Auld Reekie

This morning we decided to drive down to Crinan for a walk along the canal before the promised wind and rain set in again!

Before we left Crinan for the walk I asked a man in the boatyard if I could come in and photograph 'Auld Reekie', currently undergoing repair on the slip. 'Help yourself', he replied. The weather wasn't ideal - a bright white sky, but of all the pictures I took today, this was the one I decided on.

Commonly called a puffer, she was built on the River Weaver in Cheshire and was launched as VIC 27 (Victualling Inshore Craft 27) in 1942. She was fitted out as a fresh water tanker, serving shipping in and around Liverpool.

Laid up in 1962, she was bought and sold and eventually played a major part in the Gregor Fisher remake of Para Handy Tales in 1993, for which she was temporarily named 'Vital Spark', not to be confused with the other 'Vital Spark' currently in Inveraray, though that was also used in the TV series and has now been officially re-registered 'Vital Spark'!

A beautiful vessel and deserving of restoration - I remember seeing her a few years ago rotting away along the canal, so it's good to see her saved.