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Gigha Ferry

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Gigha Ferry
Location Map ( geo)
Gigha-ferry2.jpg
Cameraicon.png View gallery (3)
From:  Tayinloan
To:  Gigha
Distance:  4.5 km (2.8 miles)
County
Argyll
Current Operator
Caledonian MacBrayne
Toll
£13.90 (Car + driver, 2009)
On road(s)
A83, unclassified

The Ferry for the small island of Gigha sails from Tayinloan on the Kintyre Peninsula. The village sits on the main A83 road, but the ferry pier is nearly a mile down a single track unclassified road to the coast. This road then ends in a large car park / queueing area, with a narrow concrete road running along a causeway to the pier itself. The direct car ferry service from Tayinloan to Gigha was introduced in 1980. Prior to this Gigha had been briefly served by a ship from Kennacraig, although the historic passenger service sailed from Tayinloan at least as long ago as the 1790s. The pier was rebuilt in the late 1960s, converted to a ro-ro slipway in 1979 and has again been repaired in 2012.

Crossings

The ferry sails every hour from the mainland, returning on the half hour from Gigha. The crossing takes about 20 minutes and runs from about 8am until 6 or 7pm Monday to Saturday through the summer months. Sunday sailings start later and finish earlier, with the winter timetable also being a little quieter.

2012 Draft Ferries Plan

In late 2011 the Scottish Government released the draft ferries plan for the coming 10 years. The main proposal for the Gigha service was to construct a new berth adjacent to the pier to enable the extension of the working day into the evening, rather than waste time collecting and berthing the ferry each day. The MV Loch Ranza is quoted as being able to carry 12 cars. However, due to a very narrow vehicle deck this is generally not possible, despite being marked out as two lanes. In practice, the ferrymen seem to stagger the cars so that nose and tail overlap, whilst doors are kept clear to allow people to get in and out of their vehicles.

Ferries

Name IMO Operator Dates Notes
Loch Ranza 8519887 Caledonian MacBrayne 1992-date 12 cars
Loch Linnhe 8512308 Caledonian MacBrayne Dec 1996 12 cars
Bruernish 7310662 Caledonian MacBrayne ?-1992



Links



Gigha Ferry
Related Pictures
View gallery (3)
Gigha-ferry1.jpgGigha-ferry2.jpgGigha-pier.jpg
Crossings to and between the Inner Hebridean Islands
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