David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson & Co. with three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne, it passed in 1878 to David MacBrayne. It became the main carrier for freight and passengers in the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

, with a co-ordinated network of shipping, road haulage and bus operations. In 1973, it was merged with

Caledonian Steam Packet Company The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over r ...

as state-owned

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

. Since 2006 it has been the holding company for ferry operators CalMac Ferries Ltd (operating as

) and Argyll Ferries, and is classified as an

executive non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of na ...

of the Scottish Government.

Formation

In 1851, Burns Brothers, G. and J. Burns of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, passed their fleet of Hebridean vessels to their chief clerk, David Hutcheson. David Hutcheson was married to Margaret Dawson, who was born at her parents home 'Bonnytoun House' in

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

. She was the sister of Adam Dawson, who owned the St. Magdalene Whisky Distillery in Linlithgow, and James Dawson, who were also born at 'Bonnytoun House'. In 2011 Glasgow historian Robert Pool added over 200 letters and documents to his collection relating to David Hutcheson and the Dawson family. The new company, David Hutcheson & Co., had three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne (1817-1907), nephew of Messrs. Burns. In 1878, the company passed to David MacBrayne (and was renamed David MacBrayne). The company rapidly became the main carrier on the West Highland routes, providing passenger and freight services to most islands. It initially operated from

down the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

through the

Crinan Canal The Crinan Canal is a Canals of the United Kingdom, navigable canal in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It opened in 1801 and connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with Crinan, Argyll, Crinan on the Sound of Jura, providing a navi ...

Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...

and Fort William, and on through the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The can ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. It added the mail run to

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

and

North Uist North Uist (; ) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one isla ...

from

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

and then the Outer Isles run from Oban to

Barra Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway. In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...

and

South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

. As each opened, the company added the railheads at Oban,

Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

and

Strome Ferry Stromeferry () is a village, located on the south shore of the west coast sea loch, Loch Carron, in western Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, Highland. Its name reflects its fo ...

. MacBraynes remained in the hands of the family until 1928, when it was unable to support a bid for the renewal of the mail contract and effectively became bankrupt. No other operator was found for the contract and the company was reformed, with ownership divided between

Coast Lines Coast Lines Limited provided shipping services in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Channel Islands from 1917 to 1971. History Powell, Bacon and Hough Lines Ltd was formed in 1913 in Liverpool. The name of Coast Lines Limited was adopted in 1 ...

and the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

(LMS).

Expansion

The new owners rebuilt the ageing fleet with motor vessels such as , and . After the Second World War, and were added. In 1948 the shares in the company owned by the LMS Railway passed to the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the s ...

, thus partially nationalising it. In 1964, the rising number of motor vehicles led to the ordering of three purpose-built vessels, , and MV Columba for the Uig-Tarbert-Lochmaddy, Mallaig-Armadale and Oban-Craignure-Lochaline routes.

Bus services

Motor bus services began with a Fort William to

Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish ( or , from Scottish Gaelic ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries, and now primarily serves tourists in the area. Name The name Ballachulish (from Scottish Gaelic, ''Baile a' Chao ...

route in 1906, and by the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

several other bus routes had been established around Inverness, Fort William and Ardrishaig. No routes actually connected these detached operations with each other at that stage, and road operations remained a very small part of the business until after the reconstituting of the company in 1928. The new owners provided capital to modernise the business, including setting up a substantial road haulage division to replace cargo shipping services at many of the smaller ports. Expansion of the bus division was gradual, and mainly achieved by acquisition of existing small operators. In 1929 Link Line of Glasgow introduced a coach route from Glasgow to

Tarbert Tarbert () is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames that variously s ...

(

Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...

) in competition with MacBrayne's steamer service, and MacBrayne quickly responded by introducing its own coach service, which would become one of the firm's principal routes. Coaches were timed to connect at Tarbert with MacBrayne's steamer to Islay and McConnachie of

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...

's bus service to that town. Link Line sold out to MacBrayne in 1932 ending the competition, although from 1935 onward

West Coast Motors West Coast Motors (legally incorporated as Craig of Campbeltown Limited) is a bus, coach and ferry operator, based in Campbeltown, Scotland. The company also operates under the name '' Borders Buses'' in the Scottish Borders and formerly under ...

of Campbeltown provided an overnight passenger and mail coach service between Campbeltown and Glasgow. MacBrayne's own buses did not reach Campbeltown until 1940, when they replaced the Glasgow to Campbeltown steamer.The P.S.V. Circle and The Omnibus Society (1984), ''Fleet History PM10: David MacBrayne Limited'', pp. 4. P.S.V. Circle, London. MacBraynes and West Coast co-existed on the route thereafter. Another significant takeover was of Shields of

Kinlochleven Kinlochleven () () is a coastal village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village was formed fro ...

in 1934. Shields operated a service from Fort William to

Tyndrum Tyndrum (; ) is a small village in Scotland. Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on the ridge". It lies in Strath Fillan, at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor. Location and facilities Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, and a noted stop ...

