M.V. Caledonian Isles

The MV Caledonian Isles is one of the larger Calmac ships in the fleet and operates in The Firth of Clyde out of Ardrossan Harbour. The vessel plies its trade on the route to Brodick on The Isle of Arran and is capable of carrying 1000 passengers and 110 cars and has a crossing time of 55 minutes. Ardrossan Harbour is served by an hourly rail connection from Glasgow Central with a travelling time of approximately 45 minutes.

It was launched on 25th May 1993 by The Princess Royal and generally sails 5 times a day in each direction.

Brodick Pier

The MV Caledonian Isles was built and completed earlier in the same year by Richards Shipbuilders of Lowestoft, Suffolk. It measures 94 m long and weighs 5200 tons.

The route is so busy in the summer season that it has to supplemented by a second older ferry aptly named MV Isle of Arran.

Passing ships !

Photographed later in the day on the return sailing from the MV Isle of Arran.

Time for a quick tour of the ferry ...

To say that this trip was the high point of my Ayrshire week was an understatement.
Unfortunately as I had to save the best weather day for the Millport bike ride and I had to accept a weather forecast that only improved after lunch.

Needless to say that they weren't many travelling companions joining me outside on a slightly colder day.

Not that there were many more people sitting in the warmer indoor seats on this midweek excursion.

Re- painting in Calmac Red haha

Outdoor seating accommodation ... well almost ... when the plastic seats dries out !!

Black and White Bar  area !

Extended Dining Room

Child's play

I don't ever recall seeing a dedicated children's play room on a Calmac ship before but it was a great idea for them to get into the spirit of adventure.

They can start early to train as a captain by the tutoring templates on steering the course of the ship !!

Further practical education can be gained by purchasing a not quite so near inflatable replica for follow up training in the bath .... !!

Staithes by night, Yorkshire.

Following my short trip to Robin Hoods Bay in the morning and Goathland (previous post) in the afternoon), I thought I would get value from my petrol money by calling into Staithes on the return journey for half an hour. Although it was very cold and a windy january, it was difficult to believe that there was thick snow in Goathland less than 10 miles (16 km) away.

It is also difficult to believe that I am squeezing in a quick post here too !!

Last bus gone !!

Couldn't resist stopping the car on the roadside of the A174 for the final glimpse of normal light.

On arrival, the scenery, lighting and the wind was not as expected but it was a good experiment even though some of the images were a little on the poor side.

A solitary traveller with a new camera, a thick coat, an old tripod and a good dose of wind.

Rock the Boat !

Staithes used to be known as a fishing village with many boats operating at full business potential, however with it's close proximity to Whitby with easier maritime access,  ...

... it seems that Staithes has become a picturesque village with contacts to the self catering tourist industry and second homes.

Staithes might not be very commercial and rightly so, but the RNLI LIfeboat shop always seems to be a walking destination on the north side of the river (Staithes Beck).

It is unfortunate that I don't have any daytime digital pictures ( another time perhaps) but the great explorer, Captain James Cook, felt some inspiration to travel and the "pull" of the sea as he worked here early in his life as a grocers assistant.

The Cod and Lobster ... not quite sure if you think it's inviting or not although I did omit the "no muddy boots" sign  !!

Lastly, the Congregational chapel seems the ideal place to escape the wind and the low temperature but unfortunately ... you've guessed it, part of it has been converted into a self catering establishment. All the more poignant when you realise that the name means House of God, lets hope the residents felt spoken to by the heritage.

Ambleside, Cumbria

The town of Ambleside at the North end of Lake Windermere is one of the main hiking, walking and tourist centres in the southern half of The English Lake District. The above photo of The 300 year old Bridge House is the classic image that marks the town.
It's original use was a river crossing over The Stock Ghyll with a room upstairs to store Apples from the orchards of Ambleside Hall.
Later it had connections to the mill industry for a short time before becoming a home to a furniture craftsman called 'Chairy" Rigg. His wife and six children lived in this two roomed house that was deemed luxury at the time. Other 20th century uses were a shoe repairer, an antique dealer and a plant seller. In 1926 a group of early preservationists including Beatrix Potter's husband bought the unique building and donated it to The National Trust for all to enjoy. In 1956 it became The National Trust's first visitor information centre.

21st century use of water !!

(I was a bit unsure of what to post next from the three threads available to me and decided that I didn't want to continue with yet more Glasgow material or start a major variety topic from this year ... I'll start that in January when material is a bit thin on the ground.... inversely proportional to the white stuff !! These next few posts depict 5 days at the end of July with Ambleside being my Bed & breakfast base at Kingswood B & B.)

Stock Ghyll, Ambleside

There seems to be a constant tension with regards to shopping in the town. Each year another outdoor and walking shop seems to open their doors to the public while the traditional establishments that have survived for years battle on ...

The Apple Pie teashop, Ambleside

Souvenirs

Pub food

Much to the pleasure of the local resident, the intermediate satisfaction of the tourist and disgust of the walker is an unexpected Lake District enterprise. Hayes Garden World at the south end of the town is a different kind of outdoor centre with additional indoor retail opportunities to please a wide range of visitors on a rainy day.

Keeping an eye on business !!

Awaiting the menu

Throwing light on the ever increasing number of outdoor shops

... looks like the seats are talking about it !!

During the week, there was little opportunity to visit Lake at Windermere at the south side of the town, but it was a relaxing walk after evening meal on one occasion. I thought I would take the camera ...

Boats settling ....

