Delivery of Ferry MV Glen Rosa Pushed Back to February; Loch Leven Boat Crew Offer to ‘Pop Across to Arran if It Helps’
The long-delayed CalMac ferry has slipped again. Kinross boatmen say they have been reliably crossing water since Mary Queen of Scots.
A small boat on Loch Leven, running on time since 1567. Photo: habiloid, “An upturned boat by the start of the Loch Leven Heritage Trail, Kinross - geograph.org.uk - 8187554”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The new CalMac ferry MV Glen Rosa will not be delivered until February, the latest delay in a project that islanders have been waiting on for longer than some of the people waiting for it have been alive.
In Kinross, the crew of a Loch Leven boat have offered to help. “We run out to the castle and back all season, no bother,” said one boatman. “We could do Arran. It’s a bit further. We’d need a bigger flask.”
A Milnathort man said he had once tried to explain the ferry story to his grandchildren. “I told them it started when I had hair,” he said. “They looked at my head and said, ‘So a long time ago.’ I said yes.”
Ferry experts say a big modern ship is a lot more complicated than a rowing boat. Kinross boatmen say that is exactly the problem. “Our boat has got oars,” said one. “Oars don’t need a software update.”
The Scottish Government says it is focused on getting the ferry into service. Perth residents have asked whether the Tay ferry to Fife could come back in the meantime, and been reminded there is a bridge.
The real story: Glen Rosa ferry delay (BBC News)
Letters to the Editor
The views expressed are those of the reader, and frankly that's on them.
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The Loch Leven boat’s been going since before I was born and it’s never once been late. Mind you, it only goes to an island you can see.
— Hamish R., Kinross, 1 November 2026 -
February. Which February though? That’s what I want to know.
— Catriona F., Milnathort, 1 November 2026 -
I’d offer my rowing boat but it’s got a hole in it. Still, it would be ready before February.
— Pete W., Perth, 1 November 2026
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