Blog at the Ballast

One for the start of the summer holidays this week! We uploaded this fab image of the Duke of Devonshire paddle steamer a couple of weeks ago to our flickr photostream. The ship was built by R & H Green, Blackwall, 1896.

There is more information about her on this website.



 Our image shows her at Lulworth Cove and I also realised this week via twitter that there are a few videos of her coming into the cove on youtube.

This week's photo is of the ps Lucy Ashton. She was built in 1888 by Thomas B Seath of Rutherglen, and owned by the North British Steam Packet Company, first working on the Holy Loch service and later steaming between Craigendoran and Gareloch.


She made her final run in February 1949. After that, she was sold for experimental use by the British Research Shipbuilding Association, during which she was stripped to the hull and fitted with jet engines. She was finally scrapped in 1951.

The name Lucy Ashton comes from Walter Scott's historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor.

More great images have been added to flickr this week by our volunteer, Ruth. Including this wonderful image of the paddle steamer Industry, built by William Fife of Fairlie in 1814.


Fittingly as we're heading off to the opening of the refurbished Scottish Maritime Museum site at Irvine this afternoon, they also have a copy of this image up on their flickr site here with lots of information about the career of PS Industry.