The Firth of Clyde effectively marks the boundary between the Scottish "Highlands" and the "Lowlands" in the western side of the country. The Clyde Estuary, which once took large cargo vessels to the once mighty port of Glasgow and was the gateway to the world for the countless ships built on the river's shores in the city, opens out into the broader Firth and the first main resort is Dunoon. Although Dunoon is actually on the mainland, the short sea crossing takes you to the gateway to the highlands and western isles, but the trip by road is a very long one to the Cowal peninsula on which Dunoon is situated. Dunoon has been a popular resort since the mid 19th century and is still one of the busiest ports of call for Waverley.

Leaving Dunoon, Waverley normally heads south towards the island of Bute. Beind her is a view up towards Loch Long, where one arm of the firth penetrates fjord-like into the increasingly highland scenery, with steep forested slopes and rising peaks providing a real sense of "being away from it all".

Rothesay is probably the main resort on the Firth. The capital of the Isle of Bute has a castle which is one remnant of a long history which tells of the area's original uneasy relationship with the powers which resided on the mainland. The gaelic-speaking western areas retained a spiritual independence for much of their history, although Rothesay no longer represents anything but the favoured destination for day-trippers from Glasgow.

The Isle of Bute nestles closely alongside the Argyll shoreline and at its north, the narrows it formes are known as the Kyles of Bute. In this photo, Waverley rests at Tighnabruaich, with the narrowest point of the Kyles not far in front of her. Only a collection of houses in a remote landscape, Tighnabruaich's name reminds one that thus really is old gaelic country even though it is makes a comfortable sail for the excusionist from Glasgow or the mainland coast.

Now a regular Sunday destination, the small village of Locranza lies on the north-western shore of the Isle of Arran. The steamer pier fell into disrepair after services ended around 40 years ago, but in the early 1990s, a new jetty was built to accommodate Waverley. For such a small place, traffic can be busy when Waverley calls and meets up with the local car ferry which, in summer months, shuttles cars and passengers over to the Kintyre peninsula, which shelters the maze of waterways making up the Firth of Clyde from the Atlantic ocean beyond.