Old withdrawn international ferry routes.

[Sir Felix Pole]

Tor Line did run a regular, triangular ro-pax service between Amsterdam Coenhaven, Immingham and Gothenburg between 1966 and 1976, and as such went through the IJmuiden locks and the Noordzeekanaal. I think the Amsterdam - Immingham part was weekly. The Amsterdam - UK service ceased in 1976, when Tor Line's UK terminal was moved to Felixstowe. DFDS bought Tor Line in 1981, and the final service between Amsterdam Coenhaven and Gothenburg ran in 1983.

Fred. Olsen Lines also used the Amsterdam Coenhaven terminal from 1967 for a service to Kristiansand, with the vessel Black Prince shared with their Harwich route.

Ah yes - who could forget the much lampooned BBC TV series 'Triangle' starring Kate O'Mara filmed on these services. Famously she had to sunbathe on deck to give the illusion of a warm summer's day when it was clearly a freezing and typical North Sea winter.

 

[AY1975]

Withdrawn In 1982:
• Ramsgate to Calais (France)

Withdrawn In 1984:
• Folkestone to Calais (France)

The May 1976 Thomas Cook also has:
Folkestone-Oostende

It's interesting that Boulogne, Calais and Oostende all had ferries from both Dover and Folkestone back in the day, with Calais also being served from Ramsgate.

As I recall at least in terms of conventional ferries (as opposed to hovercraft) by about the mid 1980s these routes were limited to Folkestone to Boulogne and Dover to Calais and Oostende. There was still a Hoverspeed hovercraft service from Dover to Boulogne until at least the late 1980s or early 90s, though, I think.

Were there ever ferries from Folkestone to Dunkerque or Zeebrugge?

 

[williamn]

I miss the Folkstone Boulogne ferry - it was a great town for a day trip or longer. I imagine it really missed the tourist trade once the route stopped.

 

[pitdiver]

Boulogne was indeed a great day trip destination. Specially if staying in the Dover area.

 

[Gloster]

Were there ever ferries from Folkestone to Dunkerque or Zeebrugge?

There do seem to have been ferries to Dunkerque in the 1930s, although I don’t know whether they continued until until 1939 or resumed in 1945 after a minor disagreement (there were quite a few boats for a week or so at the end of May and early June 1940). I can’t find any references to Zeebrugge, but there appear to have been sailings to Flushing (Vlissingen) around the beginning of the twentieth century. (There are one or two Facebook sites to be found if you Google ‘ Folkestone Dunkirk [or Dunkerque or Zeebrugge] ferry ‘; I am not on Facebook.)

 

[BayPaul]

It's interesting that Boulogne, Calais and Oostende all had ferries from both Dover and Folkestone back in the day, with Calais also being served from Ramsgate.

As I recall at least in terms of conventional ferries (as opposed to hovercraft) by about the mid 1980s these routes were limited to Folkestone to Boulogne and Dover to Calais and Oostende. There was still a Hoverspeed hovercraft service from Dover to Boulogne until at least the late 1980s or early 90s, though, I think.

Were there ever ferries from Folkestone to Dunkerque or Zeebrugge?

Folkestone was owned by the railway, and so the harbour dues were significantly cheaper than Dover. Sealink UK in particular used to try to offer services from the port for this reason. The harbour is much smaller than Dover, and only ever had one single deck linkspan, so capacity was limited.

Zeebrugge was mainly a Townsend Thoresen port, so their services were all from Dover. In the Sea Containers era Sealink UK tried to increase their share of the Belgian traffic and ran some services on Folkestone - Zeebrugge using St David, but RMT (Belgian Marine) were not happy and kicked them out, leaving the Sealink consortium and partnering with Townsend instead.

It was late 1980s and early 90s that saw the routes rationalised.

In 1988 the freight train ferry Nord Pas De Calais replaced the old passenger train ferries from Dover-Dunkirk

In 1991 Stena closed down Folkestone - Bolougne. It was later reopened by Hoverspeed using Seacats.

P&O introduced a new fleet of superfreighters on Dover-Zeebrugge from 1992, closing the route to passengers. At a similar time they closed the Dover - Bolougne route, instead adding a 5th ship to a Calais shuttle chunnel beating service.

In 1994 Oostende lines ceased their partnership with P&O and moved to Ramsgate, partnering with Sally.

