THE answer to the ferry issue and the “fiasco at the Ferguson Marine yard” (Letters, February 7) is not to dwell on problems, but just to crack on and reinstate a much larger ferry service, while integrating it with active travel.
For the last 10 years all our family holidays have been on either Bute or Great Cumbrae, mostly because they are among the best places to cycle in Scotland, maybe the UK. The roads are quiet and there are many bays to visit, often with villages and cafes. Yet the islands in the Clyde estuary are neglected and not even fulfilling 10 per cent of their tourist potential.
An integrated ferry and cycling strategy could bring them at least part-way to where they were in their glory days, 100 years ago. In those days there were many more ferry connections and you could hop from island to island. For example, you could go from Kilchatten Bay on Bute across to Millport. And the ferry from Largs to Great Cumbrae used to sensibly go to the port of Millport, rather than the wrong end of the island, motivating people to take the car only for it to sit uselessly on the promenade.
Cars are the problem, massively subsidised through the RET, each displaces a dozen tourists, making it physically impossible to get enough people on the ferries to regenerate the islands. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport visited our Glasgow Green Cycling Centre recently, which like Great Cumbrae is one the best places to cycle in the UK, not least because of the vast diversity of inclusive bikes. Michael Matheson was open to the idea of regeneration-through-cycling and seemed interested in our idea of giving every cyclist a token to spend on the island, rather than giving each driver an RET tenner, effectively. Moreover, he added to the idea by saying” cyclists go free”.
Greta Thunberg may be coming to Glasgow for COP 26. It would be good to take her on a day trip to Millport on a ferry that actually goes into the port, followed by a bike ride round Great Cumbrae, taking in a free coffee and cake courtesy of the Scottish Government’s commitment to health and the environment.
Norman Armstrong, Glasgow Green Cycling Centre, Glasgow G40.
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