After missing an important week during the Glasgow Fair holiday due to a technical problem, the Waverley returned to action on Sunday. 

The famous paddlesteamer has been experiencing an intermittent fault with her air pump.

A spokeswoman for Waverley Excursions said: "We had to take the ship out of service to undertake a repair to ensure that we can carry out her planned summer programme without further disruption.

"The air pump is an integral part of Waverley’s heritage steam engine and without it she cannot operate.

"There was some wear showing within the pump and the parts have been taken out of the ship to be recoated. This process has taken longer than anticipated and it was refitted in time for the Waverley to take passengers for a Great Day Out from Sunday July 30th."

Anyone who has booked for a sailing which has not operated has been contacted and they are able to transfer their booking to a later date or obtain a refund. The website and answering service are updated so that those who have not booked, but intend to travel can check for updates.

The spokeswoman added: "We have spoken with many of our disappointed passengers and are grateful for their ongoing support of our charitable operation. It was not our intention to inconvenience them and our engineers were working to resolve the issue."

Waverley is the world’s last sea-going paddle steamer. Named after Sir Walter Scott’s first novel, the vessel was built on the Clyde in 1946 and launched in 1947.

The Waverley has been berthed at Largs Pier during its recent hiatus, and sails from Largs round Ailsa Craig on Monday (today).
For more details, go here.