Ferries across waterways - whether by vehicle, foot or both (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[froome]

In the Domesday Book two ferries were recorded crossing here, and for much of the time since there were several ferries crossing. Gravesend Town Council bought the ferry rights in the 1600s and the commander of the fort at Tilbury also managed to gain ferry rights, so until the 19th century two ferries crossed here, one run from each bank. There was a vehicle ferry crossing until 1964 and various proposals for a tunnel to be built from the early 19th century onwards, but this was always considered to be too expensive.

It is a real tragedy that this crossing has now closed. Let's hope funding can be found to get it reinstated soon.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Mods: this (and maybe some above) may be better placed in the foot ferry thread.

I give in: I'm merging them all into one hopefully definitive 'ferries' topic. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Now done. 

Whenever possible, I've preserved the original topic headings here, for clarity and context.

I hope, as ever, that this helps.

CfN 

[JayMac]

Finn and I had a couple of rides on this one last week. It was actually working for a change. Fighting a very strong current on the River Medina, I hadn't realised the chain ferry had side thrusters to help with lining up with the slipways against tidal flows.



Edit. The video thumbnail was chosen by YouTube. A little disconcerting that the AI and algorithms chose him without prompt. Should I be worried about Finn's personal data?!

[bobm]

That was in between a trip on an open top bus, a visit to a distillery, a pub - oh and a coffee!

One plus point.  The burger in the distillery pub didn’t come in the ubiquitous brioche bun.

[Chris from Nailsea]

How does Finn cope with all that intake?   

[grahame]

Finn and I had a couple of rides on this one last week. It was actually working for a change. Fighting a very strong current on the River Medina, I hadn't realised the chain ferry had side thrusters to help with lining up with the slipways against tidal flows.

So that's like a transporter bridge on the water and not suspended above it?

[JayMac]

The Cowes chain ferry has always been known as the Floating Bridge.

The first vessel began service in 1859. Commissioned by the Floating Bridge Company. That company was later purchased by The Isle of Wight Steam Packet Company (today's Red Funnel) who commissioned the second and third vessels in 1882 and 1896.

In 1909 the ferry service was taken over by the local authorities West & East Cowes Urban Councils, passing to successor authorities, Medina Borough Council in 1974, and Isle of Wight Council in 1995.

There have been six vessels under local authority ownership. 'Named' Bridge No.1 to Bridge No.6. The latest, Bridge No.6, entered service in 2017 but, after a catalogue of faults, groundings, and failures, it was announced in March 2024 that it would be replaced.

When Bridge No.6 was due to enter service, Isle of Wight Council sought suggestions from residents to give it a proper name. A petition for Floaty McFloatface garnered over 2,000 signatures. The naming competition was postponed by local elections in 2017 and was never restarted after problems with the vessel started becoming apparent. The vessel remains Bridge No.6. A bridge too far?

[bobm]

The current bridge has proved so unreliable there are now electronic road signs on the outskirts of the town advising whether it is in operation or not.  This has saved council staff going out with A-boards everytime the service is suspended.

[chuffed]

Could this be the start of a lucrative Youtube career for the ubiquitous Finn ?

[JayMac]

I've just learnt of another ferry service in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) thanks to a YouTube channel I subscribe to - Auto Shenanigans. Which incidentally is a great channel if you want to learn quirky facts about the motorways and roads of the UK. Just the right balance of nerdiness and humour I enjoy. The channel features occasional diversions such as this video about an amphibious ferry that crosses the mouth of the River Towy in south west Wales, between Ferryside and Llansteffan.



And the amphibious ferry's website.
https://www.carmarthenbayferries.co.uk/

[Western Pathfinder]

And there is a button expressly for the purpose so I've pressed it Jay

[JayMac]

And there is a button expressly for the purpose so I've pressed it Jay

That's hwicked, sweet, awesome.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Islanders bid a fond farewell to MV Hebridean Isles



One of Scotland's oldest lifeline ferries has been retired after nearly 40 years of service.

With two blasts of its horn, MV Hebridean Isles bade farewell as it left the quay at Stornoway for a final time on Sunday, bound for Glasgow before it goes to the breakers.

For islanders, whose lives are so interwoven with the sea, the ships of Britain's biggest ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne are more than just large lumps of steel and aluminium.

"Heb Isles" leaves behind a ship-shaped hole in the hearts of many former passengers and seafarers who have come to regard it as a trusty old friend.

The ship was given the name of the islands it was destined to serve on a sunny day in July 1985 at the long-gone Cochrane shipyard at Selby, North Yorkshire.

It was a first on two counts - the "lady sponsor" the Duchess of Kent was the first member of the Royal Family to name a CalMac vessel.  And it was the ferry operator's first vessel built outside of Scotland.  Two pipers were sent down to play the Skye Boat Song at the launch ceremony.

Margaret Thatcher was in No 10, Sister Sledge was Number One in the charts - and health and safety rules were somewhat more relaxed than today.  Shipyard workers hammered away the last supporting "shores" and wedges, then ducked and dashed for cover as the huge vessel slid above their heads in a spectacular sideways launch into the River Ouse.

The ship had cost £5.5m - and after a few months of fitting out, it made its maiden voyage off Scotland's west coast in December.  For 15 years it was deployed on the "Uig Triangle" - between Skye, North Uist and Harris - before moving to the Islay crossing, but it has served most of Scotland's sea routes in its time.

Aside from the scheduled sailings, the crew would voluntarily give up their time to put on special "booze cruises" to raise money for island charities.  The first, in 1992, saw a country and western band perform on the car deck, as thousands of pounds were raised to help purchase a breast cancer scanner for the Western Isles.


(News article continues, with more images)

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Islanders bid a fond farewell to MV Hebridean Isles

Thanks for posting that, Chris. I had ... wondered ... whether I should but thought I was probably the only one interested.  RONG! .. 

I wonder that they have enough ships left in the fleet - sort of TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) on water limitations, frugality and late delivery of complex new vehicles.   New Glen Sannox ... when?