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Displaying items by tag: ArdrossanCampbeltown (Kintyre)

#SeasonStarts – CalMac’s Ardrossan-Campbeltown (Mull of Kintyre) summer-only ferry route which began on a trial pilot basis in 2013, resumed seasonal service last week on what is now a ‘permanent’ route in the Scottish operators network, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The permanency of the Ayrshire-Kintyre route in south-west Scotland was announced in January by Minister for Transport and Islands, Derek Mackay following three successful summer seasons.

In total the route transported an average of over 10,000 passengers and 2,000 cars annually on the season route that began in April and concluded at the end of September. This season the route that began almost a week ago by Isle of Arran (1984/3,296grt) will continue operations up to the 25 September and the permanent route is part of an enhanced summer timetable for CalMac services.

Prior to last week’s reopening, Afloat noted that the Isle of Arran had received a scheduled dry-docking at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. The veteran vessel dating to 1984 will as usual provide additional summer sailing capacity on the Arran service: Ardrossan-Brodick served by Caledonian Isles (1993/5,221grt).

According to the CalMac website, essential improvement works on the island port of Brodick are being carried out around to boarding and disembarking areas. Sailings will be unaffected by these improvement works.

Published in Ferry

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.