The draft winter timetables have (finally) been released for the Lochboisdale-Castlebay-Oban and Lochboisdale-Mallaig ferry sailings, and all things considered they are not too bad.
There will be five sailings a week between Lochboisdale and Oban, and vice versa, all stopping in at Castlebay. It is not exactly ideal but we are quite used to the seven hour+ journey, especially in winter.
All of the sailings leaving Lochboisdale involve an early start - on the last draft I saw there were two 6am sailings and three 7am sailings. If you are getting the bus or the train then it entails arriving in Oban at 1 or 2 o'clock and facing a 4 or 5 hour wait. A long wait in Oban can be a pretty miserable prospect in winter. After getting a chippie, wandering around Tesco for a bit, and maybe going to Pets at Home to look at the fish there is not much left to do.
The waiting times in Mallaig will be much shorter. At the consultations held this week the need for the sailings to connect with public transport was mentioned and luckily it was taken on board. The draft timetables show two return journeys on a Tuesday and again on a Saturday, with the Lord of the Isles leaving Lochboisdale at 6am and again at 2pm. The wait between the ferry arriving in Mallaig and the train leaving for Fort William will be 45 or 55 minutes. Perfect.
Now for Calmac to finalise everything and get it updated on the website so that we can actually book something!
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