MV ''Cromarty Rose'' was the vehicle ferry serving the Nigg-Cromarty route across the Cromarty Firth, providing a summer only service from 1987 to 2009.

History

MV ''Cromarty Rose'' was one of the smallest car ferries in the UK, and the only ferry serving the

Black Isle The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and Nor ...

, crossing the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits.html"_;"title="strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straits">strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof_Cromarty.html" ;"title="strait">/no ...

between Nigg and

Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from In ...

. She is a 50 passenger, 2 car vessel built in 1987 in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, Scotland for Seaboard Marine (Nigg) Ltd who operated the Cromarty-Nigg service until 2001. After a tendering process, the contract passed to the Cromarty Ferry Company, who purchased the ''Cromarty Rose'' from her previous owners.

Service

Built for the Cromarty service, ''Cromarty Rose'' operated there from 1987 to 2009. Evening cruises were available for parties of between 10 and 50. ''Cromarty Rose'' became the world's smallest drive-in floating cinema in November 2008, with a showing of ''

The Maggie ''The 'Maggie (released in the U.S.A. as ''High and Dry'') is a 1954 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving Ame ...

'', to launch the Cromarty Film Festival. In February 2010, Southampton Marine Services announced that they had won a £500,000 contract to build a new ferry for the Cromarty-Nigg service. and ''Cromarty Rose'' sailed from Cromarty on 16 February 2010, bound for the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

, to run a service to the island of

Steep Holm Steep Holm ( cy, Ynys Rhonech, ang, Ronech and later ) is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. Administratively it ...

and

Flat Holm Flat Holm ( cy, Ynys Echni) is a Welsh island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan. It includes the most southerly point of Wales. The island has a long history of occupation, dating at le ...

. She was renamed ''Westward Ho'' by her current owner. She is operated by MW Marine. The replacement vessel, '' Cromarty Queen'', arrived in Cromarty on 10 October 2010, and commenced the summer service in 2011.

References

External links

Cromarty Ferry Company website

MW Marine website
{{Scottish Ferry Operators 1986 ships Ferries of Scotland Ross and Cromarty Black Isle