It’s difficult to believe that the mv Bute is 12 years old. It seems like 2 minutes ago that this superb little ship made her debut on the Clyde. Replacing the streakers which had served the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay crossing since the mid 1970’s.

During the Easter weekend, being based at Wemyss Bay it was wonderful to see the Bute and her younger sister Argyle sailing back and forth and inevitably I was drawn in and a quick sail to Bute had to happen.

The weather had been lousy on Easter Sunday, at some points the cloud was so dense the Isle of Bute and the land beyond disappeared completely from view. Whilst the river was tranquil this was no day for a sail so I aborted my plans for the day. Luckily the following day was much better so – despite a 250-mile trip home to tackle I decided to take a quick trip to Rothesay.

The port of Wemyss Bay with its classic Victorian railway station is small but delightful, recent work to upgrade the pier and seemingly continuous work to keep the buildings looking great and give the service a bright future.

We had no problem parking on the main road outside of the combined Rail / Ferry terminal and I bought tickets at the portacabin on the vehicle waiting area not realising that the ticket office at the end of the pier was still open but it didn’t matter. I could see the inbound Bute in the distance about 20 minutes sailing time away so my wife had a quick look in the quaint book shop before we headed down to the passenger waiting area.

Once alongside the Bute discharged her inbound vehicles and passengers and we boarded the vessel via the passenger gangway. Lifts are available for those requiring them at both ports and onboard the Argyle and Bute. I’ve said in posts on this blog before how much I rate these ships. They are pretty much perfect for the task in hand, large windows allow plenty of natural light in and of course are great for viewing the incredible scenery the route has to offer at every angle.

Passenger accommodation is all on one level and in one large room so it’s very simple to find your way around with two central islands in the middle of the room one for the shop and the other for rest room facilities. The shop itself is quite spacious and boasts a range of confectionery, hot and cold snacks and beverages, souvenirs and books including a good number of books relating to the ferries themselves.  For me however the highlight must be the homemade soup and the incredible warm scotch pies baked on the island by the electric bakery. On our outbound sailing, there were no pies but it wasn’t quite lunch time so I decided to make a bee line for the shop on the way back to have one.

Both Bute and Argyle have ample outside seating areas, the Bute’s is marginally bigger however as the Argyle has a larger indoor passenger lounge. I explored the outside areas as we left Wemyss Bay and found it to be in superb condition as indeed was the rest of the ship. I spent most of the crossing on deck watching the changing scenery and taking plenty of photos. As there was phone signal for the entire crossing I managed to post images of the ship live to the Cruise & Ferry international Facebook group.

We arrived at Rothesay on time and the ship reversed onto the modern linkspan that was built for her. We disembarked onto the pier in bright and sunny conditions and spent an hour or so looking around the Discovery Centre and gardens before returning to the terminal for our sailing back.

The return crossing was on the Argyle, younger sister to the Bute and like the Bute she was in perfect condition. Thinking ahead we managed to get onboard in time to get one of the tables at the front of the ship which had excellent views not only forwards but thanks to the brilliant design of the ship, to the sides as well. The weather by now was perfect and the views even more spectacular.

We sailed at noon but before we cast off it was time for that pie and soup, thankfully both were in stock so I enjoyed not only a fantastic view but local treats as well. I spent the second half of the sailing on deck watching as the Isle of Bute gave way to the Clyde itself with views south out to sea and North towards the upper Clyde. There was a small amount of snow at the caps of the mountains in the direction of Loch Lomond which added a nice touch to the photos.

Back at Wemyss Bay disembarkation was swift and efficient as it always is on these vessels. Within 25 minutes she was back on her way on another trip across the Clyde. The ships operate up to