All credit goes to Phil Graham our Treasurer for compiling this information and helping to put it all together. If you can provide any information or pictures on the history of Leven Cruising Club or perhaps Photographs of the area from the past then please get in touch.

We can trust from history that the inhabitants of Loch Lomond were experienced sailors in order to go about their daily business but any references to the so called good old days tends to loose its gloss when we discover the real life undertones of that period, such as having one public holiday a year. One then wonders how the likes of the old fishing and regatta clubs at Balloch came into existence.

These local maritime skills were more recently put to good alternative use by the emergence of the first steam boat tourist industry on Loch Lomond. The steam boat crews mainly being recruited from the Dalvait of Balloch. Many other local families as a matter of habit, also continued to expand their boating skills and interests which generated a new form of leisure resulting in the creation of the local angling and regatta clubs at Balloch. The same local families established the Leven Cruising Club in Balloch which was constituted circa 1828. Local water sport activities are undoubtedly much older than this as it is well recorded that most of the local families having to access the best means of transport had boats on the river and loch and they clearly enjoyed seasonal outings together including spectating at the Auld Fair of Moss O’ Balloch. This fair drew in many of the sailing fraternity from all parts of Loch Lomond and the rivers Clyde and Leven with the public beaches of Balloch and Drumkinnon traditionally serving as free ports.

The future of the Leven Cruising Club was firmly secured through the acquisition of an old tall ships jolly boat early in 1828. This craft was suitably refitted with the addition of a steam engine, and thereafter named “ The Isabella” in respect of Isabella Stuart, the wife of the first elected Commodore. John Stuart also as the Proprietor of Leven Bank Works encouraged the Block Printers Social Club to expand their family entertainment programme by securing the purchase of this jolly boat and permited them to utilise the necessary existing workshops and skills from his works.

The purchase funds for this cruising club project were immediately raised from the standing kitty of apprentice entrance money.
The old Jolly boat, a caravel built craft, had been towed from Greenock to Dumbarton by steamer as a first real hands on club activity, she was then drawn up the river leven to Balloch using the public tow path. On completion of the restoration work “ The Isabella” sat on a swinging mooring at Moss O’ Balloch, above the Ferry, she came to be a well-known cruiser on the Loch and as intended she was particularly well renowned for her capacity to carry the men and their families on a regular basis to the Island of Inchmurrin.

John Stuart the club commodore resided in Lennoxbank House and had his own pleasure boat stationed beside his own garden at what is now Blacks boat yard, his business partner Mr Patterson did likewise and their respective children, who all had their own small boats, simply moored with the other club members at the most convenient sheltered places on the river. Local vandalism was an unlikely event then, coincidently more recently Stewart Davidson who also became commodore lived in the very same house as our first.

The Lindsay family long established in Balloch were old hands in building Barges for use on the Loch and River and had personal craft on the Leven as did the McAllasters of Dalvait Mill who built fishing boats and racing skiffs at Balloch before starting up their own boat yard in Dumbarton

Duncan Graham was another founder member of the Leven Cruising Club and perhaps valued more than most for a variety of reasons, partly emanating from his favourable marriage to Mailly McIntyre of the Ferry of Balloch in 1803, and partly from his wide social contacts as Keeper of the Deer Park on Inchmurrin. In accordance with the popular local custom of the day it was considered to be Duncan’s perk and privilege to serve illicit whisky and other refreshments to visitors on the Castle Green of Inchmurrin, he was simply catering to the growing tourist industry but without causing much negative impact on the environment. The ruins of their island cottage can still be seen a stones throw north of the Old Castle.

