crossings&cruises...
Main
Crossings
 Lochaline - Fishnish
 |
|
Lochaline - Fishnish
Manland - Isle of Mull
Crossing Time:
c15 Minutes
Regular Ship:
Loch
Fyne |
SHIP TIMELINE:
1973:
Morvern
/ Bruernish
/ Coll
1974 - 1975:
Coll
1976: Coll
/ Canna
1976 - 1985:
Canna
1986:
Canna
/ Loch
Linnhe / Isle of
Cumbrae
1987 - 1996:
Isle of
Cumbrae
1997:
Isle of
Cumbrae / Loch
Alainn / Loch
Dunvegan / Loch
Fyne
1998 - Present:
Loch
Fyne
Additional Ships:
Various members of
the Island Class
and Loch Class
ferries on relief duties.
|
 JUMP ON A VIRTUAL
CROSSING |
|
Terminal Facilities: |
|
Lochaline:
Slipway and pier facing up Loch Aline. There is also a small cafe
located near to the slipway on the stone pier. Vehicles queue back along
the access road.
Fishnish: Simple concrete slipway set
out into the Sound of Mull. Nearby there is a small cafe and toilets for
passengers to use whilst waiting for the ferry. Vehicles queue back along
the road. There is also a small car parking area adjacent to the slipway
which is used by local service buses for turning.
|
|
Route History: |
|
The short crossing from Lochaline, on the Morvern peninsula, to Fishnish
on the Isle of Mull was one of the many 'back-door' routes to be started
in the 1970s as part of a drive to reduce sea crossing times. Before 1973,
Lochaline was served by the Columba
on the route from Oban via Craignure. This journey utilised the old
Lochaline pier in the Sound of Mull, however 1973 saw a new crossing
started by the appropriately named Morvern.
She used a new slipway constructed in Loch Aline which was far more
sheltered than the exposed old pier in the Sound of Mull - and just as
well, for the slipway faced up the loch, meaning a tight 180º turn to get
to the berth. The Mull terminal was installed at Fishnish, directly
opposite Lochaline and only 15 minutes sail away. The little Morvern
was soon replaced on the route she was named after, by the slightly larger
Bruernish,
then the Coll
and eventually, in 1976 the crossing was placed in the care of its first
long term resident ship, the Canna. |
|
Ten years passed with the Canna
in control of the Lochaline run and as the 1980s progressed, she found
herself less and less able to cater for all the traffic on offer. She
often required assistance from one of her sister ships to clear the
backlog of cars from either terminal, and she was identified as the
limiting factor in terms of commercial traffic development, requiring all
cars to reverse either on or off. As a result of this, the route was
identified as one of those to be upgraded in 1986 following the delivery
of four new double-ended car ferries. Initially the new Loch Linnhe began her career on the Lochaline crossing but a month
after her arrival, in July 1986 the new dedicated vessel arrived on the
scene; the Isle of Cumbrae. With space for 18 cars on the new ferry, the queues
simply vanished. Commercial traffic was also seen to rise and this
continued for the next ten years. |
Canna arriving
at Lochaline in 1981
|
Canna and Coll
at Fishnish |
Isle of Cumbrae leaving Lochaline |
|
The 1990s again saw an increase in the numbers of cars opting for the
scenic drive across Morvern and the shorter hop over to Mull. The Isle of
Cumbrae often sailed full during the summer months of 1995 and
1996 and so the route was again chosen to receive a further new ferry with
a capacity of 24 cars. The Loch Alainn duly arrived in the height of the summer season of 1997 but
only actually served Mull for a month. In mid August the new ferry broke
down in a big way and had to be sent to the Clyde for repairs. She was
never to return to the Sound of Mull. Following a while in the hands of
members of the Island Class, another replacement ferry arrived; the Loch
Dunvegan. With a capacity of 36 cars (50% more than the intended
ferry) her size was of immense benefit to the route, although sadly she
herself followed in the footsteps of the Loch Alainn when she too broke down. |
Loch Alainn on her brief stint at Fishnish in 1997
|
|
Loch Fyne crossing the Sound of Mull
|
There was only one spare unit left to take over the increasingly busy
crossing and so it was that the other redundant Skye ferry Loch Fyne
sailed north and took up service - the fourth regular vessel to be
associated with the crossing in the space of four months! Fortunately
she settled in well and became the regular ferry - role she still
fulfils. As a result of this drivers are now virtually guaranteed a
space on the next sailing when they arrive at either terminal. The only
times when capacity is reduced is for two or three weeks during February
each year when the vessel goes to the Clyde for overhaul and is covered
by one of the smaller Loch Class ships. Previous relief ships have
included Loch Riddon, Loch Linnhe, Isle of Cumbrae and Loch Tarbert,
however the future relief ship is likely to be Loch Alainn.
 Images from Ships of CalMac Collection |
