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...

Daniel Adamson

on Dec 11, 2014

When, in 1862, the Dumbarton Steamboat Company sold their two-funneled Chancellor to run the blockade for the Confederates in the American Civil War, sailings to Arrochar were left in the hands of the Lochgoil Steamboat Company. The important tourist connections with the steamers on Loch Lomond at Tarbet were neglected and as a result, there was an opportunity for the Loch Lomond Company to provide its own steamboat to complete the popular circular tour. A new company was formed, the Loch Long Steam Boat Company, and the new Chancellor was ordered from Blackwood and Gordon. She was 171 tons with a length of 163 ft and breadth almost 19 ft and her single diagonal engine provided 80 hp, giving her a comfortable speed for the tourist traffic. She was designed as a saloon steamboat with deck saloons the full width of the hull and the alleyways created by carrying the sponsons from stem to...