Excursions from Ayr

on Aug 14, 2021

In the summer of 1906, a well-to-do family took a house in Ayr, the town of “honest men and bonnie lasses”. There was at least one of the family with an interest in photography and this article highlights the results of the various activities and excursions undertaken that were contained in an old photograph album. None of the photographs is captioned and so what follows is a best attempt to describe the routes and the scenes. Many of the excursions were by sea, in the Ayr excursion steamer, Juno, built in 1898 by Messrs John Brown & Co., at Clydebank. The “big, beamy, beautiful Juno” was larger and more heavily built than most of the contemporary Clyde railway steamers and was ideal for excursions from the lower Firth. While few of the photographs show steamships, they do provide an interesting perspective of the scenes viewed from on board. Consequently, photographs from the...

William M‘Kim — Renton photographer

on May 14, 2021

William M‘Kim was born in 1883 in the village of Renton in the Vale of Leven where his father was postmaster. He was apprenticed as a draughtsman. Early in his life he and his younger brother David, developed an interest in photography that led to the production of postcards, mainly of scenes around his native village. “The Renton” as it is known was a thriving centre for the bleaching and dyeing industry. Renton from the lower slopes of the Carman hill, looking to Dumbarton and showing the chimneys of Dalquhurn works around 1908. The railway station is on the extreme right. Renton from the west looking down King Street to Renton Cross around 1908. In the foreground are the houses of Back Street and beyond those of the Main Street. Across the River Leven are the policies of the Strathleven estate. Renton Main Street with the tramline to Loch Lomond. Renton from further north on the...

Arrochar Pier

on Aug 1, 2020

The Royal visit to Arrochar in 1849 appears to have been the trigger that persuaded the local landowner, Sir James Colquhoun, that the time was right to erect a pier. There had been a jetty before, to facilitate visitors from the steamers getting in and out of the small boats that conveyed them between ship and shore. Sir James had endeavoured to extend this to facilitate the Royal visitors but it had been incomplete. Perhaps there was sufficient additional lumber to convert the jetty into a pier suitable to berth a steamer, or perhaps Sir James wanted to be prepared for a future visit by Royalty. A pier had been erected at Tarbet on Loch Lomond in 1846. Nevertheless, the pier at Arrochar was ready for the 1850 season to hansel in a new “Royal Route.” Sir James was not the only one inspired by the Royal visit. At the Dumbarton yard of Messrs William Denny & Brothers, progress was...

The Latter Years of Iona

on Jun 13, 2017

In the previous article on MacBrayne’s Iona from May 31, 2017, the story left off when Iona had been displaced from the Ardrishaig mail service by Columba and sent to work out of Oban to serve the anticipated increase in traffic when the railway reached the town in 1880. The arrival of the Grenadier allowed Iona to return to the Clyde in 1886 where she provided a second service on the Ardrishaig mail run. Based overnight at Ardrishaig, she sailed for Greenock and the Broomielaw at 5:45 in the morning, making the usual calls at Tarbert, Tighnabruich, Colintraive, Rothesay, Innellan, Dunoon, and Greenock. She made her run from the Broomielaw, leaving at 1:30, and returning to Ardrishaig by the same route. Iona canting at the Broomielaw with Daniel Adamson and Benmore (Annan) Iona and Strathmore at the Broomielaw awaiting the 1:30 departure Iona and Strathmore at the Broomielaw...

Southbank Grouping and Tartan Lums

on May 21, 2017

The Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. had all of its steamships called up for duty in World War I and had to rely on chartered vessels for much of the emergency. As with the other companies that had steamers serving, most of those that had survived the dangerous war time duties returned in dribs and drabs during 1919. Two of the steamers, Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose, had been lost while minesweeping during the war. At the beginning of April, Duchess of Fife returned to the Clyde, followed a few days later by Caledonia, damaged badly in a collision with a freighter on the Seine. In the last week of the month, Duchess of Rothesay arrived and a few days later, the turbine Duchess of Argyll, while Marchioness of Breadalbane appeared on the first of May. The remaining unit of the fleet, Marchioness of Lorne, did not return until 1921 and was laid up in Bowling Harbour for a...

To Dark Lochgoil

on Dec 22, 2016

The importance of the Lochgoil route to Inverary and the Highlands was recognized from the beginnings of steamboat traffic on the Clyde and the early developments will be documented in a separate article. The Lochgoil & Lochlong Steamboat Company dated from 1825. From the beginning, the company adopted a bold and attractive colour-scheme for its funnels: red with a black top surmounting alternating white-black-white bands. The Lochgoilhead mail contract provided a subsidy that ensured year-round service. The Company and its steamers had a reputation for being well run and sailed through some of the most dramatic scenery on the sea-lochs of the Clyde. After leaving Greenock, Blairmore, Cove, Ardentinny, Coulport, Portincaple, Carrick Castle (in the photograph above by Annan), Douglas Pier and Lochgoilhead were the places where calls were made, initially by ferry but later, piers...