Members at Inchmurrin, where they were regularly treated to a dram

The families of McIntyre of the Ferry Hill (Now Balloch Railway Station), and Glen & Walker, the successive Feurs of Balloch Inn and Balloch Ferry also had some boats for tourist hire as well as having their own boats moored on both sides of the Monkey Island.
James McIntyre was another notorious local whisky maker originally from Luss, he quite reluctantly complied to the new whisky tax laws by establishing a licenced home brew still in Burn Street of Old Bonhill and thereafter had little time for boating but he appears to have retained his social membership status to provide the locals with the traditional whisky splits which largely occurred at weddings funerals and Christmas. A regular whip round collection involved as many families as possible to purchase and split a barrel or two of the white spirit between the villagers. This was done in the name of innocent fun but at times it resulted in the odd recorded fatality, intoxicated victims drowning or being killed by falling into the Dalvait Ditch. So be warned not to be tempted to participate if invited.

John Barr the local artist of Dalvait and son of another founder Member, informs us in his extensive journal, that a very large number of the boating fraternity sailed from all over the Loch to join the Balloch contingent, who had chartered a steam boat to attend Auld Duncan Graham’s wake at the church of Inchcailloch, no doubt all in attendance had a keen intent of scoffing any remnants of his whisky stash.

The Nairn family, long residing on land which is was for many years represented by the Esso Garage at Balloch had their pleasure boats moored in the public area just north of Balloch Ferry. Granny Nairn of Dalvait, not to be outdone, rowed her fishing boat from Balloch to Inchmurrin, but not for the whisky, but simply to collect her regular supply of free firewood which was permitted by special arrangement between her and the keeper. Her son had already served time in the Tollbooth of Dumbarton but was only to be released and viewed as a local hero on paying the statutory £20 fine for his illicit whisky activities. It was apparently in his interest as a businessman losing money, to pay the fine immediately while the rest of his friends and neighbours could not. Some locals appear to have suffered the alternative statutory penalty of 4 months imprisonment for simply having been caught enjoying what they considered their hereditary tax free tipple. The idea of paying the tipple tax clearly prevailed in the end.

McAlpine, another well-known local boating family formerly of the Haldane Mill and other local farms before 1653. Their renowned sailing on Loch Lomond led Big Jamie McAlpine into secure employment as the pilot (tiller man) of the Balloch steam boat Marion. The captain being James Glen, son of the new keeper of the Balloch Hotel and Ferry. The Steward of the Marion was also a local man from Jamestown named William Guthrie, his wife prepared all the food every day for the passengers. Willie Guthrie became the 2nd Captain of the Marion when Glen jumped ship to join the Lady of the Lake which was owned by a rival company on the west bank of the river leven. The Lady of the Lake failed to sail on stormy days but the Marion could always at least reach the hospitality of Auld Duncan and Maillie at Inchmurrin, most often with Big McAlpine being thrown about while trying to keep the Marion on a straight course in rough weather. The McAlpine family were then also residing in one of the cottages at Granny Nairns Building at the top end of Dalvait Road, the building still survives today and is known as “The Dog House Bar”.

Granny Nairns Cottage now the Doghouse Bar

The Leven Crusing Club broke into separate smaller units as a result of the first Great War. An aerial photograph dated July 1925 shows a vast array of local pleasure craft moored on both sides of the River Leven from Lennoxbank right up to the old Balloch castle moat. A contemporary council led survey reveals the Leven Cruising Club, then described as The House Boat and Leven Cruising Club, with over 126 boats and 350 members who freely utilised their public rights to moorings on the whole of River Leven. Demand for mooring spaces increased again mainly at random and management of the river became a bit of a problem for a number of years, thankfully this was largely resolved by Ian Campbell MP for Dumbarton who thirty years ago strongly campaigned and legally secured variable levels of management autonomy and redevelopment for a number of the old local water based sports clubs.

Some of the many houseboats that were moored near Monkey island

The freedom of navigation and port, as a valued custom and asset, bridging the medieval use down to the present time, continued to be enjoyed largely under the banner of the Leven Cruising Club. The preservation and protection of these rights is an inherent part of the Leven Cruising Club constitution and it is quite disappointing to find that the chief officers presently in charge of the development of the national park show clear intention of attempting to commercialise some of these public rights and public access amenities as a possible means of financing their own future administrative activities.