Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Surely a ferry of our own is not too much to ask?

Would a restored Rosyth passenger ferry not help the Scottish economy?
Would a restored Rosyth passenger ferry not help the Scottish economy?

The Hull to Zeebrugge ferry carries all sorts on board families from the Midlands, cyclists from Humberside, local school parties and Hell’s Angels chapters from the north of England and Wales.

There are usually a few Scots, too but not as many as you’ll find on the Newcastle to Ijmuiden route, a slightly shorter drive at this end of the holiday expedition.

What you won’t find is Scottish tourists embarking on a passenger ferry from anywhere in Scotland, since the country’s only service from Rosyth was withdrawn nearly four years ago.

The route had proved popular but was scrapped when its operators, the Danish line DFDS Seaways, decreed it “not profitable enough” and switched to freight-only crossings to the continent.

You can’t blame a private company for trying to turn a profit, nor for rationalising its business when it proves commercially unviable.

However, as the summer exodus begins and all those wanting to drive abroad head south of the border, it does seem remiss that Scots should have to rely on England for their transportation needs. We are now very well served by international airports and most people live within easy reach of Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen, or even the smaller airport in Dundee.

Rail services are variable but the East Coast or the cross country lines will deposit you in London eventually, from where the Eurostar provides speedy access to Europe (maybe not this week).

It should not be beyond our government-funded tourist agency to restore a ferry service for holiday makers. Scots travelling overseas and visitors coming to Scotland who, if they cross the Channel, must drive the length of England to get here by car.

This is not just bad for tourism, it is a gaping hole in our infrastructure that should have been addressed long ago, especially by an administration seeking separation from the UK and desperate to show it can stand on its own feet.

There was an initial outcry from Fife politicians when DFDS axed its service. Gordon Brown, then prime minister, said “an important link between Scotland and the continent” had been lost.

However, the SNP transport minister at the time, Stewart Stevenson, said it was a matter for the shipping company and washed his hands of the problem and his successor, Keith Brown, has other priorities.

He did, however, ask the operators to keep the possibility of reinstating the passenger service under review.

DFDS said it had not totally ruled it out but that was more than three years ago and we’re still driving to England.

Having tried every mode of escape with my family and concluded the car is the most convenient and the cheapest way to travel to and from the continent I confess to a vested interest in a Scottish passenger ferry.

However, it must be an affordable one. The crossing from Rosyth was prohibitive for many Scots, who found it cost less to drive south for England’s more economical alternatives.

“Even adding the fuel to Dover and an overnight stop or two, it was still no contest,” one caravaner told the UK campsite website.

Another said he was quoted £879 (this was four years ago) for his van, “more than twice the price of the Hull ferry”.

There was a government injection of £1.8 million to help launch the Rosyth route and DFDS would undoubtedly expect some kind of subsidy to restore the service for passenger traffic.

I haven’t done the sums but if there is £750,000 for battle re-enactments and countless millions for promoting independence (the Nationalists’ White Paper alone cost £1.3 million), there must be plenty of money put by for the Government’s preferred projects.

Could not some of this largesse be redistributed to get the ferry up and running again?

Politicians are probably too busy to take the slow boat and some may not even realise we don’t have one.

It may not be a vote winner and it may not be everybody’s way to go but a ferry of our own is not much to ask in a year when we are talking about independence.