... down for the night

Time to think about ...

... heading back to the B & B ...

... to be welcomed by Skip !! ...

.. and to make sure I get a good nights rest so that my eye is alert for things to look out tomorrow ...

Glasgow, The River Clyde

Like most river cities, life in Glasgow started with shipbuilding and the associated trans Atlantic shipping trade. These days preserved relics from the past stand alongside contemporary structures in the stretch of river that the tourist board want to promote most.
As an introduction to the way Glasgow has become popular with the tourist trade and the way it looks today particularly down by the riverside, the one event that breathed new life into the city was the 1988 Garden Festival with it's 4,300,000 visitors to a site adjacent to scenes portrayed here. As a result, there was a renewed awareness of Glasgow and a natural progression to becoming the European city of Culture in 1990.

( Following on from my last post, I decided to walk back to the city centre rather than take the underground subway in order to take in some of the sights in this post. )

The 1932 Finnieston Crane stands 50 metres tall and 77 metres wide as a symbol to the past glories of shipbuilding and engineering of the past. The capability it had for lifting up to 175 tons was used for lifting Glasgow built steam railway locomotives onto ships for export.

The 2006 Clyde Arc in contrast is a contemporary bridge with an unusual and interesting curved road, (nicknamed as The Squinty Bridge) that I need to re-visit photographically due to the traffic conditions at the time of day.

In 2008, the bridge was closed for two weeks while investigations were carried out into the failure of one of the supports and cracks in a second one. It was concluded that the bridge was safe and that single supports could be removed for maintenance. I was happy to cross it on foot .... keeping one eye up in the air !

PSS Waverley at home !

P.S. Waverley, the last seagoing Paddle steamer in the world, began it's life in 1947 and after much of it's life plying it's trade as a leisurely scenic extension from a railway pier in Craigendoran in The Firth of Clyde, retired from normal service in 1973.
During the 1960's, passenger numbers dropped gradually due to Glaswegians deciding to spend their holiday money elsewhere. Although Caledonian MacBrayne have kept the ferry business buoyant on The Firth of Clyde until the present day (although not without some current Gourock / Dunoon issues ! ), a decision had to be taken at the final company merger in 1973 to dispense with the great ship. Having become too expensive to run, the steamer could not be given away and was sold to The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in 1974 for a legal nominal fee of £1 !! Despite contracts being drawn up that the ship would never act as competition for the newly merged ferry company,"Cally Mac"(or CalMac) and the PSPS both thought that the ship would probably end up being a museum piece.  Numerous financial grants over decades and a large supporting membership of the PSPS are trying to ensure it's future, but it's typical tour later in the year for excursions in The Bristol Channel, South coast and Thames Estuary is once again in doubt as the company have only raised half of the money that they have identified for the immediate future.

My own memories of the vessel consist of numerous sightings going up and down The Firth of Clyde when I spent five summer holidays there as a small boy. The most memorable and sad occasion was when we went for an outing to Dunoon on a smaller charter boat and seeing it sat marooned on a group of rocks a little way from the Pier in 1977.
I had to wait until August 1988 when I was fortunate enough to afford a day rail / boat excursion from Newcastle from the not so delightful Troon docks to Brodick on The Isle of Arran ( I did say that they weren't allowed to compete with Ferry routes !!). It was a very memorable moment when a trainload of people stood behind the pier wall sheltering from the howling wind catching a glimpse of the boat in the distance coming across the almost ocean like entrance of The Firth of Clyde...  with it's paddles lifting out of the water as it rocked from side to side !!
My second and most recent trip in late 2003 was an idea that my Bristol connection had of a more sedate sunday afternoon trip around the two bird sanctuary islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm in The Bristol Channel.
It was good to catch up with it here for my last sighting in April 2010 as it was preparing for the busy summer and autumn season.

There were several National Garden Festivals held around the UK during the 1980's and early 1990's in order to revitalise and promote development to the run down and problem areas of specifically chosen towns and cities by the Government of the day (Liverpool, Stoke, Glasgow, Gateshead and Ebbw Vale). Although the actual festival sites have usually in the short term been unsuccessful in their outcome, the promotion and success of some of these places has been an outstanding success. Having once lived in a modern house for six years adjacent to one of these sites, I was shocked to discover that after 22 years, large parts of this site in Glasgow remains largely overgrown and unsold.

The land next to the banks of The River Clyde however is much sought after and is the premier location for starting the redevelopment of this site back in 2000 with the building of the futuristic looking Glasgow Science centre, IMAX cinema and .... Glasgow Tower !!
The £10 million Tower with it's two lift elevators and emergency staircase has the ability to rotate with the wind and consequently is the tallest structure in the world to do so. Unfortunately due to the complex nature of the tower, it has been be-set with technical problems and closed to the public on 3 lengthy occasions for at least 5 years of it's life since construction in 2001. On one occasion during January 2005, it took five hours to rescue the occupants from one of the lift elevators.

Unfortunately with it's history, you wouldn't get me going up there !!

Standing next to the historic Finnieston Crane, The Clyde Auditorium on the North side of the river is a 3000 seat concert hall built in 1997 otherwise affectionately known as The Armadillo.

Although the unique looking structure may look like an animal from a distance, it is meant to show several upturned boat hulls representing the shipbuilding history on this site.

Concert goers reflect on their overnight accommodation at The Hilton

Lastly, I end up back in the city centre a famous shrine to some for shopping and another lesser known shrine to the hard hat workers of past and present that made the city what it is today !