museum
Riverside Museum
Glasgow's Zaha Hadid-designed transport museum on the Clyde, packed with classic cars, a recreated cobbled street of vintage vehicles, and the tall ship Glenlee moored outside.
20 km · about 25 min drive
EuropeUnited KingdomScotland
Kilmacolm
Scotland, United Kingdom · Europe
About Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Bridge of Weir, 22km from Loch Lomond.
Kilmacolm is in Scotland, United Kingdom, with about 4,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Bridge of Weir, about 5 km away.
Kilmacolm ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, 7+1⁄2 miles (12 kilometres) southeast of Greenock and around 15 miles (24 km) west of the city of Glasgow.Read more
The village has a population of around 4,000 and is part of a wider civil parish which covers a large rural hinterland of 15,000 hectares (150 km2; 58 sq mi) containing within it the smaller settlement of Quarrier's Village, originally established as a 19th-century residential orphans' home.
The area surrounding the village was settled in prehistoric times and emerged as part of a feudal society with the parish divided between separate estates for much of its history. The village itself remained small, providing services to nearby farm communities and acting as a religious hub for the parish. The name of the village derives from the Scottish Gaelic Cill MoCholuim, indicating the dedication of its church to St Columba. The parish church was mentioned in a papal bull of 1225 showing its appropriation to Paisley Abbey, and it sits on the site of an ancient religious community dating to the 5th or 6th centuries. Again in the 13th century, Duchal Castle was constructed in the parish and is notable for being besieged by King James IV of Scotland in 1489, following the resident Lyle family's support of an insurrection against him. Feuding between the noble families of Kilmacolm was commonplace in the Middle Ages, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, the parish again came to the attention of the Crown for providing support to outlawed religious Covenanters.
The character of the village changed significantly in the Victorian era, with the arrival of the railway in Kilmacolm in 1869. Many of Kilmacolm's modern buildings were constructed between this date and the outbreak of World War I. The emergence of such transport links enabled the village to expand as an affluent dormitory village serving the nearby urban centres of Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock. The economy of the village reflected this population change, moving away from its traditional reliance on agriculture to providing tertiary sector services to residents and visitors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Kilmacolm?
Within an hour or so of Kilmacolm: Riverside Museum (20 km), Loch Lomond (22 km), The Oak Tree Inn (22 km), Rest and Be Thankful (A83) (38 km).
Are there any good drives near Kilmacolm?
The nearest famous roads are Rest and Be Thankful (A83), Arran Coast Road (A841) and Electric Brae.
Where is Kilmacolm?
Kilmacolm is in Scotland, United Kingdom, about 5 km from Bridge of Weir.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 4,000
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Scotland
- Timezone
- Europe/London
- Coordinates
- 55.8947, -4.6264
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in United Kingdom
112 also works. NHS non-emergency medical advice: 111. National Highways breakdown assistance on motorways: 0300 123 5000.
Full driving guide for United KingdomTags
Worth the detour from Kilmacolm
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
natural wonder
Loch Lomond
Britain's largest freshwater lake by surface area, where Highland mountains meet Lowland shores in a landscape immortalised in song.
22 km · about 25 min drive
cafe
The Oak Tree Inn
A popular stopping point on the A82 beside Loch Lomond, where road trippers heading to the Scottish Highlands pause to take in one of Scotland's most beautiful lochs.
22 km · about 25 min drive
famous road
Rest and Be Thankful (A83)
The famous climb out of Glen Croe in Argyll with the old military road beside it; landslide-prone but a spectacular gateway to the west coast.
38 km · about 45 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Rest and Be Thankful
A famous viewpoint at the top of Glen Croe where 18th-century soldiers carved the name into a stone after completing the military road.
40 km · about 45 min drive
natural wonder
Loch Katrine
The loch of Scott's Lady of the Lake, cruised by the 1899 steamship Sir Walter Scott and encircled by a traffic-free cycle road.
40 km · about 45 min drive
natural wonder
Loch Achray and Ben A'an
A small Trossachs loch under Ben A'an, whose short steep path yields one of Scotland's best effort-to-view ratios.
41 km · about 45 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Goatfell
Arran's highest peak at 874m, climbed from Brodick, with views over the Firth of Clyde and to Ireland on clear days.
46 km · about 55 min drive
Driving roads near Kilmacolm
- 38 kmRest and Be Thankful (A83)The famous climb out of Glen Croe in Argyll with the old military road beside it; landslide-prone but a spectacular gateway to the west coast.
- 40 kmRest and Be ThankfulA famous viewpoint at the top of Glen Croe where 18th-century soldiers carved the name into a stone after completing the military road.
- 46 kmGoatfellArran's highest peak at 874m, climbed from Brodick, with views over the Firth of Clyde and to Ireland on clear days.
- 52 kmArran Coast Road (A841)The 90km loop around Arran, taking in the Boguillie and the Ross road climbs — a classic day's drive or ride from the Brodick ferry.
- 58 kmElectric BraeFamous optical-illusion stretch of the A719 on the Ayrshire coast where cars appear to roll uphill. Drivers have pulled over to test the gravity-defying slope since the 1930s.
- 65 kmGlen OrchyA single-track alternative to the A82 between Bridge of Orchy and Dalmally, following the tumbling River Orchy through birch woods.
Driving in United Kingdom
- Drives on
- the left
- Petrol
- ~€1.73/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
May to September
Far northern latitude: short daylight hours outside summer make long drives harder.
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