My trip on the MV Glen Sannox to Arran

A mile away from Troon , I spotted a shining star.

This celestial beam sat there in the port, the only brightness in the darkness which enveloped me. 

“I do believe in ferries, I do, I do,” I whispered under my breath as I drove into the terminal car park at 5:40am. 

and sure enough, as I made the ten minute walk to Troon terminal, there she was, clear as day; The MV Glen Sannox.

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Over a decade in the making but looking not a day over six and a half years old. 

Speaking to fellow passengers in the terminal building, everyone was eagerly waiting to board the vessel. 

“It’s just so exciting,” two women said to me in unison. 

I agree. It is. And when we boarded the ferry on the steep ramp, I was practically running. 

Passengers boarding the MV Glen Sannox. (Image: Gordon Terris)“Welcome aboard” , staff beamed. 

Any hardened CalMac traveller first scouts out the storage available. And they were good. In-built shelves with lighting. Gone are the days of small storage spaces of metal racks and elastic bands. 

As a regular ferry passenger, I was impressed.

Storage space on the MV Glen Sannox. (Image: staff)Walking around the ship, the positivity continued. 

A spacious dog lounge, seating areas with great viewing points and a big cafe (yes, it sells CalMac and Cheese and, my favourite, a very large portion of chips for £3.50). 

I’ve taken the journey to Arran many a time but never has it felt so plush. Where were the busy carpets and rusty iron railings of my dear old friend the MV Caledonian Isles or my even more aged comrade the MV Isle of Arran? I got over them swiftly when I got a bacon roll and a cup of coffee.

The gift shop is small but sells all those last minute staple gifts from/for your trip to Scotland In Miniature: James of Arran chocolate, Arran Aromatics, Arran gin and more. You could even get a Lion soft toy if big cats and ferries is your idea of a good time. 

There are two captains on today, not one, one of them tells me as I’m invited ‘behind the scenes’. 

A member of the crew tells me in the bridge (the command deck of the ship) that a pilot will help the captains for a while to get the vessel accustomed to the Troon to Brodick route.

The crew member also shows me what are effectively the ship’s wing mirrors – a glass floor you can stand over to see how close the ship is to the dock. 

I keep quiet as the captains guides us over choppy water, a feat this larger boat can manage. 

The command deck reminds me of a cross between what the original Dr Blofeld lair looks like in James bond movie and a production control room. That’s probably because I’ve never been in one before and that imagery to me is the pinnacle of ‘high tech’.  Ship enthusiasts, I apologise. 

Bridge on the MV Glen Sannox (Image: Gordon Terris) “You can stand on them if you want,” the crew member says as the waves rage from below. 

“Thank you but no thank you”, I respond as I begin to feel the CalMac bacon roll I just ate (it was tasty) move around in my stomach. 

But as much as the cool tech as well as the ‘nice, shiny things’ of the boat lure you in, its history of the vessel is still there for all to see. 

Heading up to one of the decks you can spot a painting of Glen Rosa (a gorgeous glen you can walk through in Arran, maybe more suited for the other new boat coming in September) but underneath it is the plaque which tells the real story of the ship. 

 ‘MV Glen Sannox, Launched on 21 November 2017 by Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland’, it reads. 

That same ‘launch’ over 7 years ago where windows of the bridge were painted on and the funnels were not operational. Only for show, not for launch. A make-believe. Years ago island communities wished on a star for a dream that didn’t come true. 

Today, sailing on a vessel that actually sailed perhaps signals a shift but teething problems remain.  Speaking to Arran residents on the sailing today, they were excited but cautious. After years of waiting, they are rightfully sceptical. 

Former Royal Marine and now chief executive of CalMac, Duncan Mackison, was in his element as he sat beside me outside on the windy deck. 

“Everything is working okay, galleys are okay, breakfasts are getting cooked, the vessel is handling it well,” he told me, “It’s gusty but we are out. Some of the other vessels probably wouldn’t be sailing today.”

And, of course, he’s right. The MV Alfred, a much smaller catamaran which was brought in from Pentland Ferries to help service the Arran route, was not sailing today. 

That would have meant that before now, many would not have been able to get over to Arran. 

Now Sannox is here, the tide is turning, Mr Mackison tells me. 

“This is a much more resilient vessel and that’s a really important thing for the people of Arran because a lot of what the problems have been is to do with resilience and breakdowns but also cancellations.

“Nice new vessel, very capable, very modern, it’s just what they need,” he succinctly puts it. 

CEO of CalMac Duncan Mackison (Image: Gordon Terris)With a passenger capacity of 852 and vehicle capacity of 127, more cars can get on this ferry but she is just shy of the passenger capacity of the older MV Caledonian Isles who can take 1,000. 

There’s also the issue of crossing numbers with this new ship as it is restricted to only three daily return crossings from Troon because of the extra journey time.

Even the CalMac boss accepts this is one of the teething problems. 

Mr Mackison said: “What we lose in crossings we make up for a bit in capacity because she’s a bigger ship but that is not the whole story. Obviously there is a much bigger debate taking place on the future of Ardrossan and our customers on Arran have got a view on Ardrossan versus Troon. We will work with that but the plan is that we can fit in with what we need to do operationally to continue to deliver the service.” 

However, for the new chief executive there’s a feeling of “huge relief” now the vessel is actually servicing the route. 

“Scotland’s eyes have been on this vessel for a long time. You live it. Week by week, day by day, how things are going, what needs to be done but we’ve landed in a really good place as of yesterday when we managed to get in that successful sailing so a big sense of excitement and relief.” 

“ What people have to remember is this is a first in class vessel and you always get teething problems with the first one. She wouldn’t be sailing today and she wouldn’t be inserted into the timetable if we were not a hundred percent confident that she is fit for purpose. ” 

The real test now is if the island community will feel the benefit from the new arrival. We will have to wait and see.