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Though there
had been a track to Inverness, it was 1819 before there was a road
capable of carrying a coach and horses. The first coach to arrive
at Strome contained Robert Southey, the poet, who accompanied his
friedn John Rickman, Secretary to the Commissioners for Roads, and
James Hope, their Scottish Secretary. Unfortunately, when they reached
Strome there was no sign of a ferry boat and they had to return
the ways they came. At this time and for over a hundred years to
come the landowner was responsible for providing the piers and boats.
There could have been little, if any, profit, until suddenly all
was changed with the coming of the railway.
In 1870 the
railway was extended to Strome Ferry on the South side of the loch.
Passengers for the islands and other places en route joined passenger
boats on the newly erected piers.
Fishermen took
advantage of this speedy form of transport to send their catch to
Billingsgate and the scene was now one of intense activity. Indeed
so important was the fish traffic that the Railway Company decided
to run Sunday trains. This offended the local population who observed
the Fourth Commandment and the situation resulted in the Strome
Ferry Riot of May 1883.
By 1893 it was
decided to continue the railway to Kyle of Lochalsh. This difficult
feat of engineering was completed in four years and in November
1897 Strome Ferry became just another station on the line to Kyle
of Lochalsh. Eventulaly the peirs were dismantled. One the north
side, the proprietor decided to build an hotel and a condition of
the lease was that the ferry crossing be maintained. Strome House
is today a private residence but its proximity to the pier is due
to its original purpose.
Gradually as
the decades passed and more people penetrated the area by car it
became necessary to replace the old boats by motorised versions,
then by bigger boats. However, after the last war traffic increased
rapidly and, particularly during the summer, queues began to form.
People's expectations had changed as well and a 'daylight only'
hours ferry was not longer acceptable. A solution had to be found.
The result was
that a road was built round the south side of the loch following
the railway line linking Strathcarron and Strome. The road was opened
on the 5th October 1970 by Gordon Campbell, the Scottish Secretary,
and the ferry boats were laid up.
Today, the deserted
piers on either side are left to remind us of a piece of local history
Written by Helen
Murchison with drawings by Vicky Stonebridge |
