MV ''Western Belle'' is a twin

screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

passenger vessel. She is owned by

Ullswater 'Steamers' Ullswater 'Steamers' is a boat company which provides leisure trips on Ullswater in the north-eastern part of the English Lake District. It is based in Glenridding, Cumbria. Founded in 1855, it currently operates five diesel powered vessels b ...

, who refitted her and launched her on

Ullswater Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England and part of the Lake District National Park. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . I ...

in the autumn of 2010.Irish Sea Shipping News,

History

The ship was built in 1935 by

Fellows & Co Fellows & Co were a shipbuilders based in Great Yarmouth in the English county of Norfolk. The yard was established by James Lovewell, who died in 1824. After his death it was acquired by the Fellows family. It was also owned by F T Everard & Son ...

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

for

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 ...

. She was used principally on excursion services from

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 ...

, and also on the Plymouth - Millbrook ferry. Her excursion routes were varied, covering the whole 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 ...

, to the

River Yealm The Yealm is a river in Devon in England that rises above sea level on the Stall Moor mires of south Dartmoor and travels to the sea, passing through Cornwood, Lee Mill and Yealmpton, a mid-sized village with a population of c.2,000 which is ...

, and coastal cruises as far as

Looe Looe (; , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe () a ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she continued to run the Millbrook ferry, and was very busy carrying people from the city to the countryside each night, to avoid the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

. In 1955 she was briefly chartered to

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

for use on their Dartmouth - Kingswear Passenger Ferry; afterwards, she resumed service from Plymouth. In 1985 The Millbrook company, by this point owned by Dart Pleasure Craft Ltd of Dartmouth, abandoned its services in Plymouth, mainly due to competition with Plymouth Boat Cruises, and ''Western Belle'' was transferred to the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that source (river), rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth, Devon, Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Common Brittonic, Brythonic language (from which ...

. She operated on all of the 'River Link' services of Dart Pleasure craft, including Dartmouth-

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

, the Dartmouth-Kingswear Ferry and circular cruises from Dartmouth. In 2000 Dart Pleasure Craft took over

G.H. Riddalls and Sons G.H. Riddalls and Sons was a passenger boat operator on the River Dart, in South Devon, England. It operated on the route from Dartmouth to Totnes, on circular cruises from Dartmouth and also ran the ferry service from Dartmouth to Dittisham. Th ...

, their main competitor on River Dart services. With the increase in size of the fleet, ''Western Belle'' was surplus to requirements and she was sold to Chris Cruises of

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, where she was used for charters. In 2008, she was sold to Ullswater 'Steamers' and laid up at Maryport in Cumbria. She was transported to lake Ullswater in July 2010 to start service on the lake late 2010. MV ''Totnes Castle'' was also bought by this operator. She was transported overland to Ullswater, and became ''Lady Wakefield'' in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Belle Ferries of England Ferries of South West England Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels Transport in Cumbria 1935 ships