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The Mantis

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2 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Not so!   It's just that some of us prefer warmer climes ?

 

Patmos, September 2009.

Looks a bit calmer than the Minch!

Here is the Isle of Mull that Mantis sailed on before he posts his holiday photos :wink:

The only time I sailed on this ferry was from Ullapool to Stornoway on a wild evening while the Isle of Lewis was away for refit.  The skipper announced that there was a strong south west wind so there will be a bit of motion :ohmy:  How right he was!

On the bright side I met my fathers cousin who was a crew member that I had not seen for 35 years. 

IMG_7767.JPG

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Right enuff IHE. A junior Moose (very soft fur) I think, But they sure grow to a really large size .

A little bit of Canadian back talk from Western La La Land.

Dick Whittington didn't make it to Canada but his spirit is what made the pioneers succeed against all odds.

Some of the "odds" were tough though and resulted in death for the crews of the covered wagons. So, overall,  life was precarious. If you want to read a heartbreaking story perhaps you may want to Google the "Donner Party" deaths in the Wild West. The pioneers  had tenacity and tremendous courage but occasionally fate dealt even the most doughty a very cruel blow...………..

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1 hour ago, buckett said:

Should you ever be smitten by the urge to go to Harris or North Uist, you could do a lot worse than drive aboard this one!

Hebrides.jpg

A very comfortable vessel indeed. Built in 2000 at Ferguson’s.

Here’s the 1964 Hebrides which was built at Hall-Russell. You drove on at the side 3 cars at a time, got arranged on a turntable,  then went down on a lift where the deckhands pushed you round and you drove off into the hull. Took ages.

it was replaced by the 1985 Hebridean Isles which was launched sideways into the river Ouse at Selby in Yorkshire.

26E30F9B-0E16-4CE8-946B-95D6EC57AAFF.jpeg

8ACFA64F-F885-4C36-B4C5-1C1F650CA442.jpeg

 

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I traveled on the Hebrides many times a very good boat for that crossing.  I have a friend from Edinburgh who went from Ullapool to Stornoway with their dog and campervan and returned from Harris to Uig.  He did not enjoy the sailing and on the return journey he had a few beers (I think he had too many) and left his wife to drive off the ferry.  He told me the ferry must have run aground before arriving in Uig saying you could hear the bottom scraping on the rocks :ohmy:  I explained to him this was the crew unchaining the lorries and dragging the chains along the deck  :lol:

  • Funny 1
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10 hours ago, IBM said:

Good photos again Mantis you must be older than I thought or you must have started your travels as a boy :wink:

I’m just a young boy with a bus pass...
Started youth hostelling with my pals about 15 or 16. Borders, Glen Affric, Skye, Lake District, Devon & Cornwall. Met the missus at Uni and been going over to Lewis since 1977, over 40 years. 
Not long back from 2 weeks in Norway on a coastal voyage Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen for our ruby wedding. Made a photo book with Blurb as a birthday present for Mrs Mantis which just arrived yesterday. Very impressed.

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Fascinating thread and some great photos chaps. I'm planning a round Britain retirement road trip on my bike which will take in a fair few ferry crossings so this whets the appetite. I'll be coast hugging, starting and finishing at Cromer in Norfolk - calling it the GB5000.

So ferry crossings wherever possible at the rivers and estuaries, my first one will be at Woolwich. Some cracking wee river ferries in Devon and Cornwall and I'll also head over to the Isle of Wight, but of course the main event will be the ferries up the west coast as I hop over to Bute, Mull, Skye and Orkney. So if you've any advice for some 'not to be missed' ferry crossings please give me a shout. 

My Munro bagging days are well over now so instead I'll be bagging RNLI stations and coastal footy grounds on the way.

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Caledonian MacBrayne, generally known as CalMac, operates all main services on the Firth of Clyde and to the Inner and Outer Hebrides, sailing to over 20 destinations. Mainland ports which serve the islands in the west include Oban and Kennacraig in Argyll, and Mallaig and Ullapool in the Highlands.

