Honouring legacy of historic steamboat

Bumper crowds attended the Loch Katrine Steamboat Festival at the weekend to celebrate the remarkable milestone of 125 years sailing of The Steamship Sir Walter Scott, Scotland's oldest operating passenger steamer.

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The celebrations began on Friday, exactly 125 years to the day since the vessel's maiden passenger voyage.

To honour the anniversary, 125 excited flag waving schoolchildren from Aberfoyle, Port of Menteith and Callander Primary Schools were joined by musicians from McLaren High School in Callander.

They enjoyed a recreation of the inaugural cruise in 1900, setting the scene for a weekend of family fun packed heritage activities on the loch and onshore.

For two decades the Sir Walter Scott has been the responsibility of a charitable trust created to protect and preserve the iconic steamship for public enjoyment. Over one million passengers have sailed on her during those 20 years.

To mark the incredible legacy of the steamship, built in 1899, a new informative book charting her fascinating history, authored by Clyde-built ship experts Iain Quinn and Dr Colin Smith, was published to coincide with the anniversary.