 

[AY1975]

Folkestone was owned by the railway, and so the harbour dues were significantly cheaper than Dover. Sealink UK in particular used to try to offer services from the port for this reason. The harbour is much smaller than Dover, and only ever had one single deck linkspan, so capacity was limited.

Zeebrugge was mainly a Townsend Thoresen port, so their services were all from Dover. In the Sea Containers era Sealink UK tried to increase their share of the Belgian traffic and ran some services on Folkestone - Zeebrugge using St David, but RMT (Belgian Marine) were not happy and kicked them out, leaving the Sealink consortium and partnering with Townsend instead.

It was late 1980s and early 90s that saw the routes rationalised.

In 1988 the freight train ferry Nord Pas De Calais replaced the old passenger train ferries from Dover-Dunkirk

In 1991 Stena closed down Folkestone - Bolougne. It was later reopened by Hoverspeed using Seacats.

P&O introduced a new fleet of superfreighters on Dover-Zeebrugge from 1992, closing the route to passengers. At a similar time they closed the Dover - Bolougne route, instead adding a 5th ship to a Calais shuttle chunnel beating service.

In 1994 Oostende lines ceased their partnership with P&O and moved to Ramsgate, partnering with Sally.

This article from the Folkestone Sea Front website gives a detailed history of ferry services from Folkestone:

History - Folkestone Harbour and Seafront

www.folkestoneseafront.com

Some time ago I came across a webpage with photos of Sealink's last conventional ferry leaving Folkestone for Boulogne in 1991. I can't find it right now, but it appeared that the entire population of Folkestone had come out to witness the end of an era. If I find it before this thread gets locked I will post the link on here.

 

[Killingworth]

Some time ago I came across a webpage with photos of Sealink's last conventional ferry leaving Folkestone for Boulogne in 1991. I can't find it right now, but it appeared that the entire population of Folkestone had come out to witness the end of an era. If I find it before this thread gets locked I will post the link on here.

This Facebook post seems to cover it; https://www.facebook.com/a2bviasea/...ast-sealinkstenaline-folkes/1086254443513498/

I travelled on the route in 1966 then train from Boulogne to Austria.

 

[stadler]

Was there ever any direct ferry routes from any of Fishguard / Pembroke / Swansea / Isle Of Man / Stranraer / Cairnryan / Belfast / Larne going to France at any point? I would be very surprised if Wales / Isle Of Man / Scotland / Northern Ireland never had a direct France service at any point in the past?

 

[Gloster]

Was there ever any direct ferry routes from any of Fishguard / Pembroke / Swansea / Isle Of Man / Stranraer / Cairnryan / Belfast / Larne going to France at any point? I would be very surprised if Wales / Isle Of Man / Scotland / Northern Ireland never had a direct France service at any point in the past?

Why? For the Welsh and Scottish ones of these you have got to drive through the industrial desert that is the port’s hinterland before travelling slowly across to France. You might as well just go straight to an English or Scottish port and take a shorter sea trip. There might be a tiny bit more logic with Northern Ireland or Man as you would avoid two sea crossings, but would there really be enough traffic choosing to take such a long crossing? For Ireland you can always head south to Rosslare. There might have been some shortlived ones, possibly intended for agricultural products or livestock, particularly in the years before Motorways, but I would doubt if there was much more.

 

[BayPaul]

Was there ever any direct ferry routes from any of Fishguard / Pembroke / Swansea / Isle Of Man / Stranraer / Cairnryan / Belfast / Larne going to France at any point? I would be very surprised if Wales / Isle Of Man / Scotland / Northern Ireland never had a direct France service at any point in the past?

Certainly there has never been a car ferry service to any of these places.

 

[Mikey C]

I have happy memories of the longer distance ferry routes over the North Sea. The remaining Harwich to Hoek route is still enjoyable but a bit short for an overnight journey to do much other than sleep, whereas on the longer journeys you have longer to enjoy the facilities. Hitting the dance floor in the middle of the North Sea, when it was at funny angles was memorable

My first was Harwich to Esbjerg and back, which I used to visit Odense in central Denmark.
I've come back from Hamburg to Harwich
I've also taken the Sheerness to Vlissingen route.

I don't miss the Jetfoil from Dover to Oostende though, as that was a pretty boring experience. Faster than the ferry, yet it still took ages!

