Balloch Steam Slipway
Balloch Steam Slipway
4.5
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
Closed
Friday
Closed
Saturday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
The Maid of the Loch is the paddle steamer that present is slipped on the new carriage way as she undergoes essential repairs. This year she will not open to the public unless attendees are joining our hard hat tours. We do however hope to welcome visitors to the slipway where they can view her repair progress. We also have open steam weekends until the end of the season and we have a new visitor museum and shop cabin. Check our website for current detail. She was launched in 1953 and sailed till 1981 and steadily rotted till volunteers of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company took over and became a registered charity HELP US IN OUR AIM TO GET THE MAID SAILING AGAIN. WE HAVE MANY "SUPPORTERS" WHO HELP TOWARDS THE MAID'S RESTORATION. THE ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION IS JUST £25 single or £40 for two people. See website for full details. WE HAVE RAISED - AND INVESTED - £2.6M IN THE MAID AND INFRASTRUCTURE SINCE 1996. NOW WE NEED ANOTHER £4M TO MAKE HER OPERATIONAL.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingWhat is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
56 within 5 kms
Attractions
47 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
11 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Sus1952
Palmerston North, New Zealand2,105 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
It was interesting to see the winch gear that was designed to pull paddle steamers, like the Maid of the Loch, out of the Loch. Although this fell out of use in 1989, it was restored and opened again in 2006. The volunteers who run the enterprise are friendly and are very keen to raise the funds to renovate the Maid of the Loch to a working standard. Such old engineering marvels are worthwhile to visit.
Written 9 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roger G
Glasgow, UK2,869 contributions
Sept 2016 • Couples
Opened in 1902 this Grade A Listed steam powered slipway serviced paddle steamers and other passenger ships until around 1992 when it was abandoned. It underwent restoration and in 2006 it was fully returned to steam power and the PS Maid of the Loch was pulled onto the slipway for maintenance work to be carried out.
The Balloch Steam Slipway is open from June to September at weekends with steam power operational on advertised days. The slipway has a small shop and a number of fun and educational activities such as the steam siren that you can operate for a small donation.
An excellent booklet describes the history of the slipway and the Loch Lomond steamers and a number of displays highlight the restoration efforts and the industrial archaeology significance of the site.
The Balloch Steam Slipway is open from June to September at weekends with steam power operational on advertised days. The slipway has a small shop and a number of fun and educational activities such as the steam siren that you can operate for a small donation.
An excellent booklet describes the history of the slipway and the Loch Lomond steamers and a number of displays highlight the restoration efforts and the industrial archaeology significance of the site.
Written 25 September 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nobby69010
Aylesford, UK159 contributions
Dec 2018
A visit here during our coach tour with Lochs and Glens - interesting and enjoyable stunning scenery and a rainbow to top it off
Written 12 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GGGang
Preston, UK709 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
The slip way is located on Lomond shores, so is a convenient stop if exploring the shores or en route to the maid of the loch. (All of which I have reviewed separately).
I have to be honest and say it's not really my thing, but the husband found it quite interesting. So I would say it depends upon the interests of your party whether this is worth a stop for you. We stopped briefly and then carried on exploring.
My kids never believe people actually read my reviews, so if this was helpful please give me your vote. It's always nice to prove them wrong occasionally
I have to be honest and say it's not really my thing, but the husband found it quite interesting. So I would say it depends upon the interests of your party whether this is worth a stop for you. We stopped briefly and then carried on exploring.
My kids never believe people actually read my reviews, so if this was helpful please give me your vote. It's always nice to prove them wrong occasionally
Written 23 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carole S
Beckenham, UK22 contributions
Sept 2018 • Couples
We went to visit the Maid of the Loch just as storm Ali hit! We had walked the path from Balloch in the pouring rain to see The Maid of the Loch and were nicely surprised to see she was open for a visit. We had a reslly lovely tour of the boat and were having a lovely cup of tea and cake when the storm hit. We could see it arrive over the Loch. It was scary but thrilling at the same time. Everything was blowing around but we felt very safe. Hopefully she made it to the slipway on the day she was due. While there we visited the other buildings.
Written 3 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nell
Kinross, IA22 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
An amazing visit so interesting the volunteers are passionate and share their knowledge happily . Children and parents enjoy working the engine .
Written 11 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HJ1673
Sheffield, UK11 contributions
Jun 2017 • Family
Popped in to see the work that has been completed and my son blew the whistle , not a huge attraction but free and worth 10 min of your time
Written 4 June 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
C...
Victoria, Australia94,490 contributions
Apr 2023
Located on the shores of Loch Lomond is the Balloch Steam Slipway which consists of a ramp, carriage and steam powered winch. It is owned and operated by the Loch Lomond Steamship Company. It is thought to be Europe's last steam operated winch and it is contained within a railway-style winch house that is category A listed.
When I arrived here, there was no-one to be seen so I thought it was a self-tour. I entered the building and looked around... within about 10 minutes a volunteer arrived and was surprised to see me inside. I did apologise...but as she pointed out, the door was left open.
It seems I arrived well before opening time. Her partner however had an amazing car which he allowed me to take photos of.
But returning to the building... it opened in 1902 and finally fell out of use circa 1989. Following a £620,000 restoration project the Balloch slipway complex was officially reopened by the Princess Royal in 2006.
I found it quite interesting to visit and it's one of a few things in the area, so make a day of it.
When I arrived here, there was no-one to be seen so I thought it was a self-tour. I entered the building and looked around... within about 10 minutes a volunteer arrived and was surprised to see me inside. I did apologise...but as she pointed out, the door was left open.
It seems I arrived well before opening time. Her partner however had an amazing car which he allowed me to take photos of.
But returning to the building... it opened in 1902 and finally fell out of use circa 1989. Following a £620,000 restoration project the Balloch slipway complex was officially reopened by the Princess Royal in 2006.
I found it quite interesting to visit and it's one of a few things in the area, so make a day of it.
Written 29 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allan R
Cumbernauld, UK51 contributions
May 2019 • Family
A must visit for anyone with an interest in engineering. A superb example of a steam driven winch which enables large vessels to be removed from the Loch for maintenance purposes
Written 29 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard J
2 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
We went to view the Maid of the Loch but noticed this building on the way. The very welcoming volunteers opened up for us, even though it was midweek, showed us around and even put on a video for us. Really interesting. Well worth a visit if you are in Ballock whether you are going to see the Maid or not. It does complete the story of the Maid.
Written 23 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing