MV ''Glenachulish'' is a ferry operating a summer service between Glenelg, on the Scottish mainland, and

Kylerhea Kylerhea (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caol Reatha'') is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands, overlooking Kyle Rhea, a strait splitting Skye from the Scottish mainland. The village is named after Acunn and Riadh, R ...

, on the

Isle of 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 of ...

. Built in 1969, she is the last manually operated steel turntable ferry in the world. The route avoids the road journey via the

Skye Bridge The Skye Bridge () is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, Scotland, connecting the Isle of Skye to the island of Eilean Bàn. The name is also used for the whole Skye Crossing, which further connects Eilean Bàn to the mainland across the Carrich V ...

History

''Glenachulish'' was built at the now-defunct

Ailsa Shipbuilding Company Ailsa Shipbuilding Company was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Troon and Ayr, Ayrshire. History The company was founded in 1885 by Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa, along with Peter James Wallace and Alexander McCredie. In 19 ...

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

in 1969. She is named after Glenachulish, a glen and hamlet near South Ballachulish. In 2006, Murdo Mackenzie, the owner of the ferry, was planning to retire. A

community interest company A community interest company (CIC, pronounced "see-eye-see", or colloquially, "kick") is a form of social enterprise in the United Kingdom intended "for people wishing to establish businesses which trade with a social purpose..., or to carry on ...

was formed by local residents to buy the ferry and run the service. In 2008, the ferry was featured in the film ''

Made of Honour Made or MADE may refer to: Entertainment Film *Made (1972 film), ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom *Made (2001 film), ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music *Made (Big Bang album), ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016 *Made (Hawk Nelson album), ...

''. In January 2012, following a landslide blocking the

A890 road A89 or A-89 may refer to: * A89 motorway (France) * A89 road (Scotland) * Dutch Defence The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: : 1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in th ...

, ''Glenachulish'' began a service at

Stromeferry 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 Scottish council area of Highland. Its name reflects its former role as the location of one ...

. The service crossed

Loch Carron Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch ...

to North Strome, avoiding a diversion by road.

Service

From 1969 to 1975, ''Glenachulish'' operated at

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 ...

. After the opening of the

Ballachulish Bridge The Ballachulish Bridge is a bridge in the West Highlands of Scotland. Location It crosses the narrows (Caolas Mhic Phadruig - Patrick's Narrows) between Loch Leven and Loch Linnhe, linking the villages of South Ballachulish (Argyll) and N ...

, she became the relief ferry at Corran, Kessock, and

Kylesku Kylesku () is a fishing hamlet in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. Until 1984, it was the site of a free ferry. It takes its name from Caolas Cumhann (pronounced "Kyles Cuan"), Gaelic for "narrow strait", which is the channel just to the we ...

. The latter two routes have since been replaced with bridges. There has been a ferry on this route for over 400 years, with a car ferry since 1934. It is one of only two remaining ferries to Skye from the mainland – the other is the

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 ...

service between

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 ...

and Armadale. Since 1982, ''Glenachulish'' has operated the Glenelg ferry across

narrows. The crossing takes five minutes and is the shortest sea crossing to Skye. The ferry runs seven days a week between Easter and October. It operates every twenty minutes (or as required, if it is busy) from 10am to 6pm (to 7pm June to August).

References

External links

Glenelg - Skye ferry - Isle of Skye Ferry Community Interest Company.
Ferries of Scotland Ships built in Scotland Isle of Skye Transport in Highland (council area) {{Ferry-stub