Scottish ferries

Summary

The ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has always had a dash of Scottish spirit. But this spring CalMac is facing a challenge with a rival company bidding to take control of the lifeline ferry routes in the Hebrides and Clyde regions.

hidden europe 48 / Snippet / By hidden europe

Look out for news in May this year as the Scottish government reveals which company will secure the contract to operate the major ferry routes in the Clyde and to the Hebrides.

Incumbent operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac for short), which is state owned, is facing a challenge from English outsourcing conglomerate Serco, which already has transport interests in Scotland. In 2012 Serco took over the ferry routes from the mainland to Orkney and Shetland which had been run by CalMac under the NorthLink brand. Last year, Serco was awarded the contract for the Anglo-Scottish Caledonian Sleeper overnight rail services.

This is just an excerpt. The full text of this article is not yet available to members with online access to hidden europe. Of course you can read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 48.

Editorial hidden europe 48
Editorial

By hidden europe

Welcome to the 48th issue of hidden europe magazine. In this issue we visit the Belgian book town of Redu, explore the chapels of Finistère and Dungeness Foreland, and move underground to discover Malta's military history. All that and much more besides.

Read on
Redu: that novel idea
Feature

By Paul Scraton

Tucked away in the hill country of southern Belgium is the town of Redu. On the face of it, Redu is much the same as other towns in the Ardennes region. Except that, in Redu, the printed word is especially cherished and valued. Paul Scraton invites us to join him as he explores Belgium's premier 'book town'.

Read on
Finistère: land of a thousand chapels
Feature

By Patricia Stoughton

In the north-west corner of Brittany, an area known as Finistère, dozens of ancient chapels attest to the erstwhile importance of faith in the region. Celtic myth and Catholic belief underpin life and community in this remote part of France. Patricia Stoughton introduces us to the astounding richness and variety of chapels on or close to the coasts of Finistère.

Read on
Valletta's subterranean secrets
Feature

By Victor Paul Borg

Dive into the streets of Valletta and you'll discover one side of the Maltese capital. Climb up to the city ramparts for a very different view of Valletta. But Victor Paul Borg believes that the only way to understand the military history of Valletta is to venture underground. Join Victor as he explores a subterranean warren under the fortress capital of Malta.

Read on
The Nessers: exploring a Kentish edgeland
Feature

By Nicky Gardner

Dungeness Foreland offers an improbable touch of wilderness in south-east England. The great shingle spreads at Dungeness on the coast of Kent create a severe and uncompromising landscape. The Nessers are the locals who call this area home. Join us on a journey through this extraordinary outpost of England.

Read on
What colour is your flag when it burns?
Borderpost

By Nicky Gardner

Kosovo is arguably Europe's newest country. Most nations now recognising the leadership of the territory as being a legitimate national government, though even some European Union members are still withholding recognition. Kosovo still has internal divisions - just as there were over 100 years ago when Edith Durham first set foot in Kosovo.

Read on
Balkan identities
People

By Nicky Gardner

So you think you know the key ethnic groups in Kosovo? Serbs and Albanians, to be sure. But life on the ground is more complicated. Who are the Gorani? Then there is a trio of ethnic groups who are locally referred to as the RAE community, viz. Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians. We explore the ethnic mosaic of modern Kovoso.

Read on
Understanding the socialist city
Streetscapes

By Nicky Gardner

Progressive socialist designs for homes and cities are no longer in fashion. Yet Europe's streetscapes still attest to the grand schemes of yesteryear, when architects and planners envisaged a society that stood opposed to capitalism. We go in search of some first-class cityscapes which were the product of communist Europe.

Read on
Flagship of red Vienna: Karl Marx-Hof
Communities

By Duncan JD Smith

The well-being of residents, communal facilities and the affordability of housing have been the hallmarks of Vienna's social housing programmes for almost a century. Urban explorer Duncan JD Smith leads us to the 'Ringstrasse des Proletariats': Vienna's Karl Marx-Hof.

Read on
Silent witness
Special spaces

By Nicky Gardner

Discover the extraordinary story of how an Italian village was sacrificed to provide hydro-electric power for Switzerland. The evacuation of Curon Venosta (or Graun-im-Vinschgau in German) was a tragedy. Today the church campanile rises serenely from the waters of the reservoir which flooded a remote valley in the Italian Alps.

Read on
Playing the Welsh card
Identities

By Nicky Gardner

Welsh settlers landed on the Patagonian coast in 1865 to create Y Wladfa (literally 'the colony') in the Chubut Valley. Within little more than a generation, most of the Welsh migrants had moved inland or left South America altogether. But a veneer of faux-Welshness is still evident in the Chubut Valley town of Gaiman (and perhaps a touch of genuine Welshness too). Playing the Welsh card, we discover, can be a commercial asset in Patagonia.

Read on
Hay fever: the story of European book towns
Snippet

By hidden europe

What do Wünsdorf-Waldstadt in eastern Germany, Bellprat in Catalonia and Hay-on-Wye in Wales all have in common? They all style themselves as 'book towns'. Across Europe and beyond, small towns are discovering the appeal of 'the Hay model' as they jump on the bandwagon set rolling by Richard Booth in Hay-on-Wye.

Read on
Kosovo travel notes
Snippet

By hidden europe

It's perfectly sensible to travel from Budapest to Thessaloniki through Kosovo. But it's unwise to attempt the journey in the reverse direction. Find out why in our notes on travelling through Kosovo.

Read on
From Austerlitz to Waterloo
Snippet

By hidden europe

So where is the Trafalgar which gave its name to the Battle of Trafalgar? And where is the Blenheim after which Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is supposedly named? We look at a few European place names which feature larger-than-life in the historical record.

Read on
Mystical France
Snippet

By hidden europe

Scottish publisher Findhorn has always had an eye on the offbeat and alternative. Many travellers place great stock on their Camino pilgrimage guides. Now Findhorn has launched a new guide to France. We dip into the pages of Mystical France.

Read on
Scottish ferries
Snippet

By hidden europe

The ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has always had a dash of Scottish spirit. But this spring CalMac is facing a challenge with a rival company bidding to take control of the lifeline ferry routes in the Hebrides and Clyde regions.

Read on
Preview hidden europe 49
Preview

By hidden europe

A look ahead at hidden europe 49 which will be published on 15 July 2016.

Read on

hidden europe 48

Scottish ferries

Summary

Editorial

Feature

Feature

Feature

Feature

Borderpost

People

Streetscapes

Communities

Special spaces

Identities

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Preview

Pure theatre: homage to Lake Lucerne

Marking Time: New Train Services for 2020

An Essex backwater: Discovering Harwich