 CROSSINGS |
 Main
Crossings
Mallaig - Barra - Lochboisdale |
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Mallaig - Barra - Lochboisdale |
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Crossing Time: 3 Hours 30min - 6 Hours |
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Last Ship:
Lord of the Isles |
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ROUTE
TIMELINE:
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 Ships To Serve: |
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DO THE CROSSING! |
1967 - 1973:
Clansman
1973 - 1974:
Columba
1988:
Pioneer
1988 - 1990 / 1994 - 1998:
Iona
1998 - 2001:
Lord of the Isles
Additional Ships: N/A |
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 Virtual Crossing - Coming Soon! |
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Terminal
Facilities:
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Mallaig: Linkspan fitted in 1994 at
main ferry berth. Train station located close by. Vehicle marshalling area
and office facilities.
Castlebay: Vehicle waiting area located adjacent to terminal
office. Linkspan installed in 1989 so that ferry lies along the face of
the pier as it always did. Terminal office houses a passenger waiting
area, ticket office etc. Lochboisdale:
Single linkspan and ferry berth, vehicle marshalling area and terminal
office with passenger waiting facilities. |
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Route History:
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In 1967 it was now possible for one of the new trio of Hebridean car
ferries to use Lochboisdale pier as it had been extended for there
specific use. It was the new
CLANSMAN's job on a Friday evening to sail from Mallaig to the
Outer Isles at 18:45 retuning in the early hours of the next day. She was
dispatched in 1971 to sail on three evenings per week, to Castlebay
(Barra), as well as Lochboisdale. The sailings arrived in the Outer Isles
ports at quite uncivilised times so in the following season her departure
time from Mallaig was brought forward by two hours allowing better timings
to come into effect. A side effect to that however was that the number of
her Armadale (Skye) crossings were cut from Mallaig. |
Clansman at Lochboisdale 1968 |
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Changes were
happening in Oban in 1974 that were to jeopardise the route's continuation.
The IONA
introduced a new Outer Isles service from Oban to Lochboisdale, making use
of the linkspans that had been installed there. This made the long
crossing from Mallaig obsolete and so in that year the pilgrimage of the
COLUMBA (the new Skye ferry) in the evenings was withdrawn. |
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Pioneer departs Mallaig |
It was now the
PIONEER's turn to chip in on the route as she inevitably does,
opening it again in 1988. Most of CalMac's network was now open on Sundays
and the Castlebay route was no exception. Serving peak times on the Sunday
she loaded at both Castlebay and Mallaig via her newly acquired car hoist
mainly for use at the latter. In the same year due to a displacement at
Oban, the IONA
came north to relieve her close fleet mate the
PIONEER
from her Skye and Outer Isles operations. This resulted in the
PIONEER
becoming spare vessel but also increasing the routes capacity by 50%. |
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The routes mixed start - stop history didn't stop there. After the 1990
season it was halted due to the fact that Mallaig hadn't had a linkspan
installed yet and all other ports on the route had. This resulted in
the IONA
using her hoist at Mallaig and a direct service from Oban (where a
linkspan was fitted) being more economical. In 1994 however calls from
Mallaig to the Outer Isles were reintroduced on two days per week
(Tuesdays and Sundays) using the Skye stationed IONA
again. In 1998 her passenger certificate was not renewed due to huge costs
needed to bring her up to new safety regulations. She was withdrawn from
the fleet and her place taken by the larger and better equipped
LORD OF THE ISLES (displaced by the new
CLANSMAN at Oban). |
Lord of the Isles at Castlebay |
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Due to her not being available until the 5th of July that year the ever
adventurous
PIONEER
was sent back to cover the run which also included the
Armadale
crossings, unfortunately due to a major breakdown she was sent back to
Oban to join the IONA
on the Craignure crossing. Mallaig was left with a Island Class vessel and
the
LOCH
DUNVEGAN to cover. This meant that the Castlebay crossing
had to be abandoned due to obvious reasons with the class of ship. When
the
LORD OF THE ISLES eventually arrived on Station it was too late
for the crossing. The better services from Oban to the Outer Isles put the
final axe to the crossing and after the 2001 season it was withdrawn after
several attempts to increase passenger numbers. |
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SoC Useful Links: |
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To see a more detailed description of the islands and photos, visit
Undiscovered Scotland and click on a place. |
SoC
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