Balloch’s Sweeney’s Cruises has been formerly presented with their five-star rating after becoming one of only four five-star tours in the west of Scotland to bag the top tourism accolade.

Sweeney’s Cruise Company is one of Scotland’s oldest family businesses, operating boats on Loch Lomond since the 1880s.

VisitScotland representatives took a trip to the bonnie banks to commend the team, meeting current manager John Sweeney – the fifth generation of his family to run the company.

Based in Balloch, the business started out as a few rowing boats but now operates one of Scotland’s most luxurious passenger fleets, offering eight different cruises on board five vessels. After over 130 years, it has come to know every inch of Loch Lomond’s 23 miles, varied wildlife and wealth of history, legend and folklore.

John Sweeney, manager of Sweeney’s Cruise Co, said: “It’s great to receive this award from VisitScotland. We’ve been offering boat tours on Loch Lomond for well over a century and in the last five years we’ve put in a lot of time and effort into getting ourselves a five-star grading. We are delighted to see all the hard work has paid off.”

David Adams McGilp, VisitScotland regional director, offered his congratulations to the company on the “outstanding” achievement: “Congratulations to Sweeney’s Cruise Co on this outstanding achievement. It is a testament to the hard work put in by the Sweeney family and their fantastic team to achieve these exceptional standards.

“Our Quality Assurance Scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. It is about much more than just a star rating – it is about the entire visitor experience and investing in the business to make it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be.”

The national tourism organisation VisitScotland offers support to businesses to ensure they meet and exceed the high standards expected by visitors.