Sunday ferry will slip into Stornoway at 3am

By Greigg Adams

The controversial first Sunday ferry sailing on the Ullapool to Stornoway route actually took place when the MV Isle of Arran sailed into Stornoway harbour at 3am on Sunday morning.

Demand from travellers means that two vessels arrived in Stornoway harbour in the early morning, with the Isle of Arran leaving Ullapool on Saturday at 11pm and taking four hours to complete its crossing, closely followed by the Isle of Lewis, returned to service following engine repairs, arriving into the Lewis port at 4am.

Ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne are keen to clear the backlog of bookings on the route’s busiest weekend of the year, with travellers eager to depart the island following the conclusion of the weekend’s music event, the Hebridean Celtic Festival.

Reports of rising tensions at ferry terminals on both sides of the Minch should be alleviated by the extra sailings.

The first Sunday sailing, before engine failure on board MV Isle of Lewis, was due to take place in the afternoon departing at 2.30pm from Stornoway, arriving at Ullapool at 5.30pm then returning to Stornoway at 9pm.  This schedule was specifically timed to avoid upsetting Lewis’s Christian residents as they travelled to and from Church services.

One Celtic festival reveller, Mary Macintyre from Perth, said: “I’m just keen to get home, so I’m hoping that there will be a sailing as soon as possible when the ferry comes in at 3am.

“So far the Calmac website has no details, but I have been told that a massive public demonstration has been planned for the afternoon, so I want to be on my way in case this causes any further disruption.”