The Lord Dean was recently invited by Nick Allan, a Director of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, to visit the Maid of the Loch, which is currently undergoing restoration on the slipway at Balloch.

The Maid of the Loch is Loch Lomond’s last paddle steamer at Balloch. The Loch Lomond Steamship Company is a charity run entirely by volunteers. The charity’s mission is to return the historic ship to sailing again on Loch Lomond. The ship was saved from sinking in 1995 and since then the community of volunteers has spent thousands of hours bringing her back to life. 

The ship is presently on the Slipway and undergoing major restoration works to her hull and paddles. The volunteers are keen to welcome visitors to the shipyard so they can see for themselves the amazing work underway. The ship is currently open every Saturday and Sunday between 11am – 4pm and hard hat tours are available. More information is available on their website

The Lord Dean was able to extend the invitation to visit to Members of the Merchants House, and so a group of 12 assembled at Balloch and had a tour of the vessel led by Nick and his fellow Director Susan. All present were hugely impressed by the progress which has been made by the dedicated volunteers, who are not put off by what many would see as a daunting task to get the vessel back into the water. Following the tour the party and their tour guides had lunch at the Tullie Inn. 

The Merchants House were pleased to present a donation of £300 to the charity. This funding will be used to offer further tours to generate more money for the restoration works. 

Would you be interested in membership of the Merchants House? Find out more here.