9th Pier - Erskine Ferry

BACKGROUND

The Erskine ferry was the oldest crossing of the river Clyde and during the 18th century, the river was dredged to allow larger ships to sail up the river into Glasgow.  The ferry itself was initially created to allow for a ferry service between Old Kilpatrick and Erskine and the Clyde navigation service acquired the service in 1907 and later added a vehicle ferry boat also.  The service ran at different times during year but during the summer it ran typically from 6am to 11pm. 

However due to the construction and completion of the Erskine bridge in 1971, the ferry service was no longer required.  Today the slipways remain and the ferry lodge formerly used by the operators still exists, however the harbour on the Old Kilpatrick side now just consists of broken stumps in the river. 

Above are pictures that I had taken on 2 April 2017 from the Old Kilpatrick side of the ferry point that show the slipway and the harbour stump remains as they are today.  These shots were taken using an Olympus E-M1 digital mirrorless camera set on a tripod and an Olympus 12mm f/2 wide angle lens.  The first shot shows a side view of the slipway and the Erskine side slipway is just visible in the distance.  The second shot shows the remaining stumps of the old harbour office and I used a Lee 10 stop neutral density filter to smooth out the water and provide movement in the clouds. 

Overal I think these shots work well with the first shot incorporating a side view of the slipway instead of centre view and also includes the distant slipway on the other side at Erskine and the second shot providing a long exposure to add a little more visual impact to the image.