Changing trains in style: at Wemyss Bay Station, the train from Glasgow meets the ferry to Bute. The station building is one of the most beautiful in Scotland.
The train from Glasgow rolls in beneath the glass roof of Wemyss Bay Station, carried by steel girders. That alone is impressive. But from the platform, arriving passengers step into the main hall – and it’s one of the most beautiful historic station halls in Scotland.
From the round ticket office at the centre, a canopy of glass and steel arches over an equally round hall. Anyone stepping inside feels briefly disoriented, before finding the long corridor down to the ferry pier.
Nothing at Wemyss Bay Station seems to run in a straight line – curves and sweeps dominate everywhere. Even the corridor down to the ferry pier follows a gentle curve.
Oddly enough: approach the station from the road, and it doesn’t show off its steel-and-glass construction at all – instead it presents a mock timber-frame façade.
There’s even a kind of timber-framed bell tower rising above it, contrasting curiously with the interior.
This duality of an almost rural exterior and an industrial interior is what makes Wemyss Bay such a wonderful sight. If you’re waiting for the ferry to the Isle of Bute, or just arriving from it, you should definitely set aside some time to explore the station.
Good to know: the history of Wemyss Bay Station
Today’s Wemyss Bay Station was built from 1903 onwards, in what the British call the Edwardian era, since King Edward VII had reigned since 1901. The architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is also attributed to this period.
The building was fully renovated between 2014 and 2016, and since then an association called the “Friends of Wemyss Bay Station” has looked after its upkeep.
The name of the place, Wemyss, is thought to be related to the Gaelic word “uamh”, meaning cave. U and W are related sounds – after all, the British call the letter W a “double-u”, since the lip movement is very similar.
It’s believed that Clan Wemyss brought the term here, though it originally derives from the caves of the Firth of Forth, where the clan once came from.
Getting there:
With a sat nav: “PA18 6AR” will take you to the village.
Without a sat nav: coming from Glasgow, take the M8 motorway to Paisley. From there, take the A78 towards Greenock and keep following it until you reach Wemyss Bay. The station building is on the right and has its own car park, as well as lanes for the ferry. There is a charge for parking.
