River Clyde Photography: Balmoral

Saturday 13 August 2011

Balmoral

Balmoral is a cruise ship owned and operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. She was built in 1988 by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, West Germany as Crown Odyssey for Royal Cruise Line. She has also sailed for the Norwegian Cruise Line as Norwegian Crown and Orient Lines as Crown Odyssey. In 2007–2008 she was lengthened by 30 m (98 ft) at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg, prior to entering service with her current operator.

Named after the Scottish home of the Royal Family, Balmoral has accommodation for about 1,300 passengers, through 710 cabins and suites. All the ship's public rooms have a Scottish theme: its principal restaurant, Ballindalloch, is named after a Speyside village and castle; while the ship's other two formal restaurants, Avon and Spey are named in honour of two of Scotland's loveliest salmon rivers.

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River Clyde Photography

Over half of Scotland’s population lives within a short distance of the River Clyde, from its humble beginnings in South Lanarkshire where it is created by two streams the Patrail Water and the Daer Water, the two streams meet at Watermeetings where the River Clyde starts.

It’s not long before it reaches picturesque Lanark and its famous waterfalls. It eventually finds its way to Glasgow who’s citizens in the 18^th century narrowed and deepened and ultimately industrialised the river making it one of the most famous shipbuilding rivers in the world, Glasgow did indeed make the Clyde and of course the Clyde made Glasgow, at its peak the Clyde shipyards built a fifth of the worlds ships.

During the 2^nd world war Winston Churchill said that “Liverpool and Glasgow were the lungs in which the country breathed through”. Ship building along with heavy industry is all but dead on the Clyde, the majority of our industrial heritage was swept away in the 70s and 80s leaving few traces of the rivers famous past.

Leaving Glasgow, the Clyde broadens as you pass the towns of Dumbarton, Port Glasgow and Greenock, who all played a part in making the Clyde famous through shipbuilding.

At the Tail of the Bank the river broadens once more and becomes the firth with its many sea lochs coastal towns and villages.

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