Bed and breakfast availability
Rothesay b&b, guesthouse and hotel accommodation

Visit Rothesay and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, on the island of Bute is the county town. This historic town is today the famous Clyde holiday resort.

Bute is a Lowland island, but, as it is dove-tailed into Argyll, it sees the great mountains all around it. Rothesay, in consequence, has been responsible for the well-known song written and composed by the enthusiastic Mrs Craik, “Sweet Rothesay Bay”.

The area that constitutes the civic parish of Rothesay is well populated with farms, as it is mainly composed of arabic and pasture land for dairy cows. The town, with its beckoning wedding-cake architecture and its attractively strident shops, hugs the coast at the East of the island looking directly across the Kyles of Bute into Argyll. The annual Clyde Yachting Fortnight is held in what are, for its purposes, the admirable circumstances of Rothesay Bay.

In 1401 Robert III, that more than usually unfortunate Stuart King, made Rothesay a royal burgh. He had made the place a favourite summer resort. His son became the Duke of Rothesay; the title was borne by the eldest sons of the Scottish kings, and is today one of the titles of the Prince of Wales. Students of heraldry and royal genealogy have been known (without any Scottish nationalist implications) to refer to the heir to the British throne, when he is in Scotland, as the Duke of Rothesay.

Rothesay Castle was built around 1098 in the days of the Norse occupation of the Scottish Western Isles. Since then it has passed into many hands, after the restoration of the Hebrides to Scotland consequent upon the battle of Largs. It also changed its style and building with the centuries. It is one of the most remarkable medieval castles of Scotland, and is an outstanding example of the typical 13^th century castles with high curtain walls fortified by protecting drum towers. The curtain walls stand to a height of some 30 ft. The castle differs from the normal plan in that the walls enclose a circular courtyard. This plan is unique in Scotland. The site is surrounded by a deep water-moat. The entrance is through a high tower that projects boldly into the moat. This fore-tower is the work of James IV and James V. Within the courtyard may be seen the foundations of sundry internal buildings, haphazardly disposed, and the roofless shell of a chapel. It may in substance be the castle captured by the Norsemen in 1230.

Today this large past (signs of which so impressively remain for us in the Castle) has been amiably overwhelmed by the present. Rothesay has many amenities for sport and entertainment. It contains all the usual pursuits and pleasures of the carefree Glasgow crowd on holiday “doon the watter”. A staple part of their diet enjoyed out of doors while looking at the fine scenery of Argyll is fish and chips consumed out of popular Glasgow newspapers.

Nearby towns: Dunoon, Gourock, Greenock, Inveraray, Largs

Nearby villages: Acharosson, Ardmaleish, Ascog, Beach, Colintraive, Fairlie, Hunters Quay, Innellan, Inverchaolain, Inverkip, Kames, Kerrycroy, Kingarth, Kirn, Lochranza, Millport, Mountstuart, Port Bannatyne, Portavadie, Portencross, Sandbank, Skelmorlie, Tighnabruaich, Wemyss Bay, West Kames, West Kilbride

Have you decided to visit Rothesay or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:

• a Rothesay bed and breakfast (a Rothesay B&B or Rothesay b and b)
• a Rothesay guesthouse
• a Rothesay hotel (or motel)
• a Rothesay self-catering establishment, or
• other Rothesay accommodation

Accommodation in Rothesay:

Find availability in a Rothesay bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.