 

[Pegpilot]

Harwich/Esbjerg wad lovely, did it a few times. Early evening departure, an hour on deck, a drink in the bar, a good meal and a big lie-in before getting on the road. I last did it 2 weeks before the route closed and the guitarist in the bar made no bones about his imminent unemployment. Gothenburg/North Shields similar thoughts. I imported a glider from Sweden in 2005 and it was a lovely trip - and the brief evening stopover in Kristiansand meant they could flog duty frees. Sadly the Princess of Scandinavia is now a floating casino in the far east and just one short hop to the beaches,

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I don't miss the Jetfoil from Dover to Oostende though, as that was a pretty boring experience. Faster than the ferry, yet it still took ages!

It saved a bit of time - IF it ran. We had it cancelled due to sea conditions more than once which on an outward trip meant missed forward train connections, coming back we just got home later than planned. We learned not to rely on it.

 

[EYFanatic]

Certainly there has never been a car ferry service to any of these places.

There was in the summer of 1944

 

[Mikey C]

Harwich/Esbjerg wad lovely, did it a few times. Early evening departure, an hour on deck, a drink in the bar, a good meal and a big lie-in before getting on the road. I last did it 2 weeks before the route closed and the guitarist in the bar made no bones about his imminent unemployment. Gothenburg/North Shields similar thoughts. I imported a glider from Sweden in 2005 and it was a lovely trip - and the brief evening stopover in Kristiansand meant they could flog duty frees. Sadly the Princess of Scandinavia is now a floating casino in the far east and just one short hop to the beaches,

With the massive popularity of cruises, a shame the "cruise" element of longer sea crossings failed to keep them viable.

Especially in the summer. If such routes still existed, I can imagine them being full of social media types now.

 

[702]

I recall doing Newcastle to Esbjerg with DFDS on the Winston Churchill, however as I was 5 at the time that's about as much as I can recall tbh.

(That same trip I also remember taking the ferry in Denmark from Funen to Zealand, but seeing the early stages of the construction of The Great Belt Bridge)

 

[railfan99]

In October 2024 I was the only foot passenger on Stena Lines from Travemunde, Germany to Liepeja, Latvia on Stena Lines.

There were 67 passengers including me: 66 travelled with their cars or trucks, so the route may be safe.

During school holidays and especially summer the route may well be much busier, so perhaps it'll escape the axe.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

In October 2024 I was the only foot passenger on Stena Lines from Travemunde, Germany to Liepeja, Latvia on Stena Lines.

In, I think 1986 I travelled on the train from Copenhagen to Berlin via the Gedser Warnemunde train ferry, once the 'train', just two coaches, was safely on board the ship I realised there was only me and an elderley couple making the trip - although there were of course other non-rail pssengers on the ferry.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

In, I think 1986 I travelled on the train from Copenhagen to Berlin via the Gedser Warnemunde train ferry, once the 'train', just two coaches, was safely on board the ship I realised there was only me and an elderley couple making the trip - although there were of course other non-rail pssengers on the ferry.

The day train was the 'Neptun' and there was an even more exotic overnight service via this route - the 'Ostsee Express' which had through cars Copenhagen to Munich and Moscow.

Sadly Gedser is no longer rail connected and the ferry goes to Rostock Seehafen, which had a S-Bahn service for a while but even that has been discontinued. It is annoying that it is harder to get from Copenhagen to Berlin by train today than at the height of the Cold War!

 

[Killingworth]

Back in 1966 my friend and I travelled down from Newcastle to Folkestone to take the ferry to Boulogne. It was clearly a period when I was putting train spotting behind me and the same went for boats as I have minimal photographic evidence of either.

We were travelling with a package company Tyrolean Travel and boarded a train in Boulogne for Austria with couchette bunks to Kitzbühel. From memory it must have run every Saturday during the summer period. It was an interesting trip in glorious warm sunshine with stops along the route until at least Salzburg. In the top bunks in the couchette it was swelteringly hot!! (We'd gallantly allowed the unrelated ladies to go below.) The journey across France wasn't restful with the heat and frequent ringing of level crossing bells as we slowly made our way in darkness towards Switzerland. Then it became spectacular.



