Millport is the only town on the island of Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of North Ayrshire. The town is four miles south from the Largs-based Caledonian MacBrayne ferry slipway.
Tourism is an important aspect of the economy. Due to its small size, the island and its town are often linked in the minds of visitors and residents. Millport has the smallest extant cathedral in the British Isles.
Millport, along with Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, is famous with generations of daytrippers from Glasgow as one of the resorts visited going "doon the watter" (down the water), meaning taking a trip aboard a River Clyde paddle steamer. At one time it was common for visitors to stay for several weeks over the summer, however nowadays the primary tourist trade comes in the form of daytrippers. This is mostly due to the growth of package holidays to Spain and the Balearics in the 1960s. It is still possible to experience a traditional day out courtesy of PS Waverley which calls at Millport twice a week during the summer, once originating at Ayr and once at Glasgow.
The town has hosted a Country and Western Festival in September for the past 11 years, and a fireworks display is held during September Weekend. Millport has the world's narrowest house, The Wedge which at its front, measures just 47 inches or 1.19 metres. The house is 22 feet long by 11 feet wide at its widest point.
Millport Bay contains a number of free-to-use visitor moorings, and is a popular destination for sailors in the summer. There is a small boat yard at the western end of the town.
