The Aeron Express was the name used for a hand-powered aerial

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

that was built to ferry people across the harbour in the

West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...

coastal town of

Aberaeron Aberaeron (), previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. Located on the coast between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, its resident population was 1,274 in the 2021 census. The name of the town i ...

. The ferry was first built in 1880 to ferry labourers from the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

on Quay Parade, to the

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

quay on Lon Yr Hafen, in the absence of a bridge across the

River Aeron The River Aeron () is a small river in Ceredigion, Wales, that flows into Cardigan Bay at Aberaeron. It is also referred to on some older maps as the River Ayron. Etymology The name of the river means "battle" or "slaughter" and derives from th ...

History

The original transport, on the principle of the

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

, was constructed by Captain John Evans in 1885, after a flood had destroyed the former road bridge. The single-seat carriage was enlarged to carry two people, and later four or more.Aberaeron in the past
Photographs at Aberaeron West Wales It operated well into the twentieth century and was eventually replaced with a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

20th-century reproduction

The ferry was re-created by the then-owner of

Aberystwyth Cliff Railway The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway () opened on 1 August 1896. It is a long funicular railway in Aberystwyth and is the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles, after the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. Since November 1987, the Aber ...

Clr Bob Griffin (ex Mayor of

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

) in 1987, predominantly as a tourist attraction, and ran until 1994. During this period, the ferry ran from the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

bank holiday weekend until the end of September (the traditionally busy times of year for Aberaeron). On either quay, a hexagonal wooden hut housed sales of tickets and merchandise for the ferry. At the end of the season, the ferry and supporting structures were dismantled and stored for the winter in the nearby village of

Llanon Llanon (; also spelled Llan-non) is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It adjoins the village of Llansantffraid, Ceredigion, Llansantffraed on the coast of Cardigan Bay, north of Aberaeron and south of Aberystwyth on the A487 road. It is situate ...

. The ferry utilised a single supporting steel cable that bore the weight of the carriage, with a looped drive cable that was driven by two hand-powered wheels, one at each side of the harbour. At peak times, operators were placed at both sides to wind the carriage, but it was attended by a single operator during quieter parts of the summer tourist season. Limited by the strength of the operator, the modern-day version could carry up to four men at a time. Tourists often believed it was powered by a hidden electric motor, or that it went to destinations other than the other side of the harbour. When the main cable was tensioned, it prevented access to the inner harbour for boats with high masts, and had to be lowered on occasion to allow yachts to enter and leave the inner harbour. The ferry was featured in an HTV program in 1993, presented by

Siân Lloyd Siân Mary Lloyd (born 3 July 1958) is a Welsh television presenter and meteorologist from Maesteg. She was the United Kingdom's longest-serving female weather forecaster, having appeared on ITV Weather for 24 years, from 1990 until 2014. ...

. This footage was used again in an HTV program 'Stories from the street' in approximately 2003. At the 2007 Aberaeron Carnival, the 1990s carriage body was paraded as a float attraction, but it has not been seen in public since. Although the ferry remained disused , the substantial reinforced concrete footings were still in place on the Liverpool quay, and directly opposite on the Birkenhead quay. The possibility of resurrecting the Aeron Express as a tourist attraction is a regular topic of conversation in the local community.

References

{{Reflist Ferry transport in Wales