Inveraray bid farewell to SS Arctic Penguin on Saturday as the historic three masted sailing ship, which has spent over two decades on Inveraray Pier as a Maritime Museum, sailed off, under her own steam, for refurbishment at Barrow-in-Furness.

The Viscount Christopher Wright of Warmingham, Cheshire, bought the vessel on Christmas Eve 2015. His intention is to carry out a full restoration of the ship and then sail it around the coast of Great Britain for years to come.

In recent months Viscount Christopher and his team of enthusiastic volunteers have stripped the interior of the ship in readiness for her restoration.

She finally sailed away with escort vessel The Venture of Liverpool and progressed down Loch Fyne and then the Irish Sea, arriving in Barrow the following day.

There she was greeted by the tug Kamsar from Bay Towage of Barrow  and an enthusiastic crowd of onlookers positioned near the lifeboat station on the Barrow approaches headland.

Lord Wright reported that SS Arctic Penguin had  'acquitted herself very well, for the grand old lady that she is'.

He added: "She looks quite at home on her new quay. The facilities provided by Associated British Ports are just what we’ve been looking for. The Harbour Master, Guy Lockwood, and his team have been exceptionally helpful and the people of Barrow seem pleased that this Historic Ship has taken up residence."

Read more in this week's Dunoon Observer

Candidates for the 11 wards in Argyll and Bute have been announced, and campaigning will soon begin for Scottish Government local elections.

The Standard offers readers a guide to all the candiates standing in the wards of Bute, Cowal and Dunoon, as well as a reminder for voting information.

Scottish Water (SW) hosted two drop-in events last week, on the Shore and in Toward.

They were hoping to engage with local residents to inform them of the upcoming upgrade to the existing sewer network.

The work is part of a £5m investment in the sewer network across the Firth of Clyde over the next 12 months.

A PACKED public meeting agreed to give health chiefs a chance to consider proposals to safeguard the future of a threatened Dunoon care home. Around 100 attended the Monday meeting, organised by Dunoon Community Council, at Dunoon Grammar School.

Speakers Kenneth Matheson of Dunoon Community Council, Michael Russell MSP and Max Barr of Struan Lodge Development Group spoke to plans to save the valued facility, and urged the community to give the health board a chance to consider proposals laid out by Mr Barr.

THE former head teacher at St Mun’s Primary School in Dunoon faces a hearing which could see her struck off the teaching register.