THE paddle steamer Waverley brought down the curtain on her 2024 cruising programme at the weekend - and immediately followed it up with a visit to a somewhat unusual location.

Her final public sailings of the year included a call at Kilcreggan on Saturday en route to Dunoon, Loch Long, the Holy Loch and Arrochar, roughly retracing the route for which the famous ship was built for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1947.

But after her final cruise of 2024 on Sunday, the Waverley was back in action on Monday for another visit to Kilcreggan - though any villagers casting a glance towards the pier could have been forgiven for wondering if they'd been transported hundreds of miles to the north.

The historic pier was renamed Stromness for the making of the film Borges And Me, set in the 1970s, about the adventures of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, with the Waverley chartered for the occasion.

The 'Kilcreggan' name board was replaced and a 'Thurso Ferry' sign erected for the filming - though any member of the public hoping for a further-flung destination than usual from the pier had to make do with the regular CalMac ferry crossing to Gourock.

A photo capturing the moment was shared with the Advertiser by local resident and Waverley Steam Navigation Company board member John Beveridge, who was made an MBE in the King's Birthday honours list earlier this year for his services to paddle steamer preservation and to charity.

The Waverley visited Ardnagal Pier near Arrochar on her penultimate public cruise of 2024 - but she was back in action on Monday for a filming charter in which she visited Kilcreggan, dressed up as Stromness for the occasion.The Waverley visited Ardnagal Pier near Arrochar on her penultimate public cruise of 2024 - but she was back in action on Monday for a filming charter in which she visited Kilcreggan, dressed up as Stromness for the occasion. (Image: Stephen Lipton) The Waverley has now gone into lay-up for the winter, with staff members and volunteers set to spend the next few months carrying out a host of tasks on board to prepare her for her 2025 cruising programme, due to begin in the middle of May.

Waverley Excursions, which operates the ship, says it plans to release full details of the vessel's 2025 sailing programme area-by-area early in the new year.

May of next year will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Waverley's first cruise in preservation following her sale by Caledonian MacBrayne to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in 1974.

The ship has never actually visited the real Stromness, with the closest she got being on three circumnavigations of Great Britain in the early 1980s.

Borges And Me stars Peter Mullan, Alan Cumming, Luis Gnecco and Fionn Whitehead and tells the story of a young student, Jay Parini, chauffeuring the renowned writer around the Highlands in 1970.

It's directed by Marc Turtletaub from a screenplay by Oren Moverman and is a co-production between the UK, Belgium, and The Netherlands, financed by Big Beach.