A FORMER diplomat has been appointed to lead a bid to raise £1.7 million to restore the Maid Of The Loch paddle steamer on Loch Lomond.
Robin Naysmith, formerly Scotland’s diplomatic representative in Washington DC and a senior civil servant in the Scottish Government, has taken over as chair of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company.
It is a major boost for the charity as it enters the next stage of a £7m bid to get the steamer sailing again.
READ MORE: Beyond Brexit: Hospitals risk losing EU staff lifeline after Brexit
Despite its rundown state, the vessel is still open to visitors at its landing site near the Lomond Shores shopping outlet village.
Mr Naysmith, who spent the latter part of his career promoting Scotland internationally, said he was delighted to be joining the efforts to restore the “national treasure”.
He said: “Our aim is to restore the Maid Of The Loch as a fully operational paddle steamer with all the economic benefits it will bring to Loch Lomond and to Scotland.
“She is a national treasure with a fascinating history and an important place in Scotland’s rich maritime history. When fully restored and operational, the Maid will be a huge visitor attraction for Loch Lomond and the surrounding area.
He added: “Having raised £1.9m to date, the challenge for the charity now is, by fundraising nationally and internationally, to recreate an authentic 1950s cruising experience, surrounded by world class scenery on the Bonnie, Bonnie Banks.”
READ MORE: Beyond Brexit: Hospitals risk losing EU staff lifeline after Brexit
Mr Naysmith said when the Maid is fully operational it will create at least 25 jobs and attract an additional 95,000 visitors a year to Loch Lomond, a significant economic bonus to local communities.
He added; “This is a hugely exciting project and I hope it will appeal to friends of Scotland all over the world.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here