Loch Lomond: Levenvale Primary pupils find out about Maid of the Loch’s story

Primary seven pupils from Levenvale Primary got a special behind-the-scenes tour of the famous steamer last week, the very last paddle steamer to be built in the UK and the only remaining example of an “Up an Doon’ vessel – a ship that’s been built twice.

And teacher Grace Dornan told the Reporter it was the class that asked her to arrange the trip.

Connor Bryce

She said: “This month the children were completing engineering challenges and they were allowed to select their own topic, and a lot of them chose to research the Maid of the Loch and steam engines, and the children actually asked me if I could arrange for them to come down to see it.

“Unfortunately, they are only open at the weekends.

“But when I contacted them, they said they’d be happy to arrange for some people to come and give us a hard hat tour and tell us a bit about steam engines and the Maid of the Loch sometime during the week.”

Connor Bryce

The kids got to learn about the history of the boat, the technology behind the steam engines and how they operate and hear about the current restoration of the ship that aims to be complete by the end of this year.

“In the classroom, you can tell them so much, and you try to inspire them,” Ms Dornan continued.

“But how inspiring is this - to actually come down and see the steam engine, and see how it would work, and see around the Maid of the Loch that’s sitting on our shores?

“For them to come down and actually be inspired by the whole project of trying to restore it and go home with that message, it can only be good for the community, and the project as well.

“You don’t learn by somebody telling you. You learn by somebody showing you and being immersed in something.”

Charlie Summers, activities coordinator for the Maid of the Loch explained school trips such as the one from Levenvale are important for the legacy of the ship.

She said: “To Balloch, the Maid of the Loch was such a big deal, and such a big part of the history and the local community is an important part of that because it’s their ship. It’s a ship for the community.

“And when we get her sailing again, hopefully in the next few years, we want children to be able to look at industrial and maritime collections and ways of living and try and bridge the gap between the old and the new.

“We want to tell those stories so that young people are inspired to come along to the museum and read about the importance of the ship to Scottish social history.

All photos taken by Connor Bryce.