Carmarthen Bay Ferries Community Interest Company known as Carmarthen Bay Ferries operates a

Ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, offering scenic crossings and boat trips on the

River Towy The River Towy (, ; also known as the River Tywi) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teif ...

between the villages of

Ferryside Ferryside () is a village in the Community (Wales), community of St Ishmael (Carmarthenshire), St Ishmael, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is south of Carmarthen near the mouth of the River Tywi. Originally a ferry crossing, then becoming a fishing ...

and

Llansteffan Llansteffan, is a village and community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen. Description The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...

. The boat "Glansteffan" is a specially designed

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

, which features retractable wheels for easy access to the shore.

History

Records indicate that a ferry service between the coastal communities of Ferryside and Llansteffan operated in some form or another since 1170 in the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The service was an important transportation link, carrying both goods and pilgrims en-route to

St Davids St Davids or St David's (, , "David's house”) is a cathedral city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun and is part of the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wales's ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

. Following improvements to road and rail links during the 20th century, the ferry service ceased to operate in 1948, leaving walkers and cyclists with an 18 mile trip up the estuary and down the other side. The current ferry service run by has been in operation since 2018. The founding directors; Professor Kenton Morgan, Dr W Lesley Jones, Gerald Howells, Dr David Hunter, Robert Bamforth, Christopher Jones, and Mark Kessell were successful in applying for a £300,000 grant from the Coastal Communities Fund.

'Glansteffan' - today's ferry

Carmarthen Bay Ferries' boat Glansteffan was named by the pupils from the

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Ferryside and Llansteffan, and takes its name from the Welsh for Ferryside (Glan y Fferi) and Llansteffan. The boat was designed by Edgar van Smaalen of Bruce Roberts Europe bv marine architects based in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, she was built by Robust Boats of

and utilises an amphibious wheel system supplied by Sealegs of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and as such is an international collaboration to produce this unique vessel. Glansteffan is equipped with the latest safety and navigational aids, and the ferry crossings are dog-friendly, although dogs are not allowed on the longer boat trips.

Statistics

Source:

Organisational Structure

Carmarthen Bay Ferries is managed and operated by a dedicated team of volunteers and paid professionals. The structure includes: * Volunteer Directors: The board of directors is composed of volunteers who oversee the strategic direction and governance of the ferry service. * Paid Contractor Skippers: The ferry is operated by professionally qualified and commercially endorsed skippers, who are responsible for the safe navigation and operation of the vessel. * Volunteer Crewmates: Volunteers who assist on the ferry, supporting the skipper and enhancing the passenger experience. * Volunteer Shore Crew: A committed team of volunteers who handle shoreside operations, ensuring the smooth boarding and disembarking of passengers. This blend of volunteers and professionals ensures that Carmarthen Bay Ferries operates efficiently, maintaining high standards of safety and service while fostering a strong community spirit.

Service

Glansteffan operates between

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

to October each year. Outside of school holidays, the service operates Friday, Saturday and Sunday, during school holidays, service is seven days a week. Due to the tidal nature of the Towy estuary, Glansteffan is able to operate 2½ hours each side of

High tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. Typically the first and last 45 minutes of this time are rapid ferry crossings between Ferryside and Llansteffan, passengers are not able to book these crossings. In between the two periods of ferry crossings, longer estuary and river trips are operated with durations ranging from 15 minutes to 60 minutes, (these can be booked in advance on their website) including popular sunset trips. Glansteffan is available to charter for private parties, corporate events, filming and the scattering of ashes.

Carmarthen Bay Ferries in the media

Glansteffan has made a number of appearances in national media including BBC Escape to the Country, ITV Wales Coast & Country and BBC Radio 4, The Patch and airing early 2025, BBC

Wynne Evans James Wynne Evans (born 27 January 1972) is a Welsh opera singer, presenter and actor, known for his role as Gio Compario and latterly himself in Go.Compare insurance adverts on UK television. Evans hosted a regular radio programme on BBC ...

and

Joanna Page Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and presenter, known for portraying List of Gavin & Stacey characters, Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series ''Gavin & Stacey''. She played Dora Spenlow in the David Copperfield (1999 film), ...

: Lost at Sea, and popular

YouTubers A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

, Cruising the Cut and Autoshenigans.

Awards and recognition

2024 - Highly Commended (Best attraction/guest experience) in the Carmarthenshire Tourism Association Awards. 2022 - Listed by the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

as one of the world's most spectacular ferry crossings.{{Cite web , date=2022-08-17 , title=The world's most spectacular ferry crossings , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/inspiration/ferry-routes-ships-best-travel-sea-b2142405.html , access-date=2024-11-15 , website=The Independent , language=en