THOUSANDS of Orange Order members paraded through Gourock at the weekend, leaving parts of the town at a standstill.
On what was the first day of the school summer holidays, dozens of coaches blocked roads in the area as around 30 bands from the 12 lodges that make up the Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Argyll organising body took part in the annual Boyne event.
The procession gathered at Battery Park at around 11.30am on Saturday before making its way along Eldon Street, Cardwell Road, Broomberry Drive, Barrhill Road, St John's Road and Shore Street.
The marchers returned to Battery Park three hours later with temporary parking restrictions eventually removed.
Three-hundred stewards escorted the parade along the length of the route while a heavy police presence stayed in the area for the duration of the event.
In the lead-up to the parade, the Loyal Orange Institution of Scotland said the events commemorating the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne hold "a special place in our hearts, symbolising the triumph of freedom and the enduring spirit of our Protestant community".
"As we gather in unity, let us remember the significance of this victory and the principles it upholds - liberty, civil and religious freedoms, and loyalty to the Crown."
David Walters, executive officer for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, previously told the Greenock Telegraph that Gourock and Greenock residents had "absolutely nothing to fear" from the procession and its participants - with more than 40 public objections raised before Inverclyde councillors gave the event the go-ahead.
Last week a Scottish councillor offered an “unreserved apology” after using sectarian language in a newspaper column in support of the Orange march.
Inverclyde councillor Drew McKenzie wrote a column in the Greenock Telegraph on Wednesday in which he described King William the Third as a “Proddy” and King James the Second and Seventh as a “Tim”. He also said the Orange walk would be “quite a spectacle", while using other provocative sectarian language.
David Scott, director of the anti-sectarian group Nil by Mouth, said he had received a number of complaints from people in Gourock about the article.
