Clan Boyd is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands and is recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Dean Castle, previously known as Kilmarnock Castle, ancient stronghold of the chiefs of Clan Boyd
The Battle of Largs was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Haakon Haakonsson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland. Victory was achieved by the Scots with a crafty three-tiered strategy on the part of the young Scottish king, Alexander III: plodding diplomacy forced the campaign to bad weather months and a ferocious storm ravaged the Norwegian fleet, stripping it of many vessels and supplies and making the forces on the Scottish coast vulnerable to an attack that forced the Norwegians into a hasty retreat that was to end their 500-year history of invasion, and leaving Scotland to consolidate its resources into building the nation.
Detail from William Hole's mural of the Battle of Largs, in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Haakon's ships depicted on William Hole's mural in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
This Neolithic chambered cairn near Largs is sometimes known as "Haco's Tomb". Local tombs, such as this, were once believed to have been erected as grave markers for warriors slain during the battle.
The Pencil stands about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Largs, along a shoreline footpath.
