Hoppers

on Mar 27, 2018

I’ve a special liking for the work of the Wishaw photographer, Charles Reid whose photographs of animals, both domestic and wild are delightful. This unusual photograph entitled “Gulls” brings to the fore a sight that was at one time very familiar on the river and estuary of the Clyde; the modest hopper. Designed to take the spoil from the dredging of the river and harbour, hoppers were self-propelled and took the place of mud punts that continued in use until the 1880s and beyond. Mud punts had sufficed when the dredged material was used as fill on the river banks, but with the widening of the river, it was necessary to move the material over much greater distances. The first of the hoppers came from the yard of Messrs William Simons & Co., Renfrew, in 1862. The vessel could be filled with spoil and then sail to the dumping ground in deep water where the bottom of the hold opened...

Skipness

on Mar 25, 2018

The Estate of Skipness, since ancient times, was in the hands of the Campbell family, and during that time, in 1834, a quay was built to protect the fishing fleet from the regular gales that roared up the Sound of Kilbrannan. The village itself is strung out along a sandy bay with the Mansion House and Skipness Castle to the east, to Skipness point that marks the entrance to Loch Fyne. The little harbour was located north of the point. In 1843, the estate was sold to William Fraser, who sold it in 1866 to the trustees for the Robert G. Graham family of licensed grocers from Glasgow. At the time, Robert Graham had not reached the age of majority. The Graham family quickly set about improving the policies. Skipness Pier with Minard Castle Around 1878, a new iron pier was erected, made from used rails of the Great Western Railway. It was built north of the fishing quay and roughly two...

Latter days of Clanranald II on Loch Shiel

on Mar 7, 2018

I recall a visit to a little museum in Moidart where the docent, an elderly gentleman, became rather heated when the subject of the steamer service on Loch Shiel was mentioned. The loss of the mail service and the vessel on the loch incited a rant, partly in English and partly in Gaelic indicating that even more than forty years on had left strong feelings. The service on Loch Shiel began in 1893 with Messrs MacBrayne’s Maud, an iron steam launch built in 1889 by Messrs Seath at Rutherglen. She proved to be too large for the traffic and when the estate changed hands, the new owner secured the mail contract and introduced a steamer of his own and Maud was withdrawn. After a rocky start, first with a small yacht, Lady of the Lake, and then in 1899 with the addition of another Seath built product, Clanranald, the service was introduced by Lord Howard. The first Clanranald drew too much...

The wreck of the Tynwald.

on Jan 26, 2018

This article comes from a brief snippet from the Greenock Advertiser in September 1866 regarding the Campbeltown paddle steamer Herald. “The Steamer Herald.—It was rumoured in town yesterday that the charterer of the steamer Tynwald, which we noticed on Thursday as having gone ashore at Skye, has offered terms for chartering the steamer Herald, employed on the Campbelton route. It is said if the offer is accepted, she will likely proceed to Iceland at once for the purpose of bringing cattle thence. The Herald was off her usual station yesterday.”—Greenock Advertiser, Sept 22, 1866. Although the report was shown to inaccurate, it did highlight an interesting story. “Steamer Herald.—The report that this favourite steamer was about to be dispatched to Iceland is incorrect. Today she was laid up in the East Harbour for the season.”—Greenock Telegraph, September 22, 1866. In 1866, the Isle...

Herald and Gael

on Jan 25, 2018

This article highlights some of the opposition to the Campbeltown and Glasgow Steam Packet Joint Stock Company’s near monopoly of the Campbeltown route in the latter half of the 1800s. In the earlier part of the century, Campbeltown was served by this locally owned company from 1826 and the centenary history is presented in another article. In addition, in those early years, the Londonderry steamers regularly called at Campbeltown and picked up some of the trade, but gradually this connection was withdrawn. It was in the aftermath of the American Civil War with Clyde shipyards, now expert in building fast, sturdy coastal craft, that excess capacity meant prices for new ships began to drop and Messrs Little & Co., with a long history in coastal trading, began a new enterprise in 1866, placing a fast paddle steamer, Herald, on the route from Glasgow and Greenock to Campbeltown....

Ormidale

on Dec 20, 2017

In 1854, the laird of the estate of Ormidale, at the head of Loch Riddon in the Kyles of Bute, took steps to emulate his neighbours and begin feuing property for the construction of villas and summer homes for the wealthy residents of Glasgow and the industrial belt. His initial acts were the construction of a pier and hotel at the relatively remote location, and the following year, efforts to attract summer residents began in earnest. The pier was officially opened in July, 1856. Glasgow Herald, May 8, 1854 Glasgow Herald, June 12, 1854 Ormidale Pier (Spencer) Ormidale Pier Loch Riddon is a typical west coast estuarine loch fed by the river Ruel. About two-thirds of the way up the loch, it becomes very shallow and so the pier was constructed close to the point where it could be navigated by the steamships of the day. It was at the end of 1855, that the Glasgow and Lochfyne Steam...