The Callander and Oban Railway runs along the southern edge of Loch Etive from Taynuilt to Connel Ferry from where it takes a sweep to the south to Oban. When the railway was opened in 1880, it provided an opportunity for a steamboat service on Loch Etive, and a pier was built at Auchnacloich where the railway adjoined the Loch. The steamer allowed access to the remote head of the loch from where a coach completed a tour through the attractive and dramatic scenery of Glen Etive and Glen Coe to Ballachulish Pier where steamer connections to Oban and Fort William were available.

“Steamer on Loch Etive. On Saturday the new steamer Glen Etive, with a specially-invited party and the owners board, sailed up Loch Etive the head of the Loch. That route, which is to opened to the public to-day, is one of the most interesting in Scotland, the scenery being grand, and the historical associations connected with it unequalled by any part of Scotland. A coach is to run from the head of Loch Etive convey passengers to Glencoe, who can return to Oban per steamer by way Loch Linnhe.”—Greenock Advertiser, Monday July 5, 1880.

The Glen Etive was a product of the yard of Messrs T. B. Seath of Rutherglen. She was 80 ft in length by 12½ ft in breadth, 44 gross tons at register, and was propelled by a single screw. Her route was from Achnacloich to Loch Etive-head, in connection with the Glen Coe tour.

There had in fact been steamboats on Loch Etive for a few years prior to 1880.

“New Highland Route.—To the energy and public spirit of Mr D. Campbell, postmaster, Oban, the tourist and pleasure hunter must feel deeply indebted for rendering of easy access the picturesque mountain scenery on both sides of Loch Etive. The steamer Benstarra, formerly the Morvane, the property of Mr Campbell, left Oban on Saturday on her trial trip for the head of Loch Etive with a considerable complement of passengers. The Benstarra is chartered to carry a hundred passengers, and her cabin and deck accommodation are in every respect fitted to administer to the comforts of passengers. Conspicuous among the places of historical interest by the way are the venerable ruins of Dunolly and Dunstaffnage Castles, Berigorium—said to have been the ancient capital of Scotland—the Falls of Connel—better known in Ossianic lore as the Falls of Lora—and the ivy-mantled Priory of Ardchattan. Nowhere can a better view be obtained of the snow-capped Bencruachan than from the deck of the Benstarra as she steams along the lower part of Loch Etive. At the little village of Bonawe the tourist, if so disposed, can break the journey, spend the remainder of the day in the gentle sport of angling on the River Awe, and join the steamer next day for the upper end of the loch. The scenery of this part of the loch, which has been so graphically described by Christopher North and others of more recent date, is romantic in the extreme. From the village of Bonawe to the head of the loch is a distance of twelve miles, the whole length from the opening, at Dunstaffnage Castle, being twenty-four miles. Passengers intending to pursue their journey through are landed at the head of the loch, and thence conveyed by coach to King’s House, at the head of Glencoe, where they may have the option either to join the coach going through Glencoe in connection with the Messrs Hutcheson’s steamer at Ballachulish, or of taking that in connection with the railway for Tyndrum. The Benstarra commenced her regular trip yesterday.”—Glasgow Herald, July 10, 1877.

Glasgow Herald, July 14, 1877

It seems likely that the starting point was shortly afterwards moved to Auchnacloich, with a coach connection to Oban. The Scotsman of August 17, 1877 refers to a new route from Oban to Glencoe “in the new steamer that plies in the hitherto solitary waters of Loch Etive.” The connection at Ballachulish was maintained by Messrs Hutcheson’s Fingal.

The Greenock Telegraph of August 7, 1878, describes a new tourist route to Oban opened by Mr John Currie, the proprietor of the Ballachulish Hotel from where a coach ran to through Glen Coe and Glen Etive to the head of Loch Etive “and the trip by land and down the charming loch is accomplished easily between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.” The article goes on to indicate that Messrs Hutcheson, are colleagues in the enterprise.

Messrs Hutcheson’s Locheil of 1877 certainly sailed from Oban and called at Dunstaffnage at the mouth of the loch but the formidable rapids at the Falls of Lora at Connel were passable only at certain states of the tide, making a regular service to the head of the loch difficult, and best left to vessels that limited their sailings to the upper-reaches only.

