Perth’s 2017 boating season will feature newly-installed pontoons and a host of activities including Tay trips and free taster sessions.
The Boating on the Tay scheme launches with a fun-packed day on Sunday, June 25, and is the latest stage of a project between Perth and Kinross Council and the Tay and Earn Trust aimed at promoting the city’s waterway.
It has been brought forward as a result of £700,000 of funding from the Big Lottery’s Coastal Communities Fund, and has included the installation of two seasonal pontoons – one near the Fergusson Gallery in Perth and the other at Willowgate Activity Centre.
Perth city centre will be transformed into a traditional seaside resort from noon to 7pm with a ‘beach in the city’ with buckets, spades and deckchairs, a surf machine, inflatable volleyball, table tennis and seaside fairground attractions, including a Punch and Judy show.
Organisers have also lined up taster sessions at Willowgate activity centre on the same day, from 10am to 7pm. People can try sit-on kayaking and canoeing, raft building or stand-up paddle boarding.
Perth and Kinross Provost Dennis Melloy said: “The River Tay is a fantastic asset for the city, but it is a massively under used resource. Both the Inner Tay masterplan and the Perth City Plan highlight the importance of developing opportunities on the river.
“The pontoon scheme is the first important step in delivering the infrastructure to support this.”
“The programme of boat trips offers a great opportunity for tourists and residents to view the city from a different perspective.”
David Clarke, chairman of the Tay and Earn Trust, added: “The River Tay is an important and unique asset for Perth and developing the infrastructure along the Inner Tay to improve access and attract visitors to the area is vital. I am delighted that the pontoons at Willowgate and Fergusson Gallery have now been installed.”
During the July to October boating season there will be three types of sight-seeing trips available — Perth City Centre to Willowgate early morning nature trips, Perth City Centre to Willowgate evening leisure trips and Willowgate to Elcho Castle sight-seeing trips.
Due to the tidal nature of the River Tay at Perth the boat trips will operate during restricted hours between July and October.
