ALONG THE SOUTH BANK OF THE CLYDE

To the west of Houston is a place called Bridge of Weir, once served by Graham's of Paisley. 

The national rall system once reached Bridge of Weir, an intermediate stop on the G&SWR Greenock Princes pier branch. 

The service, cut back from Kilmacolm, ceased operating in 1983.

Here is Kilmacolm, photographed by Roger Joanes, in 1981. The DMU will travel to Glasgow via Paisley Canal.

Here's a modern view of'downtown' Kilmacolm (Creative Commons License).

As the Scottish Crow flies, Port Glasgow is now the nearest railhead to Kilmacolm.

That brings us nicely to Greenock Central on the suburban line to Gourock.

 

Greenock is an important place in the maritime world. Three tugs are seen in 1991.

The preserved 'Shieldhall' was found moored at Greenock.

A yacht negotiates the Clyde near Greenock.

Here's the long gone Greenock Princes Pier station.

In the early 21st Century, Clydeside was the main bus operator in Greenock.

McGill's took over from Clydeside.

Plenty of small independents have been and gone in Greenock. This include (top to bottom); Catch-a-Bus, Harte Buses, Scottish Travel and Wilson's.

Greenock is not a great place for real ale drinkers but there is a Wetherspoons, the James Watt. At the time of the photo (2008) the outside was covered in scaffolding.

Continuing westwards, we reach the outskirts of Gourock where there was once a secret torpedo factory.

The Caledonian Railway opened its line to Gourock in 1889. 

Modern EMUs now serve Gourock, connecting with ferries.

Buses can also be found in Gourock, though Western SMT, of course, no longer exists.

Time now for a beer and the Spinnaker pub will do just fine. (note, it may no longer serve real ale).

From here there are fine views across the Clyde and, as the sun goes down, the paddle steamer 'Waverley' heads upstream.

We'll cross the Clyde in the next post.