PS Lochlomond Gallery, Linthouse Buiding, Irvine

Learn about Scotland's rich history of steam travel by water in 'Scotland by Steam', a long-term exhibition in the PS Lochlomond Gallery in Irvine.

Scotland by steam: Steam travel in the industrial age

“Who shall say that paddles are prosaic, and that there is no poetry in the steamboat?"

Anonymous Victorian Writer

With over 6000 miles of coastline, nowhere in Scotland is more than 45 miles from tidal waters. As an emerging industrial island nation, Scotland relied on the sea for trade and communication and industries grew up around this. Shipping companies were established to transport goods and people around Scotland and the world, and Glasgow was hailed as ‘the second city of the Empire’. Trade and industry prospered, and Scottish shipping companies played an important role at home and abroad.

Passenger steamers were once a common sight on Scottish waters, and larger vessels sailed from Scottish ports to all corners of the world. The story of these ships has left a history which weaves a tale of different places and people, industry and leisure and shows that through war and peace, Scottish ships were “a very epic of swiftness and steam”.

Temporary exhibition

The exhibitions in the temporary exhibition gallery change annually.  The current exhibition, 'Fife: the 'Wizards' of Fairlie' runs until October:

Fife: the 'Wizards' of Fairlie

In a small coastal village 15 miles from Irvine an ambitions eighteen-year-old named William Fife founded a boatbuilding business that brought fame to the village of Fairlie and acclaim to the family name of Fife.

Operating from a small beachside yard, William established himself as a skilled master craftsman and boat designer.  With William at its head the yard produced some of the finest examples of watercraft in the west of Scotland, for fishing, racing and pleasure.

His talent and proficieny was eventually surpassed by the achievements of his son and grandson (William II and William III) both of whom possessed a particular genius for design that made the Fife name synonymous with first-class yacht building.

The Fifes' "fast and bonnie" yachts have won races all over the world and their continuing popularity with yachting enthusiasts remains to this day.

Yachting critics were impressed with the workmanship and construction of Fairlie-built boats and in particular regarded the Fife designers as 'Wizards' of their trade with the ability to create boats that were "almost too beautiful to use".

Denny Tank, Dumbarton

Learn about the Denny family and the development of the shipyard in the upstairs exhibition room:

Denny: Innovation and Experimentation

“The company of William Denny & Brothers has built whole fleets of the finest vessels afloat"

The Bailie, September 1877

The Denny name has been closely associated with the town of Dumbarton since the 1800s. From small beginnings rose a significant shipbuilding firm whose vessels were distinguished, well-respected and innovative.

It is this innovation which sets William Denny & Brothers aside from other Clydeside shipbuilders. The firm was always ‘one step ahead’ and was even working on the development of the hovercraft just before the shipbuilding industry took a sharp downturn, causing Denny’s yard to close its doors for the final time in 1963.

This family firm will always be remembered, and its story is one which is interwoven with the development of Clydeside shipbuilding and its influence world-wide.

Exhibition open year-round