Gourock a Little Town with a Big Heart

The Town of Gourock is the third and smallest of the three towns that make up the Inverclyde council area.  The other two being Port Glasgow and Greenock.    Gourock is a great little town with a big heart as it has a lot to offer locals and visitors alike and would make a great base for visiting the surrounding area.  This is why I wanted to do a Gourock Travel guide because some of our little towns have a lot to offer but are often overlooked because they are smaller. 

Gourock Past to Present 

The town name comes from the Gaelic for pimple this is in reference to the hill above the town. There are records dating from 1494 showing that James IV sailed from Gourock to crush the Highland Clans who were rebelling against him. Around two hundred years later William the III also known as William of Orange granted a charter in favour of Stewart of Castlemilk.  Gourock became a Burgh of Barony a type of Scottish town or burgh.  Landowners were what was known as tenants in chief as they held estates directly from the crown. To be honest I’m not exactly sure how it all worked but it was important to the town back then.

In 1784 Duncan Darroch purchased the land in Gourock and built Gourock house.  He built it near where the Gourock castle stood until it was pulled down in 1747. The family gifted the land to the town and it was turned into a beautiful park and green space called Darroch Park. The council later renamed this Gourock park.

Gourock grows from a fishing village to a town 

Gourock grew from a small fishing village into a community that traded in herring curing, copper mining, Ropemaking, quarrying, and later Yacht-building and repairing.

On 21 October 1825 just off the coast of Gourock the Port Glasgow built PS comet was involved in a collision with the Steamer Ayr resulting in the deaths of 62 people.

Eventually, the railway lines were extended.  This gave fast connections to the Clyde ferry services, and the Pierhead was built as a railway Terminus. It is still in use today with a passenger ferry service running from Gourock to Dunoon operated by Caledonian McBrayne.

There is another car ferry service that runs from the west side of the town at McInroys point. It sales to the town of Hunters Quay just north of Dunoon run by Western ferries

In the later parts of the 19^th century and the early part of the 20^th century, Gourock became a tourist seaside town. With many people “going doon the Watter to Gourock”. Basically Scots for going down the water (river) to Gourock either for a day trip or a short holiday. Sadly evidence of this once popular seaside resort has slowly disappeared and is now almost gone.

Gourock Now

Gourock today is a popular place to live and has become a popular residential town. However, there are still several things that the town has to offer visitors to the area.  Gourock is a great little town with a big heart in my opinion as the people are a friendly and welcoming to both strangers and locals alike. Gourock is a great place to visit especially on a sunny day 

Getting There 

Visiting Gourock is really easy as it has good tranport links with regular buses, trains and ferries to the area.

Plane

Gourock is 18 miles from Glasgow airport.  Then its just a short drive down the M8/A8 or you can get a bus into either Glasgow or Paisley and then get either a train or bus to Gourock.  There are no direct buses or trains from the airport to Gourock.  There are however taxis available at the airport.  

Train

Gourock is located 28 miles west of the city of Glasgow.  There are regular trains services from Glasgow Central to Gourock station.  See the Scotrail Website for information on timetables, tickets and disruptions.   

Bus

Mcgills bus service 547 from Greenock to Lunderstoun Bay passes through the lower part of Gourock. It goes along the main shopping street all the way to the Beach at Lunderstoun. 

Service 507 from Greenock covers Midton and trumpethill area of the upper Parts of Gourock 

901 bus service Glasgow to Largs also passes through the lower part of town.  Check out the McGills website or the app in the app store for timetables and fare information.  

Ferry 

There are regular ferry services between Gourock and Dunoon and Gourock and Kilcregan.  These servcices are run by calmac.   From west end of town you can get the Western Ferries to Hunters quay which is small town near 

Places to Eat

Cafe continental 

No trip to Gourock would be complete without visiting Gourocks Cafe continental.

This is a nice restaurant and Bar in the centre of Gourock with panoramic views across the clyde.  They serve breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.  I was in here the other day for my Breakfast I just had croissants but they was server warm with Jam and butter.  Their main menu has a wide variety on order and your sure to find something of your liking from Steak, to macaroni cheese, fish and chips.   Staff are helpful and friendly.   This is the only place in Gourock that I feel i can recommend as its the only place I’ve eaten.

Getting Around

You can get around Gourock easily on foot or using public transport.  With regular buses, going along the bottom of Gourock past many of the place of interested.

Things to do 

Gourock Pool

Gourock outdoor pool is one of only 3 outdoor pools left in Scotland.  Its a salt water pool and is located on Albert Road.  The pool first opened in 1909 but it didn’t have a heating system until 1969.  I can only imagine how cold this must be unheated.  I’ve been in this pool in the month of October when I was doing my rookie lifeguard training (was long time ago now) and it was so cold then. The Pool is open during the spring and summer months and there are even late night swimming on certain evenings.  The pool is just a short walk from the Train station and Pierhead and buses stop close to the pool entrance.

Gourock Waterfront

The waterfront at Gourock is a nice walk in peaceful surroundings with stunning views across the Clyde.  Its popular with walkers, joggers, families and dog walkers. 

Luderston Bay

Lunderston Bay is a beach Located just off of cloch road on the outskirts of Gourock halfway between the town centre of Gourock and Inverkip.  It does however come under Gourock area and its across the street from the Garden centre.  There are regular buses that stop right beside it the 547 Lunderston bay/Greenock and 901 Largs/Glasgow services.  Its the nearest Sandy beach to Glasgow.  There is the beach, picnic area, playground with wheelchair access and toilets.  There is also a clyde muirshiel park rangers station here also.  The north End of the bay is within the regional park but the south End is not 

Open Top Bus

On dry days in the summer the 547 bus from Gourock is often a red open-top bus. In my opinion I think this is brilliant and gives even us locals a feeling that we are on our holidays especially since it’s taking us to the beach. If your visiting you really should jump on the open top bus.

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