Wee Spark

My lucky day that I visited the Forth and Clyde Canal at Bowling and ended up having an impromptu trip on the "Wee Spark" - a beautiful little replica puffer built by skipper Jimmy Macfarlane as a tribute to the Clyde 'puffers' (steam boats). They delivered goods from Glasgow to Loch Fyne, the Hebrides, and the west coast highlands of Scotland in the early 20th century. The replica is built of steel and is lovingly nurtured to preserve an evocation of a lost era of life in coastal communities. The 'Vital Spark' was of course the fictitious puffer immortalised by Neil Munro in his Para Handy tales.

Jimmy was testing out his engine and when he saw me hovering with my camera he offered me the chance to jump onboard on the test run down to New Kilpatrick and back. A perfect day for a canal trip!