norwegians under King Haakon defeated and expelled from the lands in Scotland that they'd occupied for hundreds of years. Haakon gathered his troops on the Isle of Cumbrae before the fight on the mainland. Many of the Norse dead are said to be buried on Fintry Bay.

The Isle of Cumbrae, where ministers wait for smugglers
Because of its location—close to the mainland and with hidden bays and inlets—smuggling has always been a feature of island life. It is said that once a communion service had to be delayed to await the arrival of smuggled wine.

The house with the narrowest frontage in the world is on the Isle of Cumbrae
"The Wedge" in Millport is cited in Guinness World Records—it's a minute 47 inches or 1.19 metres wide.

The Isle of Cumbrae has the smallest cathedral in Britain
The tiny Cathedral of the Isles is a church of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. Designed by William Butterfield in the Gothic Revival style, it is one of the most revered ecclesiastical building in the country.

Locals rarely call it the Isle of Cumbrae
Locally, it is mostly known by the name of its main town Millport. Many consider Millport a perfect example of a Victorian village.

There's a pottery fort on the Isle of Cumbrae
At Douncraig there's a "vitrified fort"—a citadel that appears to have been fired like a piece of pottery, producing a hardened glazed outer surface. Opinion is divided as to whether this finish was deliberately done or the result of accidental or siege fires.

The Isle of Cumbrae was home to a great naturalist
Dr David Robertson lived most of his life on the Isle of Cumbrae, and studied its varied wildlife including its black rabbits and nine species of orchid.

The Isle of Cumbrae is seriously crowded
The island is the most populous spot in Scotland, relative to its size.