MacBrayne’s Locheil at Dustaffnage (Washington Wilson)

Enlargement of above

Locheil at Dunstaffnage (Valentine)

It may be that Messrs Hutcheson had also contracted with Mr. Campbell to run the service on Loch Etive with Ben Starra (or Ben Starav as she was also known) but the enterprise ended in 1879 and seems to have been supplanted by the Glen Etive.

As the popularity of the new tour increased, there was need for a larger and more powerful boat with better facilities, especially for catering on Loch Etive. The Glen Etive was used in part payment for the appropriately named Ossian, also from the yard of Messrs T. B. Seath.

“Launch at Rutherglen.—Yesterday afternoon Messrs T. B. Seath & Co. launched from their yard at Rutherglen the Ossian, a handsome saloon passenger steamer, built to the order of Mr James Murray, of Taynuilt, for tourist service on Loch Etive. The vessel, which was christened by Miss Bessie Murray, is built of iron, is 121 feet in length, 16 feet in breadth, and 9 feet depth of hold, and is to be fitted with engines of 150 horse-power.”—Scotsman, April 17, 1885.

Ossian off Auchnacloich (Washington Wilson)

Ossian approaching Auchnacloich (Valentine)

Ossian at Auchnacloich Pier (Washington Wilson)

Ossian at Auchnacloich

Ossian at Glenetivehead Pier (Valentine)

Messrs T. B. Seath & Co., of Rutherglen built just two steamships in 1885. One was Ossian, and the other was “Sunbeam, 75 tons, 185 i.h.p. for Mr Robert Birkett, Morecambe, for excursion traffic on Morecambe Bay and neighbourhood”.—Glasgow Herald, December 19, 1885.

Sunbeam, a Seath-built contemporary of Ossian in Morecambe Bay

The Ossian became very well known and served on the service for almost 30 years. She was well appointed for catering in the remote area where inns were few and far between. After 1901 when the Connel Ferry bridge was opened and the railway to Ballachulish completed, the return to Oban could be completed by rail.

Connel Ferry Bridge and Falls of Lora (Judges)

Connel Ferry Bridge and Loch Etive (Judges)

In the meantime, excursions from Oban to the seaward side of the Falls of Lora and Dunstaffnage Castle developed. Regular excursions were operated to Loch Etive and other destinations by Mr Alexander Paterson with the single-screw steel-hulled Princess Louise that he had constructed by Messrs Ritchie, Graham & Milne of Glasgow in 1898. The Princess Louise was 95 ft in length and 17 ft in breadth and 106 gross tons on the register. She was a popular and useful vessel that conducted cattle and cargo runs to the nearby islands in the off-season. Princess Louise shared work with the Countess of Bantry, of similar dimensions built at Belfast in 1884 and purchased by Mr Paterson in 1901.

Alexander Paterson’s Princess Louise (MacIsaac & Riddel, Oban)

Princess Louise in Oban Bay (Valentine)

Princess Louise at Croggan Pier, Mull

Countess of Bantry was sold in 1919 and Princess Louise was taken over by Messrs MacBrayne in 1934.

Countess of Bantry at Oban

Countess of Bantry at Dunstaffnage

The following account was written by one of a party of bowlers who made the trip from Oban on Ossian, and appeared in the Coleraine Chronicle of August 6, 1910.

