Visit Inverkip Places

Welcome to Visit Inverkip Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Inverkip

  

Inverkip Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Inverkip

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Inverkip history

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Origins

In 1170 Baldwin de Bigres granted a stretch of land to the monks of Paisley Abbey . This land was described as “The pennyland between the rivulets Kip and Daff”

Inverkip Church

By 1188, the monks had built a church on the site of the present old graveyard . This small church (known as Auld Kirk) served the entire Christian population between Kilmacolm and Largs for around 400 years . The Christians of Greenock presented a petition to the Crown for a Church of their own . This resulted in the opening of the Old West Kirk in Greenock in 1859 .

Ardgowan

By the 13th century, a castle had been built at what is now Ardgowan House . This early castle changed hands between the Scots and the English during the Wars of Independence . The land was acquired by the Stewarts in 1390 and they built the existing castle during the 15th century . The main entrance is at first floor level and is accessed by an external stairway .

Witchcraft & Witch Hunts

Inverkip was a hotbed of witchcraft activity for half a century from 1640 to 1690 . The Ministers of the parish at the time, the Rev John Hamilton (1626 to 1664) and Rev Alexander Leslie (1665 to 1684) were noted as being ‘zealous persecutors of witches’ Marie Lamont was found guilty of witchcraft and burned at the stake .

Shaws Water Scheme

The Greenock Cut was commissioned by Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 5th Baronet and designed by industrialist Robert Thom of Rothesay . It entailed the damming of Shaws Water (a small stream on the other side of the hills from Greenock) to create what is now known as Loch Thom .

Cholera Outbreak

One third of the population died due to an outbreak of cholera in 1849 . 1849 was a disastrous year for the village .

Smuggling

During the late 18th century and early 19th century, the village was noted for smuggling activities involving the illicit transfer of alcohol, tea and tobacco from vessels heading up the Firth of Clyde to ports of Greenock and Port Glasgow .

The Railway

The Port Glasgow to Wemyss Bay line was opened by the Caledonian Railway Company in 1865 . A station was opened at Inverkip in 1867 and this resulted in the transformation of the village to a seaside resort . A jetty near the present day War Memorial served ferry boats which tendered to the passing Paddle Steamers .

Energy Supplies

By 1900 a gas supply was piped to the village from Bankfoot, which was the home farm of Ardgowan Estate . The 1913 OS 25 inch map shows a gasometer at the farm .

World War II

The mouth of Kip Water was excavated in 1940 by the Army Royal Engineers Unit to enable the storage of barges . After the war it became a popular bathing and boating area with locals and day-trippers alike .

Housing

From 1951-1957 Renfrewshire County Council built the Crawford Lane and Glebe Road housing scheme . This development lies on the high ground at Langhouse Road, behind the present church building .

Road Transport

The village stands on the A78 coast road which runs from Greenock to Monkton, near Prestwick Airport . Main Street was the main road until the bypass opened in the early 1970s .

Inverkip Power Station (demolished)

Power generation stopped in 1988 and the station was kept in reserve in the late 1990s . It was decommissioned in 2006 and some of the equipment was sold and transferred to other power stations around the country .

Population

Since its origins, the village population has grown from around 200 to around 3300 (2016 projection) The population of the village has doubled since the 1980s housing boom .

Murder of Margaret Fleming

Avril Jones and Edward Cairney of Inverkip were convicted of the murder of Margaret Fleming . Their bungalow, “Seacroft”, stands on the coast, beside the A78 road about 500 metres (550 yd) to the south of the village . Fleming was killed between December 1999 and January 2000 .

You can visit Inverkip places with Walkfo Inverkip to hear history at Inverkip’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Inverkip has 9 places to visit in our interactive Inverkip map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Inverkip, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Inverkip places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Inverkip & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 9 audio facts unique to Inverkip places in an interactive Inverkip map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Inverkip Places Map
9 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Inverkip historic spots	Inverkip tourist destinations	Inverkip plaques	Inverkip geographic features
Walkfo Inverkip tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Inverkip

  

Best Inverkip places to visit

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Inverkip has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Inverkip’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Inverkip’s information audio spots:

Skelmorlie Skelmorlie is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire. It is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly Burn, which flows into the Firth of Clyde.

Castle Wemyss Castle Wemyss was a large mansion on the southern shore of the Firth of Clyde . It stood on the south side of the firth of the Clyde at Wemyess Point, Scotland .

Visit Inverkip plaques