Farewell Bute with your wild water swimming, your kite flying and your cliff hiking.

There is a clear difference between your glorious deserted beaches and the seaside attractions of Largs on the mainland. Separated by a few miles of sea and a short drive down the coast road they are like chalk & cheese. The only thing they seem to share appears to be the weather – grey, wet & windy.

Largs has a few things going for it – a range of accommodation, numerous ice-cream parlours including Nardini’s, established by Italian emigres in 1935 , a regular ferry service to outlying islands, a long promenade with crazy golf, a pebbly beach (with a line of light brown kelp & dead jellyfish!) and several play/fitness areas for children or adults.

Arriving in Largs, the carpark is shaking off the latest heavy downpour, so it is into the iconic art deco Nardini’s Ice-cream Parlour for the go-to start to any wet day at the seaside – bacon & egg roll & a cuppa tea.

The interior of this magnificent building holds 200 odd punters and is gradually filling up with those partaking in morning refreshments. It will receive two further visits from us as the day progresses.

Outside, the clouds open up and family groups of all shapes & sizes start to appear, wandering rather aimlessly along the promenade seeking some kind of activity to occupy their time. No swimming here – the windy conditions put most people off putting even one foot on the rocky shore.

Along the promenade, past the putting green and the children’s playground, the adult gymn tempts passers-by to have a rather inept go. We are no exception and we all put our best feet forward.

So much activity requires a sugar rush, so it’s back to Hardini’s for an ice-cream, one of the 36 flavours made there – strawberry, pistachio, double cream vanilla. We take them outside to sit on a bench in whatever the weather throws at us, in this case wind and showers of chilly rain.

It must be time for a warming coffee and a sample of some very classy mini-pastries.

By this time, like any typical British day at the seaside, the weather takes a turn for the better, the skies part for a bow from the sun, the carpark is full and the funfair is in full swing with all 3 elements in operation.Still no-one is tempted to enter the water.