Date: 19/03/2018

A project to renovate the 1950s Loch Lomond paddle steamer the Maid of the Loch has been awarded funding of £950,000. The Maid has not sailed since 1981 and has been moored at Balloch Pier for more than two decades. The funding from the Scottish government's Regeneration Capital Grant Fund takes the project closer to its £5.5m target. It is hoped the ship can be used for cruises and functions. The Loch Lomond Steamship Company, which owns the paddle steamer and is leading the regeneration project, has described the funding as a 'major milestone'.

External links

Major funding for paddle steamer project

BBC News

It is hoped to eventually return the 1950s Maid of the Loch to a state in which it can sail again on Loch Lomond.

Related images

Pier in use - see the heaving line being thrown - as PS Maid of the Loch berths in 1976. Note the catenary at Balloch Pier station on the far right. Originally opened as Balloch Wharf in 1850, the station closed to passengers in September 1986.
Location: Balloch Pier
Company: Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway
//1976 Colin Miller

PS Maid Of The Loch at Balloch on 18 August 2012 operating as a tea room while undergoing restoration and repairs.
Location: Balloch Pier
Company: Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway
18/08/2012 John Steven

The paddle steamer Maid of the Loch photographed on Loch Lomond in September 1955 on one of her regular trips out from Balloch Pier.
Location: Loch Lomond
Company: Piers on Loch Lomond
06/09/1955 A Snapper (Courtesy Bruce McCartney)