Gourock Railway Pier

on Jun 18, 2021

In 1865, the Caledonian Railway Company purchased the harbour and pier at Gourock. The move anticipated the changes taking place as their main rival, the Glasgow and South Western Railway company sought access to the coast at Albert Harbour in Greenock through the proposed Greenock and Ayrshire Railway, that also provided a route to Greenock from Glasgow. The Greenock Railway, taken over by the Caledonian in 1851, had long enjoyed a monopoly of access to the coast and had built up connecting services to the coast towns and resorts with the private steamboat owners. This monopoly was threatened, not only by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, but also by the North British Railway, on the cusp of the opening of the Helensburgh line providing access to the coast on the north bank of the Clyde, and the Wemyss Bay Railway, offering services provided by the Caledonian itself. The...

Mambeg Pier

on Jun 4, 2021

In the Glasgow Herald of October 2, 1857, an advert announced: “Feuing on the Roseneath Estate.—The new pier at Mambeg, on the Gareloch, is now open to the public. The ground on either side affords some very desirable sites for villas. For particulars, apply to James Dalgleish, Esq., W. S. Edinburgh; or Smith & Wharrie, Surveyors, 54 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow. Duncan Campbell at Mambeg Farm, will give all local information.” The pier was about equidistant from Garelochhead and the hamlet of Rahane where there was a ferry across the loch to Shandon, but the proximity of the pier was not well populated. A number of villas were built and advertised for summer lets but the pier remained in a fairly isolated spot. Despite limited local trade, the pier was popular with excursionist parties such a Sunday-school trips with ready access to suitable fields for picnics and games. The beauty...

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...