“Leaving by rail at 9 a.m., we arrived at a small station about ten miles away, called Aughanacloich. This is on the shore of Loch Etive, really an arm of the sea, but to all appearances being an inland lake. A small steamer called the Ossian was there in waiting and we were soon on board. The first part of the journey is interesting, but not remarkable, the chief feature being the great rush of the tide from the ocean as it sweeps through the narrow entrance to the loch. The surrounding country here has an occasional villa and shepherd’s house, and we passed the wharf used for shipping the famous building stone obtained near Loch Awe. Gradually, as we ascend the loch we get into mountain scenery, no sign of life but some sheep on the mountain-side, looking, in the wonderful light and shade, like little white rocks sticking out. Some shepherds were at work gathering the sheep, and it was only with the aid of a field-glass they were distinguishable as human beings. A bend in the loch seems to bring us into new surroundings. Nothing visible but noble mountains on all sides, and the gentle gliding of our little steamer amidst the hushed surroundings seemed to add impressiveness to the scene, and to exercise a quieting spell over our cheery “courier.” The captain of the little vessel was a most interesting man—a typical Highlander. To outward appearances stern and rugged, he was the most genial and pleasant of men. Nothing pleased him more than to talk of the beauties of Loch Etive. As a mariner he had been over all the Western Highlands, and all the lochs of Scotland, and he stoutly maintained that Loch Etive was the most beautiful of all. Though sailing on it day after day for six successive seasons, he found new beauties in it every day. Though we could not help expressing our admiration, he insisted that the best part was yet to come. For the last five miles the loch becomes comparatively narrow, more like a broad river. A straight course is entered with a vista which it would be hard to beat the world over. On either side are magnificent mountains sloping down to the water’s edge, none of them less than 2,000 feet high, and a few over 3,000. Placed at the top of the loch, and facing the traveller like stern sentinels, are two grand peaks of about similar height known as “The Sisters.” They are very similar in shape, being cone-shaped, and each rising to an apparently sharp point over 2,000 feet high. One could not be but impressed with the grandeur and magnificence of the scene, and the noble works of nature shown on all sides made one think how puny were the efforts of man, after all. We left the Ossian with regret, and got on board the coach which was to drive us through the historic pass of Glencoe.

Glencoe and Glen Etive Coach

Ballachulish Hotel Coach in Glen Coe

At the end of the 1912 season, the owners of Ossian (Mrs M. Macpherson) decided to retire from the business and the steamer was offered for sale. She survived for most of the following season but in August 1913, was sold to Turkish owners and the service on Loch Etive ceased until after the first world war.

Scotsman, November 27, 1912

In the early 1920s, a number of owners ran motor launches on the loch. Among these were the Jano, Loch Etive Queen, and Rena. The usual sailing was from Auchnacloich to Lochetivehead with a call at Taynuilt. Mail service to the remote lochside crofts and farms was also provided. The mail was run on alternate days and involved towing a painter to land the mailman when required. It must have provided an interesting, if slow, experience for passengers on such days.

Postal delivery from the mail boat

Taynuilt Pier

Ben Cruachan

 

On Loch Etive around 1930

On Loch Etive

Approaching the head of Loch Etive

The Rena is shown here at Auchnacloich. She was built of steel at Leith as Southampton Belle in 1911, and at 52 ft long, was the larger of the two vessels owned by Mr D. R. Mackay of Taynuilt. His other vessel, Loch Etive Queen had a 40 ft wooden hull and was built at Dumbarton in 1923.

Rena at Auchnacloich

Enlargement of above

In the mid-1930s, the contract for the mail service was held by Mr Alexander Black of Taynuilt who, in 1934, purchased the Euglena, a 30 ft wooden hulled motor vessel built at Kilcreggan in 1924, for the purpose. By the end of the decade, a larger vessel was required and Darthula II was ordered from Messrs Dickie of Tarbert in 1939. She was 55 ft long by 15 ft in the beam and was built of steel.

Darthula II at Auchnacloich in 1939

Dart hula II (Scrivens)

At Auchnacloich in post-war white superstructure

Auchnacloich

Auchnacloich

Darthula II

Loch Etive Tour Advertising and Timetable 1959

Darthula II was requisitioned as a coastal patrol vessel during the second world war and after the cessation of hostilities, resumed her service on Loch Etive. A distinct improvement on the earlier craft, she was a popular vessel. In 1955 she was purchased by Mr J. H. Lynn of Dalmally and in 1962 by Loch Etive Tours.

Darthula II in 1961 (Webster)

Loch Etive Tours replaced her in 1964 with the Shearwater, later renamed Etive Shearwater and the Darthula II was sold to owners on the Thames.

Etive Shearwater (Cole, Oban)

Etive Shearwater (Cole, Oban)