However the evening of the day we arrived in Kitzbühel was marked with an equally spectacular thunderstorm that rolled around the mountains for hours and was followed by days of very heavy rain and floods!

 

[Gloster]

In, I think 1986 I travelled on the train from Copenhagen to Berlin via the Gedser Warnemunde train ferry, once the 'train', just two coaches, was safely on board the ship I realised there was only me and an elderley couple making the trip - although there were of course other non-rail pssengers on the ferry.

I travelled the route in 1992 to Warnemünde and there were only three other rail passengers in two coaches and only a couple of cars. There weren’t that many trucks either and no goods wagons, although I have a feeling that it was already closed to rail goods.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

A revival of a route from Rosyth to Europe being looked at:

Will the ferry link between Scotland and mainland Europe be restored?

Speculation is mounting about a potential new route between Rosyth in Fife and Dunkirk in France.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Pegpilot]

Well as we're talking about Scandinavia to Germany links long gone, I crossed from Trelleborg to Sassnitz in 2012 on Stena's Trelleborg, route closed in 2020. Just checked the photos I took, to confirm my memories, it was a (freight) train service and we carried a rake of petrochem tanker wagons. Of the two vessels supporting the route, Sassnitz is long gone and Trelleborg is now in the Middle East, her train carrying capacity long since withdrawn.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Yes, but they do not seem to take passengers (although it could be worth enquiring).

They do take up to 12 passengers, though I suspect that any foot passenger availability would be very much on a stand-by basis.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned on here were the 1990-2004 era passenger ferries from Germany to Poland/Czech Republic which existed solely for selling industrial amounts of duty free goods. They were bordering on the ridiculous, often with highly absurd routes that made absolutely no sense if it wasn't for the huge profits made. The boats all had huge supermarkets inside, otherwise they only had very small passenger accommodation because, well, everyone was there to shop.

Altwarp (DE) - Nowe Warpno (PL). The border crossing still exists on the German side, although the infrastructure has been demolished on the Polish side. This route was ridiculously popular with both Polish and German customers, to the point where I believe they had up to four ships sailing to and from Poland at one time. It seems that in the early days, the ships didn't even bother calling at the 'other' harbour, they would just sail out of the port, into the other country, then turn back around to go back to the port. Poland and Germany then required ships to actually berth, so they would sail over, tie up very briefly, then go straight back, unless someone wanted to actually get off.

This route became less popular when Poland built a modern border crossing where they could actually check people inside, but it was very busy up until Poland joined the EU. Buses would run from both Szczecin and Berlin to here, for example.

Altwarp (DE) - Trzebież (PL). This one wasn't as popular, but Trzebież was preferred by Polish smugglers as the Polish Customs didn't have a modern facility to use there. It seems that at least one boat was diverted here from Nowe Warpno to take advantage of this, with the longer sailing time compensated for by the relatively loose customs controls.

Ahlbeck (DE) - Świnoujście (PL). I believe ferries also left from Heringsdorf to Świnoujście, though I'm not sure if it was the same ferry or if they ran separate ferries from both towns to Świnoujście. These were incredibly popular with German tourists in summer.

Gdynia (PL) - Baltiysk (RUS). This lasted up until very recently, and it was the last remaining duty free cruise in Polish waters. It was, by all accounts, quite a horrible route: you'd spend 4 hours each way at sea with the possibility of a bus trip around Kaliningrad for half an hour, and the sole purpose of this cruise was for people to drink a huge amount of duty free alcohol on board. Officially, it wasn't possible to drink what you'd bought on board, but in practice, no-one said a word. There was no possibility of staying in Kaliningrad, it was obligatory to return on the boat.

Gryfino (PL) - Gartz (DE). Another daft route, this one seemed to be quite popular with German tourists because of the lack of infrastructure in Gartz. It was the closest route to Berlin to my knowledge.

More to come...

 

[Struner]

@Cloud Strife
it seems to be about past ferries to & from mainland britain

 

[D6130]

@Cloud Strife
it seems to be about past ferries to & from mainland britain

It doesn't say that in the title of the thread.

 

[Struner]

It doesn't say that in the title of the thread.

indeed
I think @railfan99 was the first to bring up a former connection #108

 

[IanD]

It doesn't say that in the title of the thread.

It clearly does in the op's description

 

[D6130]

It clearly does in the op's description

Aha! The devil's in the detail!