Tag: paddle steamers

50th Birthday Holiday 5: The Waverley

Continuing my series about my holiday in the far west of Scotland around the time of my birthday, with a post about The Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer. Features three short videos and a photo gallery.

In my last post in this series about my holiday in the far west of Scotland around the time of my 50th birthday I prepared the way for posts about the paddle steamer Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer. This post is about the Waverley itself, before I then post about the voyage.

THE WAVERLEY

The Waverley is a ship with two funnels. The engine can be viewed by the public, and there are detailed displays on board relating to the history of The Waverley and of paddle steamers in general. Paddle steamers were the first kind of steam ship, displacing sailing ships because they were faster, and not being dependent on the wind could steer a more reliable course. Being steam powered they developed around the same time as the first railways (the photographs in this post will show more detail about this), and those railways that served port cities generally ran their own shipping lines so that they could sell all in one tickets covering the train journey and the sea voyage.

VIDEOS

Before the photographs this post features three short videos…

PHOTOGRAPHS

Some photos of and about The Waverley…

Advertising for The Waverley, spotted in Tobermory
A first view of The Waverley from the pier at Tobermory
A small but highly important document – my ticket for the voyage.
A lot of pictures from the display areas inside the ship.
Photos from the engine room (x3)
More from the engine room.
Close ups of the outside view of the paddle (x3)
Another close up of the paddle.
A final farewell to The Waverley before it was lost from sight as we waited to board the ferry back to Kilchoan.

The 2018 Wall Calendar

Seeking reader participation in the selection process for the 2018 wall calendar.

INTRODUCTION

When I began covering my holiday in Scotland I brought up the subject of my plans for a 2018 photographic wall calendar, which will be my third such. This post now takes the story forward, and seeks to bring my followers in on the selection process.

THE CANDIDATES

Some of these pictures were nominated by Oglach (“Oglach’s Selections“), a couple by my aunt Celia, and the rest are others that I consider especially worth sharing. Most of the selections are Scottish for obvious reasons.

MY AUNT’S PICKS

My aunt Celia nominated two from the return journey from Scotland:

14001379

MY ADDITIONAL SCOTTISH SELECTIONS

These are the Scottish pictures that I have selected as possibles on my own:

through the windowstepped waterfall (1)ruined castle11607150915011433Skye and Wester Ross 2The Iron Road to the Isles1426

Steamer5
One of these steamer pictures will definitely feature.

Steamer4Murchison Monument2

Farewell to the Jacobite
I may assemble a composite image of several “Jacobite ” pictures.

Loco at rear of trainlock gates

GV4
At least one of these Glenfinnan Viaduct pictures will feature.

GV3GV2GV1P1010044Jacobite train long viewJacobite Loco 3Jacobie Loco3Jacobite Loco2Jacobite LocoJacobiteIIThe JacobiteFront of LocoBeetleblack highland cowstepped waterfall

single span bridge 2
Bridges on Skye will definitely feature somewhere.

The Land of the Mountain and the Floodstone bridge 2stone bridgeSingle span bridgeBridge complex 1Stone bridgeSkye Bridge from aboveKyle of Lochalsh from above

Balmacara House to Craggan Cottage2
This is the stretch of Loch Alsh on which Ferry Cottage, where we stayed, sits.

Double Framed Lighthouse

OGLACH’S SELECTIONS

I have of course shown these before, but for completeness sake here they are again:

Valleytwo cascades800793784768756755748812804

NON-SCOTTISH PICKS

These are the pictures from outside Scotland that I consider worth a second look.

P1020447P1020432P1020327P1020007Flying gullP1020094Renewable energy 7Renewable energy 6Renewable energy 5Renewable Emergy4renewable energyrenewable energy 2Cliff formation from Old Hunstanton BeachRNLI Hovercraft1Flying bird 1Flying bird 2

NOMINATIONS

You can nominate by commenting on this post identifying the pictures by name. If you right-click on a picture and select “open image in new tab” from the drop-down menu that appears you can see its name. If you have a blog of your own you can nominate by creating a post featuring your choices and putting a link in the comments (this will earn you a reblog as well by the way). Those whose pictures make the cut will be acknowledged on the page(s) that they get in the calendar.

Scotland – Friday: The Paddle Steamer

A post dedicated to the world’s last ocean going paddle steamer.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to another installment in my series about my holiday in Scotland. The steamer has been mentioned/ shown in various previous posts (Setting the Scene, The Museum of All Shells and Friday Overview) but this one is dedicated to it. There are a few other pictures as well.

THE STEAMER

Alighting from my parents camper van in Kyle of Lochalsh I was just too late to get the whole steamer in shot, but I did get this picture:

Steamer2

I had not expected to see it again, not knowing the route it would be taking, but that evening it passed by Ferry Cottage, all be it on the opposite side of Loch Alsh, so I was able to get plenty more pictures of it.

Steamer2Steamer3Steamer4Steamer5Steamer 6

SOME EXTRA PHOTOGRAPHS

Here are the remaining photographs from Friday evening.

1350
Old map on wall of Ferry Cottage

1355135613571360

THE MEME

Enjoy Nature Infographic

 

Scotland – Friday Overview

Continuing the account of my Scottish holiday.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the next installment in my series about my holiday in Scotland. It is now three weeks since I returned, and I edited the last of the photos from said holiday only yesterday. This post is the first of three that relate specifically to Friday, there will also be several about the homeward journey and a special post about craft ales from The Isle of Skye Brewery. 

FRIDAY MORNING

Someone from the National Trust called round to check on the cottage’s water systems. It was from them that we learned of the presence in the area that day of the world’s last remaining ocean going paddle steamer. Once they had finished we went into Kyle of Lochalsh, and while my parents went to check in on emails I went out with my camera.

Steamer2
This was my first shot at the steamer – as you will see in a later post there were many more to come.

1329Think BikeBridge1332133313341335133613371338133913401341Tarka's IsleCastle Moil

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

After lunch I decided to do as much packing as I sensibly could given how early my train would be leaving on the morrow. This process brought to light the fact that my train tickets were no longer in my possession. All attempts to locate them and/or secure replacements having failed, the woman at the ticket office in Kyle of Lochalsh did her best for us by providing tickets for each part of the route, which reduced the cost of the tickets to a still painful £117.60. On the way back from this unwanted excursion we visited the Murchison Monument and revisited Balmacara Square, which will feature in the next post in the series. 

FRIDAY EVENING

The steamer came past Ferry Cottage, enabling me to get some more photos of it (post coming up about that). After supper it was time for bed, bearing in mind the very early start.