Paddler and Flyer

A chance glance out of the study window today had me rushing for my camera to catch this photo of PS Waverley passing, tailed at a distance by the tiny Argyll Flyer, one of the two "bathtub boats" foisted on Dunoon in recent years for the town-railhead crossing to Gourock. Both ships appeared to be loitering as they approached Dunoon; I wasn't able to see if there was another ship alongside that would prevent them going into the pier.

I love Waverley; she's almost as old as I am. The distinctive throbbing of her paddles can be heard long before you see her in these convoluted waterways, and her elegant lines contrast with all the other ships we now see on the Firth. I'm looking forward to my next trip aboard - every year sees us take at least one.

My extra photo is entirely different - the old ford across the River Eachaig at Uig. After a dry month or more, the river is as low as I've seen it, and you can clearly see the carefully laid stones of the old ford. It must have been a busier place in the past, I think.