The Cremyll Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the Hamoaze (the estuary of the River Tamar) from Admirals Hard in Stonehouse, Plymouth, Devon to Cremyll in Cornwall. It is operated by Plymouth Boat Trips, and runs approximately every 30 minutes, with an 8-minute crossing time.
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. [1] In 1945 the ferry was taken over by the Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Co Ltd, 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. [2]
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 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. [3]
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.
The Cremyll Ferry was taken over by Plymouth Boat Trips in 2017. [4] 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.
| Name | Built | Company service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS Dodo | 1884 | 1885 - 1910? | |
| SS Ferryboat | 1883 | 1884?- 1907 | |
| SS Shuttlecock (I) | 1885 | 1885–1910 | |
| SS Armadillo (I) | 1886 | 1886–1924 | |
| SS Carrier (I) | 1889? | 1889–1927 | |
| SS Shuttlecock (II) | 1924 | 1924–1946 | Converted to the MV Southern Belle in 1946 |
| SS Armadillo (II) | 1926 | 1926–1946 | Converted to the MV Northern Belle in 1947 |
| MV Northern Belle | 1926 | 1946–1985 | Converted from the Armadillo, regular ferry |
| MV Tamar Belle | 1927 | 1946–1959 | Relief ferry |
| MV Lady Elizabeth | 1924 | 1946–1979 | Relief ferry |
| MV Eastern Belle | 1946 | 1957–1985 | Relief ferry |
| MV Edgcumbe Belle | 1957 | 1979–1985 | Relief ferry |
| MV Edgcumbe Belle | 1957 | 2013–2017 | Regular ferry |
| MV Northern Belle | 1926 | 1985–2013 | Regular ferry |
| MV Queen Boadicea II | 1936 | 1985–1991 | Excursions and relief ferry |
| MV Plymouth Sound | 1987 | 1987–2017 | Excursions and relief ferry |
| MV Plymouth Sound II | 1990 | 1990–1996 | Excursions |
| MV Tamar Belle (I) | 1960 | 1998–2004 | Excursions and relief ferry, formerly MV Look Ahead II |
| MV Tamar Belle (II) | 1960 | 2004 – 2017 | Excursions and relief ferry,formerly MV Queen of Helford |
| MV "Edgcumbe Belle" | 1957 | 2017–present | Regular daytime ferry, Formerly MV "Humphrey Gilbert", built by British rail for dartmouth foot ferry. Along with sister ship MV "Adrian Gilbert". |
| MV Plymouth Sound | 1987 | 2017–present | Excursions and relief ferry |
| MV Island Princess | 1961 | 2017-Present | Royal Willam Yard to Saltash Ferry during daytime and backup for Cremyll Ferry |
| MV Tamar Belle (II) | 1960 | 2022 – present | Royal Willam Yard ferry during daytime, Summer Cremyll ferry in evenings and Backup boat for main ferry,formerly MV Queen of Helford |
| MV Plymouth Princess (II) | 1997 | 2019 – present | Full Time summer Cawsand Ferry and occasional Backup boat for Cremyll Ferry,formerly MV Rivermaid Kingsbridge to Salcombe Ferry. |
The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the English tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound.
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 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.
East Stonehouse was one of three towns that were amalgamated into modern-day Plymouth, in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. West Stonehouse was a village that is within the current Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall. It was destroyed by the French in 1350. The terminology used in this article refers to the settlement of East Stonehouse which is on the Devon side of the mouth of the Tamar estuary, and will be referred to as Stonehouse.
The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape, and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
Mount Edgcumbe House is a stately home in south-east Cornwall and is a Grade II listed building, whilst its gardens and parkland are listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
Cremyll 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 by boat from Plymouth.
The Forgotten Corner of Cornwall is a geographical area of South East Cornwall, Great Britain. It includes the Rame Peninsula and the town of Torpoint, as well as villages like Antony, Downderry, Polbathic, Portwrinkle and Widegates.
Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is a grade I listed country park in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The 885 acres (3.58 km2) country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar. The park has been famous since the 18th century, when the Edgcumbe family created formal gardens, temples, follies and woodlands around the Tudor house. Specimen trees, such as Sequoiadendron giganteum, stand against copses which shelter a herd of wild fallow deer. The South West Coast Path runs through the park for nine miles (14 km) along the coastline.
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The MV Karina is a single screw passenger vessel, which formerly operated from Douglas, Isle of Man for the Laxey Towing Company. She operated on a selection of cruises along the Manx coast. She is registered on the National Register of Historic Vessels, certificate number 1893.
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 eventually became the largest river boat operator in the Plymouth area. From 1943 it operated the Cremyll Ferry.
The MV Plymouth Belle is a single screw passenger vessel, operating from Plymouth, Devon on Dockyard and Warships cruises from the new town pier, adjacent to Mayflower Steps.
The MV Edgecumbe Belle is a single screw passenger vessel, operating from Plymouth, Devon, UK to Cremyll for Plymouth Boat Trips.
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The Plymouth Boat Cruises was an excursion boat operator on the River Tamar in South Devon. It was started in 1981, in competition with Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Co Ltd. In 1985 the Millbrook company withdrew from the Tamar, and several of its vessels were transferred to Plymouth Boat Cruises. In 2005 the company was taken over by Sound Cruising.
The MV Lady Wakefield is a twin screw passenger vessel, operating between Glenridding, Howtown and Pooley Bridge on Ullswater in the Lake District for Ullswater Navigation and Transit Co, marketed as Ullswater 'Steamers'.
MVSeymour Castle is a river boat sailing for Thames River Cruises of Reading, England as the MV Devon Belle. She is registered by National Historic Ships on the National Register of Historic Vessels, certificate number 1955, and is one of the surviving "Little ships of Dunkirk" from the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.
The River Dart Steamboat Co Ltd (RDSC) and its predecessors, the Dartmouth Steam Packet Company and the Dartmouth and Torbay Steam Packet Company, were the major ferry and excursion boat operators on the River Dart in South Devon for 120 years, until the company's demise in 1976. The company was famous for its distinctive paddle steamers, which were a familiar sight on the river until the late 1960s.
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