Bute is shire made of islands in the Firth of Clyde. The Isle of Bute stands just off the Cowal peninsula of Argyll. Its main town is the wee port of Rothesay (the Prince of Wales as heir to the throne bears the title Duke of Rothesay). Also within Buteshire are Arran, a far larger island but less populous, lying southward of the Isle of Bute, and Great and Little Cumbrae to the east, off the Ayrshire coast.
Hemmed in as they are by the surrounding lands, the islands of Buteshire enjoy a clearer, more salubrious climate than the West Coast of Scotland has generally.
County Facts
County Town: Rothesay
Main Towns: Brodick, Lochranza, Milport, Rothesay.
Main Rivers: St Colmac Burn, Ettrick Burn, Machrie Water.
Highlights: Brodick Castle, Arran; Rothesay Castle, Bute; Mount Stuart House, Bute; St Molais’s cave, Arran.
Highest Point: Goatfell, Arran, 2866 feet.
Area: 225 sq miles
Flower: Thrift
