Whiting Bay Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Whiting Bay Scottish Gaelic: Eadar Dhà Rubha
Village
Floral display and beach, Whiting Bay
Whiting Bay
Population	650 (2020)
OS grid reference	NS045255
Civil parish	Kilbride
Council area	North Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ISLE OF ARRAN
Postcode district	KA27
Dialling code	01770

Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish

EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	North Ayrshire and Arran
Scottish Parliament	Cunninghame North
List of places UK Scotland 55°29′06″N 5°05′38″W / 55.485°N 5.094°W / 55.485; -5.094

Whiting Bay is a lovely village on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Its name in Scottish Gaelic, Eadar Dhà Rubha, means "between two headlands." This perfectly describes its location on a beautiful bay on Arran's east coast.

Whiting Bay is about 4 miles (6 km) south of Lamlash and 8 miles (13 km) south of Brodick. With over 600 people living there, it's the third biggest village on Arran.

A Look Back: History of Whiting Bay
Whiting Bay Today
Images for kids
See also

A Look Back: History of Whiting Bay

Whiting Bay wasn't always one big village. It started as several smaller settlements, like tiny neighborhoods, along the coast or just a bit inland. These old names, such as Kingscross, Auchencairn, Kockenkelly, North Kiscadale, South Kiscadale, and Largymore, are still used today for different parts of the village.

Ancient Times

These settlements have a very old history. Inland from Largymore, you can find a prehistoric burial site called the Giants Graves. It's a place where people were buried long, long ago.

At Kingscross Point, at the other end of the village, there's a dun. A dun was a fortified farmstead, like a small, strong fort, built almost 2,000 years ago.

Vikings and Robert the Bruce

The Vikings also settled at Kingscross. They even had a burial site there. Some people think the name "Whiting Bay" might have come from "Viking Bay," which later changed over time.

Kingscross is also famous because Robert the Bruce, a Scottish king, started his journey from here in February 1307. He was on his way to take back control of his kingdom from the English. When archaeologists dug up the Viking burial site, they found interesting things. These included human bones, pieces of whalebone with cool designs, charcoal, and even Viking boat rivets. They also found a bronze coin from the 9th century!

Growing into a Village

In 1790, a ferry service started between Arran and the town of Saltcoats on the mainland. This helped the smaller settlements in Whiting Bay grow together into one village.

By the 1830s, big steamships from Glasgow and other places in Scotland started visiting Whiting Bay. Around the same time, many people living in the inland crofting (small farming) areas of Arran had to move. This was due to the Highland clearances, when landlords cleared land for sheep. Many of these people needed new places to live along the coast.

Whiting Bay became a popular spot for wealthier visitors. They built beautiful villas (large houses) along the road by the bay. To entertain these visitors, a golf course was built in 1895, along with tennis courts, a bowling club, and a putting green.

A new pier (a landing place for boats) was finished in 1901. This meant steamers could drop passengers right in Whiting Bay, instead of using smaller boats to get them to shore. This helped the village grow even more. The Whiting Bay village hall was built in 1926. There used to be a youth hostel here, but it closed in the early 2000s.

Whiting Bay Today

In the late 1950s, the big steamer services to Arran stopped calling at Whiting Bay. From 1957, car ferries only went to Brodick. This meant Whiting Bay became less busy, and its old steamer pier closed in the early 1960s.

However, the village still has a smaller pier near the shops in the center. Many of the grand old villas have been turned into places for tourists, like hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants. Whiting Bay has a lot of places for visitors to stay.

The Whiting Bay Golf Club is still open, and so is the putting green. The village also has a primary school, a doctor's office, and various shops and businesses for visitors, including an art gallery. In 2011, the population of Whiting Bay was 620 people.