View over Skelmorlie by: I. Winstanley  

Skelmorlie is a small village located on the Clyde Estuary on the West Coast of Scotland. It is an ideal photographic location. From Skelmorlie you can capture the changing skies and seascape of a panoramic view which encompasses the broad expanse of the Firth of Clyde, the Isles of Bute, Cumbrae and even the mountains of Arran in the distance.

An accurate meaning of the name Skelmorlie is difficult to establish:
Skel may be from the same root as the Gaelic Skeir which is a common name for rocky inlets.
Mor is the Gaelic for great.
Lee is thought to mean either meadow or more likely in the shade of.
Sceiligmor is used in Gaelic and Irish for a great rock which seems to be a more likely meaning due to the original position of the village.

  Church by: B. Spence

Various churches have come and gone in the village but Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Parish Church as it looks today was designed by the renowned Glasgow architect John Honeyman, a partner of John Keppie. Also employed in their practice was Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his work is also to be seen throughout the building. The lamp which stands by the main entrance is the most obvious example.
The church also has five beautiful stained glass windows created by a number of distinguished artists.

The village boasts its own castle set in 50 acres of woodland, lawns and orchard on west facing slopes looking out to sea. Skelmorlie Castle was originally the property of the Cunninghams and passed to the Montgomerys in the 1460s. The tower house of the present castle was built in 1502, and is the ancient stronghold of the chiefs of Clan Montgomery.