Garelochhead Pier

on Jun 3, 2021

The steamboat pier at the head of the Gareloch was erected in 1845 by Sir James Colquhoun to serve the village of Garelochhead, then described as an “increasing clump of cottages.” The population of the district had been in decline for some years as farms and small-holdings had been combined and farming had become more efficient with a focus on livestock in adjoining Glen Fruin. However, the beauty of the surroundings and the new fashion of sea-bathing was bringing visitors to the area in summer and the proximity to Glasgow and the Clyde attracted new residents. Around 1838, a Church had been built in the village that lay six miles from the Parish Church of Row. About the same time, a Hotel was opened, a popular spot since the adjoining parish of Roseneath was “dry.” Garelochhead before the pier around 1840. The church, built in 1838 is visible. Steamboat communication had begun early,...

Shandon Pier

on May 24, 2021

The Gareloch, as its name implies, is a short loch, merely six or seven miles in length from the narrows to Garelochhead. Before the age of steam, there were two important ferries, from Roseneath to Row point at the mouth of the loch, and between Rahane and Shandon about halfway up the loch towards Garelochhead. In 1833, Robert Napier, the engineer and shipbuilder, purchased a house at West Shandon, next to the ferry, and in the 1840s, expanded the house and its policies. At the time, the ferry at Shandon was a calling point for the steamers on the Gareloch. Feuing on the east bank of the Gareloch expanded from Row and the village of Shandon, at the southern end of the West Shandon estate, developed in popularity although the absence of a pier restricted its appeal. Robert Napier died in 1876 and West Shandon was sold. The new owners had plans to turn the lavish mansion into a...

Loch Lomond Frozen—1895

on Apr 22, 2021

In the first week of January 1895, the West of Scotland experienced a severe frost and the southern reaches of Loch Lomond began to freeze. This phenomenon was not unknown or particularly unusual. It had last frozen over in the winter of 1880-81 and indeed the year before that, on both occasions bearing the weight of a person for several weeks. It is the broad, shallower, southern stretch of the loch that is susceptible to freezing, the narrow, fijord-like northern arm is too deep. Freezing as far as Luss was not considered possible, but the frost of January and February 1895 proved this wrong. “King frost on his throne.—(from our Glasgow Correspondent) Glasgow, Wednesday Forenoon. The frost in Glasgow and the West of Scotland to-day is the greatest for years and Loch Lomond is frozen for the first time for twelve years. There is still no communication between Glaagow and the West...

The Greenock and Helensburgh Steamboat Company

on Nov 26, 2020

The Clyde in 1865 had seen the long-awaited opening of the Wemyss Bay Railway that was expected to provide a convenient terminus for sailings to Rothesay, Largs, Millport, and Arran. The Largs, Millport and Arran routes had been the province of the steamers of Captain Duncan M‘Kellar and his sons, John and Alex, sailing from Glasgow. Anticipating the competition from the Railway, their steamers had been sold; their two flyers, Jupiter and Juno, going to the Confederates to run the blockade. However, the expected strong competition from the railway owned steamers did not immediately materialize, largely through mismanagement, and there were opportunities for an enterprising steamboat owner. On the north bank of the Clyde, the railway had reached Helensburgh in 1858 and efforts had been made to improve the town’s pier. Again, the coming of the railway had resulted in a running-down of...

“Sunday-breakers”—Demise of the Petrel

on Apr 17, 2020

This is a continuation of a previous posting on the demise of the Cardiff Castle and re-introduction of the Petrel as the primary Sunday steamer on the Clyde. The steamers were under the ownership of Mr Henry Sharp, a publican from the Gallowgate and engendered much resentment from the church and local authority establishment although there was some popular support. Sabbatarian interests drove the church position but the local authorities were more concerned with the drunkenness and bad behavior that resulted from the availability of liquor on the steamers. The photograph, by George Washington Wilson shows the Broomielaw in 1868 with the Petrel at the quay astern of the Dumbarton steamer Loch Lomond and the new Marquis of Bute maneuvering for a berth. The year 1868 is the one in which the present account begins. “The Sunday steamer.—To the Editor of the Glasgow Herald.—Sir,—The Sunday...

Carrick Castle Pier

on Mar 19, 2020

The picturesque ruin of Carrick Castle at the mouth of Loch Goil has attracted visitors over the years. Hugh Macdonald in his classic book on the Clyde published in 1857, Days at the Coast, mentions the grandeur of the surroundings and the antiquity of the site. The photograph below by Annan of Glasgow comes from an edition of his book from 1868. “As the good steamer continues to churn her way, a gentler and a more interesting picture floats into our ken. On the left, we find the mountains standing apart as it were, and leaving a sort of tiny valley with a few level acres of green in its breast, and a picturesque old castle projecting into the margin of the loch. This is Carrick Castle, an ancient seat of the Dunmore family, but which, according to one tradition, was erected by the Danes, and by another, by Robert the Bruce, when he was Earl of Carrick. We suspectthe latter supposition...