The Island

The Isle of Bute is the second biggest of the four main islands in the Firth of Clyde and is 15 miles long and 5 miles wide at its widest point. The surrounding waters are fed by the Gulf Stream which keeps the climate very temperate—so mild that palm trees flourish on Rothesay’s sea front. The population of the island is 7,228—about 80% of the inhabitants live in the principal town of Rothesay and the adjacent village of Port Bannatyne. Smaller settlements exist at Kilchattan Bay, Kingarth, Kerrycroy and Straad, but most of the remaining population live on the island’s many farms.

Links to the Mainland

There are two ferries to the island. The main route is by car and passenger ferry from Wemyss Bay—a crossing which takes about half an hour, with sailings every 45 minutes at peak times. Trains to Glasgow meet most of the sailings. The link to Argyll is by a five minute crossing from the north end of the island to Colintraive

The United Church of Bute

We are a congregation of around 700 and one of two Church of Scotland congregations on the isle of Bute—our sister church being Rothesay Trinity with which we form a Parish Grouping
The parish covers the whole island—Rothesay, Port Bannatyne, Kilchattan Bay, Straad and rural area

The United Church of Bute is served by a minister and a deacon. We have just come to the end of a successful period of Interim Ministry with our Interim Minister, Rev Iain Goring, and our new minister, Rev Ian S. Currie MBE BD, was inducted into the charge on 11th June 2005. We look forward to working with him to take the United Church of Bute forward in line with our vision.

Please note that the Church Office is only open on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 10 am till noon