The Sir Walter Scott

Today we went to Loch Katrine to go for a boat tour on the steamship Sir Walter Scott. This trip was gifted to James for his birthday by Heather and Ewan, and they decided that they would join us. The day got off to a shaky start when the road was closed at Loch Venachar which added forty minutes to our journey and unfortunately kept Heather and Ewan waiting for us at the Brig o’Turk tearoom. However it was great to see them and they put us at our ease and we even had time to go for a short walk at Brig o’Turk before our cruise. The Trossachs are so pretty in springtime, although we were too early to see many bluebells; only a few were beginning to appear. We drove the short distance to Loch Katrine and boarded the boat, welcomed by a man who was wearing a captain’s hat and a natty tartan waistcoat. Built in 1899, the Sir Walter Scott has been sailing on Loch Katrine since 1900, although the fine Scottish tradition of sailing on the loch dates back to the mid 19th century. Loch Katrine has also been the reservoir which supplies most of Glasgow with its water since the mid 19th century; although not Cambuslang, our water comes from Camps Reservoir near Crawford. The boat wasn’t too busy on this sunny Monday morning, and we really enjoyed the views of the loch with Beinn Narnain, Beinn Ime and Ben Vane visible beyond the far end. As we sailed westwards, snow capped Ben Lomond appeared from behind the hills to the south. Some members of our party found the breeze to be slightly chilly, but not me; there are some advantages to my intolerance of heat and near immunity to cold! The trip was an hour in total and then we had a traditional Scottish high tea in the restaurant overlooking the loch; a tasty and generous amount of sandwiches, scones and cakes.