Glasgow River Festival July 2004
When we heard that Glasgow City Council was holding it's first River Festival on the Clyde we decided that this was a Gamebird event. It would enable us to cruise, in the company of other boats, a part of the River Clyde which we hadn't been on before - from Bowling to the barrier at Glasgow Green. Having visited the site to make sure that we would be able to get the dogs off the boat, we sent off our booking and started planning. As always, the big problem was would Iain manage to get time off work to do the whole trip? In the end , he only missed the first leg when Pam (Scruton) and I took Gamebird from Ratho to Linlithgow where Iain joined us after doing a nightshift. Pam kindly volunteered to be on board for the trip from Linlithgow to Kirkintilloch as this would allow Iain to get some sleep. The trip went well with no hold ups at the locks, bridges and wheel which BW operate - the new booking system is a big improvement. We met up with Ronnie and Ralph on Ratho Princess below the wheel and we had the pleasure of their company for the rest of the trip. The next day saw us going down from the summit pound to Bowling and we were pleased to have Geoff (Hooten) on board to help hold ropes in the locks as this let me get off to walk dogs and wind the odd paddle when I could get my hands on one of the special windlasses. The next morning dawned sunny with no wind. Ideal for our river trip, but as the morning wore on the wind got up (we were locking out at 11.30 with Ratho Princess and Jessica, a 40 foot narrow boat on it's first sea voyage) and we asked for and got an escort from the Pilot Launch. We were well escorted as we were passed by the Police, Customs and the MCA launches on the way up river. After going under Erskine Bridge we hovered and waited till the two Forth and Clyde narrow boats arrived and we travelled up river together. We had intended stopping overnight at Braehead shopping centre but as the moorings looked full and the wind had died down we decided to press on to Princes Dock where the Festival was being held. We were asked to wait out in the river as the TV cameras were doing a live broadcast and they wanted some boats on film but even so we were moored on our pontoons by 2.30pm. Pam had been with us coming up river and when her husband came to pick her up, he took us shopping as the supplies were getting bit low. We got back in time to take part in a parade up river to the barrier at Glasgow Green. The paddle steamer Waverley was returning from a trip and she led the parade. It was interesting to see how she turned before mooring by using a rope from the bows which was laid along her side and thrown round a bollard from the stern and she then used it as a spring. Nice to see that even the Waverley crew don't always get the rope on the bollard first time:-). After Waverley moored, having gone through the lifting Millennium bridge and the swing Bells Bridge, we continued up river under several low fixed bridges to the barrier. This barrier is to maintain the rive level above it and it is only lifted when the water is very high. The water below it is shallow with some of the canal boats touching the bottom. On the way back down river, we were called over by a riverside casino. Perhaps they were going to offer us a drink to celebrate our arrival but no. They just wanted to know if the hand in the river was attached to a body or was a rubber glove! It was a rubber glove. The next evening, the parade was led by the puffer, Eilean Eisdeal and again the intrepid canal boats got to the barrier even although the water level was lower than the night before.
The next day, we left the festival and started retracing our steps to our mooring at Ratho.
This was an excellent event and we were very glad we had made the effort to attend - 3 days cruising each way to cover a journey which we could have done by car in less than an hour. We were invited to a Civic reception in the Science Centre (beside our moorings) where we were let lose to play with the exhibits afterwards. We were entertained by the Zap Cats, ribs with very large outboards which did grand prix racing on the river, model boats, fire engines, craft stalls, narrow boat tug of war and watching very large motor cruisers manoeuvring around the large basin. I took lots of photos and I have put a few of them on the attached page.
The trip was made all the more enjoyable by being joined by Pam and Geoff at various times and we are very grateful for all their help. No only did they both help us at locks etc but they both brought us shopping and travelled great distances to be with us. Thank you both!