Colonsay Ferry
Colonsay Ferry | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
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MV Lord of the Isles sailing through the Sound of Kerrera into Oban from Colonsay | |||
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From: | Oban | ||
To: | Scalasaig, Colonsay | ||
County | |||
Argyll | |||
Current Operator | |||
Caledonian MacBrayne | |||
Toll | |||
£74.40 (Car + driver, 2009) | |||
On road(s) | |||
• A85 • B8086 | |||
Colonsay is accessed by ferry from Oban or Kennacraig on a rather complicated timetable.
Crossings
In the winter months, the Mull ferry makes an excursion three days a week with the Islay Ferry also visiting Colonsay en-route to Oban on Saturdays, while in the summer the island is served 5 days a week from Oban and also served by the Islay Ferry from Kennacraig, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with an extension into Oban. This sees three different vessels call at the Colonsay pier on regular services throughout the year!
From Summer 2016, with new ferries coming on stream, the timetable was revised so that MV Clansman sails from Oban to Coll and Tiree every morning, and then to Colonsay in the evenings, excepting Wednesday and Saturday. The use of the larger ship means that the ferry can now bring in roughly as many cars, and far more people than are normally resident on the island!
2013 Ferries Plan
Following the review of the 2012 draft ferries plan for the coming 10 years, the final plan has now been published. The long term proposals for Colonsay would see the MV Loch Nevis redeployed from the Small Isles Ferry service to provide a dedicated vessel for the island. This would see the summer service increased to a full 7-day timetable, and at least one day where residents could have a meaningful visit to the mainland (Oban) for the access of shops and services. and a 6-day winter schedule is also proposed.
In the short term, whilst Colonsay shares with other routes, such a level of service is not possible without impacting on other islands. As a result the only immediate improvement is to add a link to Kennacraig, the Islay Ferries port on Kintyre on Summer Saturdays, in addition to the existing Wednesday and Winter Saturday links.
Ferries
Name | IMO | Operator | Dates | Notes |
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Clansman | 9158953 | Caledonian MacBrayne | 2016-date (Oban Summer Service) | 90 cars |
Hebridean Isles | 8404812 | Caledonian MacBrayne | 2003-date (Islay Summer Service) | 62 cars |
Isle of Mull | 8606339 | Caledonian MacBrayne | 2003-date (Oban Winter Service) 1998-2003 |
70 cars |
Lord of the Isles | 8710869 | Caledonian MacBrayne | 2003-2015 (Oban Summer Service) | 54 cars |
Links
Colonsay Ferry | ||||||||
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