, where a connection could be made with W. Alexander & Sons' Oban to Glasgow (via

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

) service. MacBrayne extended some journeys on this route through to Glasgow (via Luss), although connections with the Alexander service also continued. McIntyre of Fort William was acquired in 1936, giving MacBrayne an interest in the Fort William to Fort Augustus route, and through services between Fort William and Inverness were finally introduced in 1939 following cessation of the Fort Augustus to Inverness steamer. This important route was jointly operated with Macrae & Dick of Inverness (a

Highland Omnibuses Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

predecessor). Various other small operators were taken over in the 1930s and 1940s, expanding or consolidating the route network on the mainland. Most MacBrayne bus services carried parcels and in some cases mail as well as passengers. In addition to the stage carriage routes, MacBraynes developed a significant coach tour operation in the West Highlands, often operated in conjunction with the firm's pleasure steamers. On the islands served by MacBrayne steamers, connecting bus services were provided by local independent operators, but from 1941 onwards MacBrayne began to take over many of these businesses and to operate the buses themselves. Firms so acquired were McGibbon of Bowmore (

) in 1941, MacKinnon of Askernish (

) in 1947, Ferguson of Clachan (

) in 1947, MacLean & Donald of

Ardvasar Ardvasar () is a village near the southern end of the Sleat peninsula, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is just to the south of the village of Armadale, Skye, Armadale, where a ferry crosses to Mallaig. Nearby attractions include Armadale Castl ...

(

) in 1948, MacDonald of Sollas (

) in 1948, Skye Transport (a Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society subsidiary) of

Portree Portree (; , ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.W.H. Murray, Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is a civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and lies ...

(Skye) in 1958, Cameron of Tarbert (

) in 1964, Cowe of Tobermory (

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

) in 1964 and finally Carson of

Dunvegan Dunvegan () is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan is within the parish of Duirinish, Skye, Duirinish. In 2011, it had a population of 386. Name In ''The Nors ...

(Skye) in 1970.The P.S.V. Circle and The Omnibus Society (1984), ''Fleet History PM10: David MacBrayne Limited'', pp. 38. P.S.V. Circle, London. Postwar expansion on the mainland included a detached operation on the

Ardgour Ardgour () ( ; meaning ''high place of goats'') is an area of the Scottish Highlands on the western shore of Loch Linnhe. It lies north of the district of Morvern and east of the district of Sunart. Administratively it is now part of the wa ...

Peninsula. When Ardgour and Acharacle Motor Services ceased trading at the end of 1950, MacBaynes took over their services connecting Acharacle and

Kilchoan Kilchoan () is a village on the Scotland, Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Great Britain, Britain, although several tiny ha ...

with the

Corran Ferry The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland. Description Operated by Highland Council, the Corran Ferry is one of few remaining scheduled mainland vehicle ferries in Scotland. The route crosses ...

, by which means onward connection could be made with MacBrayne's buses for Fort William or Glasgow. MacBraynes also took over operation of the ferry itself in 1954. Another acquisition on the mainland was Campbell of Glenshiel in 1960, with the route from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and a connecting service from

Shiel Bridge Shiel Bridge is a hamlet on the south east shore of Loch Duich at the foot of Glen Shiel, in the Lochalsh area of the Scottish Highlands. It is in the council area of Highland. Geography To the east of the hamlet, the River Shiel empties into ...

to Glenelg. Due to the highly dispersed nature of its operations, the MacBrayne bus fleet used a remarkably large number of bus depots relative to its size, none of which was particularly large and many of which were simply small sheds for overnight parking of one vehicle. For example, the five-vehicle operation on Islay had a depot at

Port Ellen Port Ellen () is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland. The town is named after the wife of its founder, Walter Frederick Campbell. Its previous name, ''Leòdamas'', is derived from Old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour". Port E ...

and overnight sheds at

Port Askaig Port Askaig () is a port village on the east coast of the island of Islay, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The village lies on the Sound of Islay (Caol Ìle) across from Jura. Economy Port Askaig has a hotel, a petrol station and shop next to th ...

and

Portnahaven Portnahaven (, meaning river port) is a village on Islay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilchoman. It was founded by Walter Campbell of Shawfield after he purchased the Sunderland estate in 1788 and it wa ...

