The Pencil

Largs is a town that sits on the Forth of Clyde in North Ayrshire. Largs prides itself on its viking history and many of the attractions of the seaside town are geared towards this such as Vikingar Centre which offers tourists an interactive experience of viking life.  The battle of Largs occurred in 1263 between Scottish forces led by Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland against Magnus Olafsson, King of Mann and the Isles, and the Norwegian King Haakon Haakonsson's (Haakon IV) viking forces.

During the 11th Century Alexander II and Alexander III attempted to incorporate Largs into their Scottish realm due to it being under Norse rule. After several failed purchase attempts the Scots began military operations to annex the Kingdom. This act of aggression by the Scots resulted in the Norse fleet occupying the Forth of Clyde.

Due to unforeseen circumstances and bad weather, part of the Norse fleet ended up beached in Largs. During an attempt to salvage these ships from the coastline the Scottish forces led by Alexander of Dundonald arrived and attacked the Norse. Although this has been somewhat romanticised as a great victory for the Scots, this was only a small contingent of the Norse fleet who the remainder of returned to Orkney due to the increasingly harsh winter weather conditions. King Haakon planned to return after winter and invade, but died there unexpectedly. His successor Magnus Haakonarson eventually leased the Western seaboard to Alexander III who then annexed the entire Western Isles following internal strife in Norway.

The Pencil monument as it is affectionately known due to its shape is a monument erected in 1912 to commemorate the Battle of Largs in 1263. Constructed by James Sandyford Kay it stands at 70 feet tall and overlooks the Marina just a mile south of Largs. The cost to build this? £300.00! Though this equates to around £30,000.00 by today's standards.

Although The Pencil is meant to mark the traditional site of the Battle of Largs, it is most likely not the most probable site where the battle took place. However, every year in autumn since 1981 The Largs Viking Festival has incorporated The Pencil into the annual festivities by using the location for a re-enactment of the battle.

Largs has closer ties to Norway than most places in Scotland because of the history surrounding the town and the previous Norse occupation of the lands, however the affinity between Norwegians and Largs does not end there. During the Nazi occupation of Norway, King Haakon VII was in exile in Britain during the second World War. Following his visit to Largs in 1944, he was made the town's first. honorary citizen.