The One Hour Sailing to Orkney | Pentland Ferries | Gills Bay-St. Margaret’s Hope

There are three means of crossing the Pentland Firth from Caithness on the north coast of Scotland to Orkney. In 2009, Pentland Ferries introduced mv Pentalina, a custom built cataraman to operate their crossing from Gills Bay - St. Margaret’s Hope. Fast forward 10 years and a new, bigger vessel has been constructed to operate this route - mv Alfred. What can you expect to find on board? On Wednesday 27th November I took my first trip on the new vessel.
#orkney #pentlandferries #ferries #travel #scotland #caithness

[@russmclean2395]

Excellent video thanks Tim. The owner, Andrew Banks and the very decent folk at Pentland Ferries are helping Arran islanders and other west coast islands overcome severe ferry shortages by lending the MV Alfred to us. A few folk are a bit cautious about loading/unloading their cars. Your video really helps that by showing the bow loop where it is easy to drive around. Also it should be noted as some folk mentioned the charter costs. That INCLUDES FULL CREW WAGES AND ALL THE FUEL FOR THE FERRY FOR NINE MONTHS. Pus the costs of keeping the ferry MCA compliant and the dry docking costs. After all that has been paid, there ain’t much charter money left over. Meanwhile the Orcadians are short a ferry but managing without any grumble. That is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED by fellow islanders on the West Coast. One last thing, MV Alfred has a LOT of Orcadian wall maps and information aboard. So in a good karma sort of way, I reckon Orkney will get a tourist boost from lots of west coast folk 🙂.

[@Timstravels01]

Thank you so much, I’m so pleased my wee video is of some help. In my view MV Alfred is a cracking vessel and I hope it helps ease some of the challenges Calmac have sadly been experiencing.

[@pstilliow]

It's great to see the ALFRED in service as I was involved in the build and also the Pentalina build

[@Timstravels01]

Absolutely. She’s a bonny vessel and the Pentalina has served Orkney well.

[@shannonwilson8231]

Thank you for this upload, I am using the ferry soon for the first time and was very nervous about driving on with my car but you showed exactly how it works so I feel much better about it.

[@Timstravels01]

I'm glad the video helped and I hope you have a fantastic time.

[@calcitewyvern]

It being leased to cal arc now, but the pentalina being used again till the 9month leas was over had a engine problem :(

[@calcitewyvern]

Cal Mac ferries*

[@calcitewyvern]

Lease*

[@calcitewyvern]

The Alfred is being leased to Calmac and they are using the pentalina again, but the pentalina has had a engine problem.*

[@Timstravels01]

Calmac and Pentland Ferries are having a time of it just now.

[@calcitewyvern]

Well, in fact, Andrew banks the owner of Pentland ferries is my uncle…. Ant believe the problem with the Pentalina

[@arwenkeleher6528]

I do love lobster 🦞 A cray fish from the local river is a good substitute.. great video ! ☺️

[@Timstravels01]

Thanks for watching! I was a bit cheeky putting the seafood comment on their but I couldn’t resist. 😂

[@jackduthie5303]

Hi, don’t know if your still on this channel but was the boat rocky or unstable because I know what the North Sea can be like and I was thinking of going but I’m not great with boats?

[@Timstravels01]

Good question. That particular stretch of water can be rough as a number of tides meet. Generally you’ll be fine if there’s not a westerly wind. Keep an eye on the weather forecast. It can also be absolutely beautiful. If you’re not great with boats maybe travel spring/summer time. From October onwards can be “fun”. Thanks for watching.

[@jackduthie5303]

@@Timstravels01 might be going in a few weeks just doing some research about it. Thanks for the help 😀👍

[@Timstravels01]

You’ll have a super crossing.

[@jimmac715]

Think I'll stick with the Hamnavoe

[@Timstravels01]

There's nothing wrong with the Hamnavoe. 👍 Thanks for watching.

[@AfrikQ10]

AFCFTA will enable African countries to buy these for their countries

[@Timstravels01]

Thanks for watching. Please forgive my ignorance but what does AFCFTA stand for? I’m very curious to know.

[@cyrilunsworth3195]

Good video except for the music (Too loud).

[@Timstravels01]

Thanks for watching and for the feedback. Much appreciated.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Great video Tim of the new boat , keep these great videos coming !

[@Timstravels01]

Thanks for watching.

[@Cheordig]

Agreed! I thought we were going to hear the wind and waves crashing...

[@billyshearer1]

Food is cheap onboard!

[@Timstravels01]

Very reasonable indeed. Thanks for watching.

[@ericlackford6718]

Pentland ferries bacon sarnies and coffee have always been excellent, even on the old Claymore before the Pentalina was in service. I expect them to be the same quality on the Alfred.

[@Timstravels01]

I felt the food offered during the Claymore days was good value for money. The food offered now is perfectly adequate - you can't go wrong with a bacon sarnie! Thanks for watching.

[@rogermulvaney9533]

Looks like it'll be a big thumbs up for the the dog owners, although I was surprised to see an obligatory duty of passage service imposed on their journey. Let me get this right, they're supposed to have their dog accompanying them while they clean up and dispose of ANY litter ,say an empty can of Coke or a half eaten hot dog which I'm sure Rover would be delighted about, and also report any issues to a member of staff say slips or trips or even a blocked toilet, with said canine accompanying of course ?? 😄

[@Timstravels01]

It does seem a tad OTT. I wonder if “litter” is a euphemism for something else? Thanks for watching!

[@anianoenrique2115]

I'm allergic to seafoods.

[@Timstravels01]

Thanks for watching!