Irvine Harbour: Scottish Maritime Museum

This was once one of Scotland’s most prominent ports and in the early 20th century it welcomed vessels destined for the Nobel Explosives plant across from the main harbour. Later, it manufactured fittings for vessels including the Queen Elizabeth 2. It now contains part of the Scottish Maritime Museum, where you can see vessels such as the SY Carola, a steam yacht built in 1898, making it possibly the world’s oldest, and one of Britain’s most historic vessels, MV Kyles, the oldest floating Clyde-built vessel in the UK. The collection is housed in the glass-roofed 1872 Linthouse, a former shipyard engine shed relocated from Govan.