A NEW fast passenger ferry service on Loch Ness, believed to be the first plying the entire length of the famous waterway for 66 years, will be launched this week.
The Loch Ness Express will carry 36 passengers nearly 30 miles from Dochgarroch, near Inverness, to Fort Augustus from Saturday.
The operators believe it is the first regular time-tabled service running the length of the loch since the paddle ste
amer Gondolier was taken out of service in 1939 after 73 years.
Although primarily aimed at tourists, it is thought local residents at either end of the loch may also use the 80-minute ferry trip to avoid the busy A82 road between Inverness and Fort Augustus.
As it is a time-tabled ferry, Highland travel pass holders can use the service, which costs £25 for a return ticket, free.
One of the men behind the project is Bill Grant, who last year revived a ferry service between Gairloch in Wester Ross and Portree in Skye for the first time in over 60 years, although that route is presently suspended and the vessel used for the Loch Ness operation.
Mr Grant is a director of West Highland Seaways, which ran the Skye route.
He said: "While other operators run boat trips on the loch we feel there is an untapped market for trips the length of the loch, giving people the chance to experience the whole loch in just half a day.
"It's probably the most famous loch in the world and people who come to the Highlands want to see Loch Ness, and the chance to travel its entire length is an appealing one."
Mr Grant said he is planning to install televisions in the backs of the airline-type seats, connected to sonar equipment to help Nessie-spotting passengers in their quest.
The service will run twice daily until October, although a once-daily link is proposed for November and December, weather permitting, to test demand.
The 250-tonne PS Gondolier was built in 1866, one of the first ships built for David Hutcheson and Co, a forerunner of the firm which later became Caledonian MacBrayne.
It was one of three ships which once worked on the loch when passengers took four boats to get between Glasgow and Inverness.
From 1928 it was the only vessel working on Loch Ness after the withdrawal of the Glengarry and Lochness. After 73 years of working between Inverness and Banavie in Fort William, it was withdrawn in 1939, when it was scuttled in Scapa Flow and used as an obstacle to enemy shipping.
