
The Cremyll Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the
Hamoaze
The Hamoaze (; ) is an estuarine stretch of the English tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound.
Etymology
The name first appears as ''ryver of Hamose'' in 1588. The first element is thought to refer ...
(the estuary of the
River Tamar
The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...
) from Admirals Hard in Stonehouse,
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
,
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
to
Cremyll
Cremyll (pronounced ) is a small coastal village in the civil parish of Maker-with-Rame, in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Cremyll is on the Rame Peninsula facing Plymouth Sound. The village is about 9 miles by road or 0.5 miles ...
in Cornwall. It is operated by Plymouth Boat Trips, and runs approximately every 30 minutes, with an 8-minute crossing time.
History
The ancient ferry route dates back to at least the 11th century. For hundreds of years the route was worked with rowboats, and with horseboats for carrying livestock, carts and cargo. In 1511 the
Mount Edgecumbe family took control of the ferry; they would keep control for over 400 years.
The original crossing was from Devil's Point to Barnpool. The route from there on the Cornish side took
travellers close to the eventual site of Mt Edgcumbe House and then by a path still deeply cut into the
hillside leading to the north side of Maker Church.
The inconvenience of this route to the Edgcumbes was met by shifting the western terminal of the ferry
to Cremyll about 1730. It would be reasonable to suppose that the road continued then as now to the
westward outside the park. For the attendant effect on West Stonehouse, see below.
When the Royal William Yard was built the eastern terminal was moved from Devil‟s Point to Admiral‟s
Hard.
The Cremyll passage was arduous and dangerous by reason of the current in the days of oar and sail.
Cecilia Fiennes in her “Journey to Cornwall 1698” says:
“From Plymouth I went one mile to Crilby Ferry which is a very hazardous crossing passage by reason of
three tides meeting. Had I known the danger before, I would not have been very willing to have gone it,
not but this is the constant way most people goe and saves several miles riding. I was at least an hour
going over and it was about a mile, but indeed in some places, notwithstanding there was 5 men rowed
and I set my own men to row also, I do believe that we made almost not a step of the way for a quarter of
an hour, but blessed by God I came safely over; but those ferry boats are so wet and the sea is always so
cold to be upon that I never fail to catch cold in a ferry boat as I did this day, having two more ferries to
cross, tho‟ none so bad or half so long as this. Thence to Millbrook, 2 miles, and went all along by the
water and had the full view of the dockyards”.
In 1885 the first steam ferry was introduced, followed by a further six steam launches, culminating in the long running vessels, the second
SS ''Armadillo'' and
SS ''Shuttlecock'' which were introduced in 1924 and 1926.
[Langley, M. & Small, S. ''Estuary & River Ferries of South West England'', Waine Research Publications, 1984]
In 1945 the ferry was taken over by the
Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Co Ltd
The Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Company was a ferry operator on the River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall in England. It was started in 1894, and initially operated a ferry route from Millbrook in Cornwall to Plymouth. It expanded, and event ...
, who rebuilt both of the ferries as motor vessels, renaming the SS ''Armadillo'' MV ''Northern Belle'', which continued on the Cremyll Ferry route. The SS ''Shuttlecock'' was renamed MV ''Southern Belle'', and was used on excursions. During the Millbrook company period many of the other vessels of their fleet were used as relief vessels to the MV ''Northern Belle''.
[Kittridge, A. ''Steamers & Ferries of the River Tamar & Three Towns District'', Twelveheads Press, 2003]
In 1985 the Millbrook company withdrew from the Tamar, and the Cremyll Ferry was transferred to Tamar Cruising, who also bought the MV ''Northern Belle'' and the
MV ''Queen Boadicea II'' from
Dart Pleasure Craft Ltd, the former parent of the Millbrook Company. Tamar Cruising built two new vessels for cruising from the
Mayflower Steps
The Mayflower Steps are close to the site in the Barbican area of Plymouth, south-west England, from which the Pilgrim Fathers are believed to have finally left England aboard the ''Mayflower'' on 6 September 1620, before crossing the Atlanti ...
in Plymouth: the
MV ''Plymouth Sound'' and the
MV ''Plymouth Sound II'', though the latter vessel was sold in 1996. The ''MV Queen Boadicea II'' was sold in 1991. The fleet was increased to three again in 1998 with the purchase of MV ''Tamar Belle'', formerly the MV ''Look Ahead II''. She was replaced by the
MV ''Queen of Helford'' in 2004, which also took the name ''Tamar Belle''. All of these vessels were and are mainly used for cruising and providing relief services on the ferry. MV ''Northern Belle'' continues as the main ferry, after 85 years in service.
[Boyle, I., http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/TamarCremyllFerry.html, referred 2009]
The ferry was operated by Tamar Cruising from 1985 to 2017. In 2008 Plymouth City Council decided to retender the crossing, and Tamar Cruising lost the contract to rivals Sound Cruising, who refurbished ''Plymouth Belle'' for the job. Just days before the operation was due to transfer to the new operator, Plymouth City Council announced that Tamar Cruising would continue to run it while an investigation took place into the fairness of awarding the tender to Sound Cruising. Eventually Tamar Cruising won the right to retain the crossing, and was awarded a new seven-year contract starting in June 2010, using a newly overhauled ''Northern Belle''.
The company used ''Tamar Belle'' as the reserve vessel on the crossing. The new tender involved a recast clockface timetable, with boats running every half-hour. Additional sailings were added in the evenings, and the enhanced summer timetable was altered to begin earlier, and end later in the season. Fares were also reduced. Tamar Cruising were awarded the right to run the Cremyll Ferry until June 2017.
In 2013, the MV ''Northern Belle'' was badly damaged in a collision with a Royal Navy landing craft and was permanently taken out of service. It was replaced by the return of the ''Edgcumbe Belle'' which is still in service as the regular ferry, under the current operator Plymouth Boat Trips.
Current service
The Cremyll Ferry was taken over by Plymouth Boat Trips in 2017.
It continues to run its popular service using the MV ''Edgcumbe Belle'', with backup ferry vessels MV ''Island Princess'', MV ''Tamar Belle (II)'', MV ''Plymouth Sound'' and MV ''Plymouth Princess (II)''.
The MV ''Edgcumbe Belle'' continues to run the daytime service year round, operating for around 12 hours a day before handing over to the MV ''Tamar Belle (II)'' in the evening during the summer months. The extended summer running times mean that the ancient ferry route is now available up to nearly 16 hours a day during peak season - completing up to 60 daily crossings between the 2 regular service vessels.
Fleet list
Steam period
Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Company period
Tamar Cruising period
Plymouth Boat Trips (Current Operator)
See also
*
Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1 ...
References
External links
Cremyll Ferry
{{authority control
Ferry transport in England
Water transport in Cornwall
Water transport in Devon
Transport in Plymouth, Devon
River Tamar