Excursions from Ayr

on Aug 14, 2021

In the summer of 1906, a well-to-do family took a house in Ayr, the town of “honest men and bonnie lasses”. There was at least one of the family with an interest in photography and this article highlights the results of the various activities and excursions undertaken that were contained in an old photograph album. None of the photographs is captioned and so what follows is a best attempt to describe the routes and the scenes. Many of the excursions were by sea, in the Ayr excursion steamer, Juno, built in 1898 by Messrs John Brown & Co., at Clydebank. The “big, beamy, beautiful Juno” was larger and more heavily built than most of the contemporary Clyde railway steamers and was ideal for excursions from the lower Firth. While few of the photographs show steamships, they do provide an interesting perspective of the scenes viewed from on board. Consequently, photographs from the...

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...

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...

To Dark Lochgoil

on Dec 22, 2016

The importance of the Lochgoil route to Inverary and the Highlands was recognized from the beginnings of steamboat traffic on the Clyde and the early developments will be documented in a separate article. The Lochgoil & Lochlong Steamboat Company dated from 1825. From the beginning, the company adopted a bold and attractive colour-scheme for its funnels: red with a black top surmounting alternating white-black-white bands. The Lochgoilhead mail contract provided a subsidy that ensured year-round service. The Company and its steamers had a reputation for being well run and sailed through some of the most dramatic scenery on the sea-lochs of the Clyde. After leaving Greenock, Blairmore, Cove, Ardentinny, Coulport, Portincaple, Carrick Castle (in the photograph above by Annan), Douglas Pier and Lochgoilhead were the places where calls were made, initially by ferry but later, piers...