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Topic: Waverley Paddle Steamer
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Maurice Leakey
Film God
Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted February 07, 2018 03:05 AM
Three years ago I went on a 5-day coach holiday called "Scottish Cruising". The hotel was in Glasgow from which we went by coach each day to the various lochs and rivers.
The highlight of the holiday was a few hours on P.S. Waverley. We embarked at Helensburgh, then cruised down the River Clyde to Dunoon, Rothesay, and disembarked at Largs where the coach was waiting, having done an empty round trip to pick us up! We were told the she is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world.
It brought back many memories of the 50s when I lived in Weston-super-Mare where the paddle boats of Bristol based P. & A. Campbell were a regular sight. Many a happy afternoon cruise was enjoyed for 5/-. [25 pence in today's money].
Nowadays, the Old Pier, also known as Birnbeck Pier as it is built on Birnbeck Island, which was used by the paddle boats is in a sorry state of repair, with its deck planks almost rotted away and with all entry forbidden due to any possible danger by accidents. The fabulous life-boat station where the full-sized life boats used to gracefully slide down to the water at any state of the tides is also out of bounds. Inflatable life-boats now being used further along the coast.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3944990/Birnbeck-Pier-photographs-derelict-state-former-Victorian-amusement-park.html [ February 07, 2018, 04:48 AM: Message edited by: Maurice Leakey ]
-------------------- Maurice
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