5
Alex McAlexFace 39 months ago
Dog friendly, people friendly, very reasonably priced, stunning views.
Called up on the morning to ask if we could rent a boat, and enquired to check whether it would be possible to attempt putting our dog onboard before committing as this was her first boat ride. Both our requests were met, so we head off from Edinburgh.
When I arrived, there was nobody in the office, but I quickly found the ticket lady painting one of the boats. She arranged for our boat to be moved from one dock to another so we could try getting the dog onboard. The reason being, the initial dock had some mesh wiring for shoe grip on the ground which wouldn't have been pleasant for doggo. I thought this was a nice thought.
Our dog jumped into the boat without any problems, and the person who helped us in was friendly and attentive, he ensured we didn't slip when coming in and out of the boat.
I was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the motor boat rental cost was.. £48 for 2 hours. Loch Lomond is more than double that!
The boat itself is very basic but does the job perfectly, the hull was dry, the roof was very handy as it was relatively windy, the engine is fitted onboard at the back. Before leaving, the ticket lady explained how to operate the boat, i.e. reverse, neutral, forward, steering, engine start up/kill. In terms of speed, it doesn't break any records, but still allowed us to get halfway across the loch, have lunch, and turn back - all in 2 hours.
On the way back, staff directed us to the right dock, and helped us out the boat. Our £30 deposit was refunded the next working day.
All in all, this was a superb experience, and we will 100% be back.