 CROSSINGS
 Main
Crossings
Ullapool - Steornabhagh (Stornoway)
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Ullapool - Steornabhagh
(Ullapool - Stornoway)
Crossing Time: 2 Hour 40 Minutes
Regular Ship:
Isle of Lewis / Freight Ship:
Muirneag |
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ROUTE TIMELINE |
1973:
Iona /
Clansman
1974:
Clansman /
Suilven
1975 - 1994:
Suilven
1995:
Suilven
/
Isle of Lewis
1996 - Present:
Isle of Lewis
Additional Ships:
Isle of Arran (Freight and relief duties) /
Muirneag (Freight) / Clansman
(relief duties) |
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TERMINAL FACILITIES |
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Ullapool: a single linkspan set at right angles to the
shoreline, alongside the fisheries pier. The fisheries pier is also used
for loading passengers.
Stornoway:
a new purpose-built pier, marshalling area, linkspan and passenger
gangway installed following the entry into service of the current ferry.
This pier is located just away from the old terminal at the fish quay.
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ROUTE HISTORY |
However you approach it, Ullapool comes as a surprise. From the south east
you round a bend in the road and there it is, laid out across a bay in the
side of Loch Broom (example) and from the ferry, one minute you're sailing
up Loch Broom - you round the headland and you're almost at the pier!
Tucked neatly into a corner of Loch Broom, Ullapool is now the mainland
port for the ferry serving Stornoway, across the Minch on the island of
Lewis. The island has not always been served from Ullapool however, for
before 1972 the sea crossing was by far longer a route to Mallaig via the
Kyle of Lochalsh and the Sound of Sleat by the mail steamer LOCH
SEAFORTH.
The first car ferry service from Ullapool to Stornoway was given by the
relatively new IONA.
Drive through facilities were not present at this point and so all vehicle
loading was done using her hoist. This could be very time consuming at low
tide, with the lift having to be raised and lowered further, but it was
only a temporary solution until the new linkspans were installed. These
had been completed by the time the newly converted
CLANSMAN arrived on the scene in 1973, replacing the smaller IONA
which had just suffered a major breakdown.
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Isle of Lewis arriving at
Stornoway old Berth
The Redundant Suilven Lies Awaiting her Fate* |
The new vessel did not remain on the Stornoway crossing run for long. A
newly acquired Norwegian vessel was placed on the exposed crossing in
1974. The SUILVEN
was by far the giant of the fleet when she took over the Lewis lifeline
service. Capable of carrying a total of 120 cars on two levels, capacity
problems were put well into the history books and Lewis had at last been
given a reliable resident ferry. Indeed the new giant was to remain on her
route for twenty years. She only ever served on one route other than her
own and that was to cover the overhaul of the 1988 built ISLE
OF MULL early in her career.
As with the majority of routes over the years, the Lewis run grew more and
more popular and it became increasingly evident that the SUILVEN
was by now too small and too slow; taking as she did nearly four hours to
cross the Minch.
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The ISLE
OF LEWIS was her purpose built replacement, arriving on the scene
in mid 1995. A new timetable was also drawn up for the new ship which was
capable of completing the crossing in just 2 hours 40 minutes - a whole
hour off the journey. This improvement had many beneficial effects for
islanders and tourists alike. For the first time, Lewis became a realistic
option for a day trip by public transport from places such as Inverness
and the surrounding area.
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In recent years freight traffic has grown to such an extent that it has
been necessary to run a second vessel on the route at off peak hours
and overnight in order to take the strain off the ISLE
OF LEWIS. At first the spare unit fleet's spare unit was used, the
ISLE
OF ARRAN, until a longer term ship could be found. This was
in fact a vessel brought in on charter, the freight ship MUIRNEAG.
This pair form the current means of sea transport to Lewis for the
majority of the year, with the main ferry being relieved by the CLANSMAN
and the freight vessel by ISLE
OF ARRAN for a couple of weeks every year during the winter
months.
 Images from Ships of CalMac Collection
& Alasdair Mackenzie*
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Clansman, Isle of Arran and
Muirneag at Stornoway
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 SoC LINKS |
Fleet Feature:
Isle of Lewis & Suilven - First and Last
 To see a more detailed description of the islands and photos, visit
Undiscovered Scotland and click on a place. |
SoC
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