Battle of Largs - North Ayrshire, Scotland.
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creg-ny-baa
N 55° 46.746 W 004° 51.570
30U E 383373 N 6183059
Thirteenth century battle between the Kingdoms of Scotland and Norway on the Firth of Clyde coast, south of the Ayrshire town of Largs, marked by a monument known as The Pencil.
Waymark Code: WM1539F
Location: Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/07/2021
Views: 1
The Battle of Largs took place in 1263 between the Vikings of Norway, led by King Haacon Haaconson, and the army of Alexander III of Scotland. The Norwegians were attempting to claim sovereignty with a fleet of 160 Viking vessels moored off the Cumbrae Isles in the Firth of Clyde off the west coast of Scotland, when on September 30th, many vessels were driven ashore by a storm just south of Largs.
On October 2nd the Scots, led by Alexander III, engaged in a fierce battle with the Vikings which led to both parties withdrawing and the Norwegians ending their attempted occupation of Scotland.
The battle site is not certain, but is thought to have been on the coastline a mile south of Largs, and is now marked by a round tower erected in 1912.
The monument is based on a bell tower and stands 57 feet high, 10 feet in diameter at the foot, and 8 feet at the top. It is of whinstone with a door of oak some eight feet off the ground with Celtic mouldings of humans and crouched animals, and a cross above the door from Blackshaw Quarry at West Kilbride. A pinnacle of red sandstone tops off the monument and gives it its' official name of 'The Pencil'. It can be reached from a coastal path heading south from the town.