Inverclyde is a council area on the south bank of the Firth of Clyde, west of Glasgow. It covers 160 km2 (62 sq mi) and had a population of 78,426 at the 2022 census, the third smallest of Scotland’s mainland council areas. The council is based in Greenock.
Almost the whole population lives in a three-mile strip of coast running Port Glasgow, Greenock, Gourock. Behind it the ground climbs steeply onto moorland and reservoir country, and the only inland settlements of any size are Kilmacolm and Quarrier’s Village.
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Status | Council area; historic county of Renfrewshire |
| Area | 62 sq mi (160 km2) |
| Population (2022) | 78,426 |
| Population (2011) | 81,485 |
| Change 2011–2022 | −3.8%, the steepest fall in Scotland |
| Density | 490 people per km2 |
| Largest town | Greenock (41,280) |
| Administrative centre | Greenock |
| Council | Inverclyde Council |
| Postcode areas | PA11, PA13–PA19 |
Towns and Villages in Inverclyde
Inverclyde has 38 named towns, villages and districts. Seven are separate settlements — Greenock, Port Glasgow, Gourock, Kilmacolm, Inverkip, Wemyss Bay and Quarrier’s Village — and the rest are neighbourhoods of the Greenock and Port Glasgow built-up area.
- Bardrainney
- Boglestone
- Bogston
- Braeside
- Branchton
- Broadfield
- Cardwell Bay
- Cartsburn
- Cartsdyke
- Coves
- Cowdenknowes
- Devol
- Fort Matilda
- Gibshill
- Gourock
- Greenock
- Greenock West
- Inverkip
- Kelburn
- Kilmacolm
- Ladyburn
- Larkfield
- Levan
- Lilybank
- Lyle Hill
- Maukinhill
- Midton
- Overton
- Port Glasgow
- Quarrier's Village
- Ravenscraig
- Slaemuir
- Smithston
- Spango
- Trumpethill
- Wemyss Bay
- Whitecroft
- Woodhall
By population the order runs Greenock (41,280), Port Glasgow (14,200), Gourock (10,210), Kilmacolm (4,000), Inverkip (3,060), Wemyss Bay (2,580) and Quarrier’s Village (750).
Geography
The Firth of Clyde turns south-west at Gourock, and the whole of Inverclyde faces it. The shoreline is narrow: a raised beach carries the towns and the railway, and the land rises within half a mile to the Renfrewshire Heights, which reach 431 m at Hill of Stake on the southern boundary.
The high ground holds the reservoirs that supplied Greenock: Loch Thom, completed in 1827 and named for the engineer Robert Thom, and the Gryfe reservoirs. Most of the upland lies within the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.
Renfrewshire borders Inverclyde to the east and North Ayrshire to the south. Argyll and Bute lies across the firth, with Dunoon in sight from Gourock and Rothesay reached from Wemyss Bay.
Demographics
Scotland’s Census 2022 counted 78,426 residents, down 3,059 on 2011. The 3.8% fall was the steepest of any Scottish council area, continuing a decline that began when the shipyards closed: Greenock alone held about 76,000 people in 1921.
Density is 490 people per km2, but that figure is misleading. Nearly everyone lives on the coastal strip, while the moorland south of the towns is almost empty. Kilmacolm, five miles inland, has a markedly older and wealthier profile than the coastal towns.
Economy and Local Life
Shipbuilding once employed tens of thousands along this shore. Scott Lithgow at Greenock and Port Glasgow closed in 1993. Ferguson Marine at Port Glasgow survives as the last commercial shipyard on the lower Clyde and has been building CalMac ferries under Scottish Government ownership since 2019.
Electronics filled part of the gap from the 1950s: IBM’s Spango Valley plant near Greenock employed several thousand before winding down and closing in 2020. The current economy leans on health and social care, public administration, contact centres and Ocean Terminal at Greenock, a cruise berth that handles a growing share of Scotland’s cruise calls.
Greenock had a sugar-refining industry from the 1760s, and the last refinery, Tate and Lyle at Westburn, closed in 1997. Gourock and Wemyss Bay live partly on ferry and marina traffic; Kip Marina at Inverkip is one of the largest on the west coast.
History
Greenock was made a burgh of barony in 1635 and grew as a herring and then a transatlantic port, with sugar, tobacco and shipbuilding following. James Watt, whose improvements to the steam engine drove the Industrial Revolution, was born there in 1736.
The Comet, the first commercially successful steamboat in Europe, was built at John Wood’s yard in Port Glasgow and entered service on the Clyde in 1812. A full-size replica stands in Port Glasgow town centre.
In the Second World War the Tail of the Bank anchorage off Greenock was a main assembly point for Atlantic convoys and the base of the Free French naval forces. The Greenock Blitz of 6 and 7 May 1941 killed 271 people and damaged most of the town’s housing.
Quarrier’s Village, founded by William Quarrier in 1878 on farmland between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir, was a self-contained children’s home of cottages, church and school; it is now a conservation area and residential village.
Getting There
The M8 ends at Langbank and continues as the A8 into Port Glasgow and Greenock. The A78 runs south along the coast through Inverkip and Wemyss Bay to Largs, and the A761 crosses inland to Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir.
The Inverclyde Line runs from Glasgow Central to Gourock, calling at Port Glasgow, Greenock Central, Greenock West and Fort Matilda, in about 45 minutes. A branch runs to Wemyss Bay, where the station and the ferry pier share a listed 1903 glass-roofed concourse.
Two ferry routes cross the firth: Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on Bute, run by CalMac, and Gourock to Dunoon. Western Ferries carries vehicles from McInroy’s Point, just west of Gourock, to Hunter’s Quay. Glasgow Airport is about 15 miles east.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Inverclyde?
78,426 at the 2022 census, down 3.8% from 81,485 in 2011 — the largest percentage fall of any Scottish council area.
What is the largest town in Inverclyde?
Greenock, with about 41,280 people. Port Glasgow (14,200) and Gourock (10,210) follow.
How many towns and villages are in Inverclyde?
38 named places, of which seven are separate towns and villages and the rest are districts of the Greenock and Port Glasgow built-up area.
Which council covers Greenock?
Inverclyde Council, based in Greenock’s Municipal Buildings. The area was part of Renfrewshire before 1975.
What postcodes does Inverclyde use?
PA13 at Kilmacolm, PA14 at Port Glasgow, PA15 and PA16 in Greenock, PA18 at Wemyss Bay and PA19 at Gourock. Quarrier’s Village uses PA11.
How do you get to Bute from Inverclyde?
By CalMac ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay, a crossing of about 35 minutes. Trains from Glasgow Central connect directly with the sailings.