Skye boat gets Hollywood boost

Made of Honour stars Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan

A ferry service that seemed likely to go under just a few years ago has a starring role in a Hollywood film.

Romantic comedy, Made of Honour, starring US actor Patrick Dempsey and Elgin-born Kevin McKidd gets its worldwide release on Friday.

The Isle of Skye ferry and Eilean Donan Castle feature in scenes.

Isle of Skye Ferry Community Interest Company took over the Glenelg to Kylerhea service when its owner looked set to retire without a successor.

Ferry company representatives will join members of those who filmed the West Highland scenes to form a guard of honour with kilts and swords at the Vue Cinema in Inverness on Friday night.

Lottery grant

The purchase of the ferry, Glenahulish, went ahead last year after the Big Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £60,000.

The group had previously won £60,000 worth of funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Skye and Wester Ross.

The link is the only crossing to Skye that is not subsidised.

Routes between Mallaig and Armadale, and between Uig and Tarbert and Lochmaddy, are run by the state-owned Caledonian MacBrayne.

The future of the service, which carries six cars as well as foot passengers, was thrown into doubt when ferryman Roddy MacLeod announced his retirement about four years ago.

Dempsey starred in US medical drama Gray's Anatomy, while McKidd played Lucius Vorenus in television drama series Rome. The film also features American actress Michelle Monaghan.