. Many garage facilities were shared with the company's road haulage fleet. The largest bus depot was Fort William, and other larger facilities were at

Ardrishaig Ardrishaig () is a coastal village on Loch Gilp, at the southern (eastern) entrance to the Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute in the west of Scotland. It lies immediately to the south of Lochgilphead, with the nearest larger town being Oban. Hi ...

, Glasgow, Inverness, Kinlochleven, and Portree.

Divestments and merger

In July 1969, Coast Line's 50% shareholding passed into state ownership, the company becoming a wholly nationalised subsidiary within the Scottish Transport Group. It was then decided to split MacBraynes shipping, road haulage and bus divisions into separate undertakings. The company's bus and coach services were transferred to the

Scottish Bus Group The Scottish Bus Group (SBG) was a state-owned group of bus operators covering the whole of mainland Scotland. The origin of the grouping was the operators owned by and including the Scottish Motor Traction company, which were transferred to ...

in stages during 1970–72. The Glasgow-based coach tours passed to Alexander (Midland), the Ardrishaig depot including the Glasgow-Campbeltown and Ardrishaig-Oban routes passed to

Western SMT Western Scottish Motor Traction Co. Limited was a bus operator in south-west Scotland from 1929 to 1985. The company was formed in 1929 by the renaming of Scottish General Transport Co. Ltd, after the British Electric Traction subsidiary forme ...

, but the bulk of the bus operations passed to

(as did Alexander (Midland)'s Oban depot). Highland divested itself of some of the most peripheral routes within a few years, including all of the island operations except those on Skye. The road haulage division became MacBrayne Haulage Ltd., which was privatised and absorbed by Kilcionan Transport in 1985. On 1 January 1973 the Scottish Transport Group's other shipping company, the Clyde-based

Ltd., acquired most of the ships and routes of David MacBrayne Ltd., and commenced joint Clyde and West Highland operations under the new name of

, with a combined headquarters at Gourock.

Reactivation

After lying dormant for a number of years, the David MacBrayne Ltd. company was reactivated in 2006 by Scottish Ministers to act as the holding company for state-owned ferry operators. Scottish Ministers are the sole shareholder of the group, and all subsidiaries are private companies. The company is now categorised as an Executive Non Departmental Public Body (ENDPB) of the Scottish Government. The group consisted of ferry operators CalMac Ferries Ltd, which (as Caledonian MacBrayne) operates the Clyde and

services and NorthLink Ferries Ltd, the former operator of the

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

and

Scrabster Scrabster () is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some from Thurso, from Wick, from Inverness and 271.7 miles (437.2 km) from Edinburgh. Scrabster Harbour is an important port for the ...

Stromness Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromnes ...

services. In 2011, newly created operator Argyll Ferries Ltd, which operated the

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...

passenger service was added to the group. In May 2012, NorthLink Ferries Ltd lost the Northern Isles ferry service contract to

Serco Serco Group plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational military, defence, Healthcare, health, Space industry, space, private prison, justice, Human migration, migration, customer service, customer services, and transport company ...

. From 21 January 2019 the Argyll Ferries service was transferred into the existing Caledonian MacBrayne Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract.
The vessels and some of the piers used by the ferry operators are owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), which is also owned by the

. CMAL leases their vessels and piers to the operating companies for the duration of the contracts. The ships are chartered to the relevant ferry operators, and the piers and harbours operated under fairly standard berthing charges.

Ships of David MacBrayne

MacBrayne ships featured red funnels with a black top. One of the best known was , MacBrayne's flagship from 1879 to 1935. She was an early steel-hulled 301-foot vessel, built by

J & G Thomson John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

in 1878, and was the largest and most luxurious Clyde steamer of the day; she operated the Glasgow to

service as part of MacBrayne's "Royal Route" to

. Her successor on the route, SS ''St Columba'' was the largest Turbine Steamer built for service on the Clyde and remains the only three-funnelled steamer ever to have served on the river.

List of ships operated by the company

Source

Footnotes

External links

David MacBrayne website
{{DEFAULTSORT:David MacBrayne Ferry companies of Scotland Executive non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government Transport in the Outer Hebrides Transport in Argyll and Bute Transport in Highland (council area) Transport in Inverclyde British companies established in 1851 1851 establishments in Scotland 1973 disestablishments in Scotland Re-established companies Holding companies established in 2006 2006 establishments in Scotland Cowal Firth of Clyde Highlands and Islands of Scotland Inner Hebrides Scottish coast Transport companies established in 1851