1st Pier - Craigendoran pier

BACKGROUND 

Craigendoran pier is situated in the suburb of Craigendoran itself, which is located at the eastern end of Helensburgh and is approximately 30 miles from Glasgow. 

The pier itself was used from the early 1880's and onward as the North British Railway operated the Steam Packet Company steamers from there.  The train station itself had two platforms on the line to Helensburgh central, two through platforms on the West Highland Railway as well as a bay platform, which extended onto the pier for the steamer connections. 

The berths consisted of two parallel piers with four berths as well as a building at the landward end of the piers.  The pier station featured facilities that consisted of a single platform that had a small canopy although this didn't prevent the sea to break over the pier walls. 

The steamer service however closed down in 1972, due to a change in trends of holiday services as it made the transition from the steamers to using road transport and continental holiday packages, which by this time had become more popular.   Although the pier went on to be used for some years after by smaller vessels but the piers are now derelict with the section of the pier that was situated next to the land now removed, which now leaves the two piers that are not decked standing alone.  

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY 

Above are some images I have taken of the pier as it is today.  These shots were taken on 21 January this year using an Olympus E-M1 mirrorless camera on a 12mm wide angle lens also with a Lee 10 stop ND filter to create the smooth water effect in the shots.

The idea here was to capture shots using different perspectives as the first image shows a sunset at the pier and the pier sections act as leading lines as they lead off into the distance toward the more distant sea.  The 2nd image shows the right section centre, which also acts as leading line into the distance as the pier diminishes into the background, whereas the 3rd image shows a wide angle side view of the left pier that incorporates the the edge of the right. 

Overall I think these images work well in showing the pier's unique structure and the long exposure effect of the smooth water also adds to the pictures nicely.