A Colorful Interlude (II)

on Sep 3, 2025

Messrs MacBrayne provided a lifeline to the communities of the western highlands and islands. In addition to the Royal Route by swift steamers the larger vessels sailing from the Clyde round the Mull of Kintyre brought passengers and goods to villages and lodges around the coast. Cavalier at Custom House Quay, Greenock. Cavalier dated from 1883 and was built to the maximum length fitting the locks on the Caledonian Canal for the service to Inverness. Astern of her is the Islay of 1872. She was built as Princess Louise for the Stranraer to Larne service, and in 1890, was acquired by Messrs MacBrayne, and renamed Islay. She sailed from Glasgow round the Mull of Kintyre to her namesake island. In 1902, she ran aground at Port Ellen. Approaching the pier is Messrs Campbell’s Meg Merrilies. Cavalier on the Caledonian Canal. Sailing round the Mull of Kintyre was not without its dangers....

A Colourful Interlude (I)

on Sep 1, 2025

This summer I began rescanning my collection of glass slides and negatives. They are heavy and it would seem that a good digital record might be the best means of preservation. Many show the signs of the fungus that is their bane and required restoration. Although my focus has always been on black and white photographs that I convert to sepia as I find it provides a more pleasing way of capturing detail, I also began to play with colouring software. The high resolution of the slides and negatives (roughly x5 what I can post on this site) makes them good candidates for colourisation. I use an older version of photoshop that I frequently use to set the colours of the background and use the painting palette for the detail, keeping the opacity low to preserve shading in the original photograph. It is an exercise in colouring between the lines for the most part and quite straightforward. I...

Colour in the Highlands and Islands

on Aug 1, 2025

One of the most viewed articles on this site is “Colour on the Clyde” where a collection of coloured postcards of the steamers in Edwardian times are presented in more or less chronological order. A similar treatment might be possible for the steamers of the West Highlands and Islands. However, the material is much more scarce, and the general quality of the postcards is not as good as that for the Clyde, with less focus on steamers, and rather more on their surroundings. Some of the best material is published in Ian M‘Crorie’s book, “Steamers of the Highlands and Islands”, published by Orr, Pollock, & Co., Ltd., Greenock in 1987. This article will duplicate some of the material from that book but sourced exclusively from my own collection. No attempt will be made to produce a chronological order, and the best way to present the material focuses on the different routes on which the...

Sailing to Islay

on Feb 13, 2016

Sailings by steamboat from West Loch Tarbert to the Highlands and Islands began with the Maid of Islay in the 1820s. The route became an established connection with the Castle Company and subsequently Messrs Hutcheson and their successor Messrs Macbrayne. The West Loch towards its head was shallow and consequently the steamers serving the Islay and Jura routes were paddle steamers.  By the middle of the 1880s, Messrs Macbrayne were using the Fingal of 1877, sailing to Islay. Fingal at West Loch Tarbert There were complaints about Fingal on the service and in 1890, the veteran Glencoe was placed on the route until replaced by Pioneer in 1905. Glencoe at West Loch Tarbert Glencoe at Port Ellen, Islay, with the puffer Elizabeth Messrs Macbraynes also provided an alternative sea route to Islay using the two-funneled Islay, purchased second-hand as Princess Louise from the Stranraer and...