For CalMac ferries, it's recommended to book tickets in advance wherever possible, although you can normally buy foot passenger tickets on the day of travel. If planning on making multiple ferry journeys, you can consider purchasing an Island Hopscotch ticket which combines multiple journeys, or you can leave the car behind and opt for a great value Rail and Sail ticket.

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31 minutes ago, CaleyCanary said:

Cheers Johndo, the Hopscotch ticket sounds ideal as I'll be making at least 10 CalMac crossings. Motorbike on each one except for the wee jaunt at Cape Wrath. Do you guys know if the wee ferry still runs from Nigg to Cromarty?

As long as you’re going mid May - mid Sept.

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Canary,

if you are going from Oban to Mull you could then get the short ferry to Lochaline on the mainland then head for Malaig and across to Armadale (All Cal Mac) on Skye.  Assuming you are not going to the Outer Hebrides you can get the ferry from Kylerhea to Glenelg which is a small private turntable ferry.  From there head for Kyle and up the coast to Plockton and keep as much to the coast as you head north.  A lot of single track roads but worth it!  If you have not been to Orkney before it's worth getting the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness (Northlink Ferries) and return from St Margarets Hope to Gills Bay (Pentland Ferries).  I hope this helps.

You can also do a daily report with photos for us :smile:

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That's pretty much the plan for the North West Mantis. I'll be going Oban - Craignure then on to Iona but in two minds about whether to get back to the mainland via Lochaline or Kilchoan to head up to Mallaig. I've been to Skye a few times but in the car and love the Glenelg ferry, the road on Skye down to Kylerhea is going to be a sheer delight to ride. Back in the 90s before I came across the Internutters our holiday was always a drive up for the first home game of the season, then over to Skye for a week in a cottage. I've not been north of Kyle (or Muir of Ord for that matter) so that section round the northern headland really excites me. Will take up your suggestion of coming back from Orkney to Gills Bay, I'd missed that one ?

I reckon the whole trip will take me 8 weeks and will be in the summer of '21. Between now and then I've got to learn how to do blogging and vlogging whatever the fekk that is. Should collect enough ferry porn for posting to keep Yngwie happy - cheers.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
15 hours ago, TheMantis said:

Loch Seaforth at Ullapool this morning. Pre Storm Dennis, crossing was a dawdle. 

Tomorrow, not so much...

I was speaking to a guy last night who came over from Stornaway this week and is hoping to return home tonight.  He said it was a bit rough crossing but the Loch Seaforth sailed through it no bother.  He also said he feels sorry for the folk in Barra who now have to put up with the Isle of Lewis!

 

 

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2 hours ago, IBM said:

 

He’ll be on the 6.30 same as my relatives. The morning one was cancelled. Got some good close ups of 2 stags in the village today, nothing bothers them these days, there’s droppings on the grass round the house.

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On 2/1/2020 at 8:40 AM, CaleyCanary said:

That's pretty much the plan for the North West Mantis. I'll be going Oban - Craignure then on to Iona but in two minds about whether to get back to the mainland via Lochaline or Kilchoan to head up to Mallaig. I've been to Skye a few times but in the car and love the Glenelg ferry, the road on Skye down to Kylerhea is going to be a sheer delight to ride. Back in the 90s before I came across the Internutters our holiday was always a drive up for the first home game of the season, then over to Skye for a week in a cottage. I've not been north of Kyle (or Muir of Ord for that matter) so that section round the northern headland really excites me. Will take up your suggestion of coming back from Orkney to Gills Bay, I'd missed that one ?

I reckon the whole trip will take me 8 weeks and will be in the summer of '21. Between now and then I've got to learn how to do blogging and vlogging whatever the fekk that is. Should collect enough ferry porn for posting to keep Yngwie happy - cheers.

We’ve got a motorhome booked late April for a week from Inverness. Tried one for 3 days a couple of years back but that was from Callander so couldn’t get far north. Going up Kylesku, Tongue etc but I’ll be steering clear of the minor roads around Lochinver, Drumbeg etc. Bad enough in a car especially when you meet somebody clueless coming towards you.

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