Seaspeed hovercraft

[SargeNpton]

Who can remember when British Rail and SNCF were joint owners of a cross-channel hovercraft service.

Put paid to buy the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

Came to mind today when I found a couple of old Seaspeed drinks coasters (see photo).

 

[Harvester]

Who can remember when British Rail and SNCF were joint owners of a cross-channel hovercraft service.

Put paid to buy the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

Came to mind today when I found a couple of old Seaspeed drinks coasters (see photo).

I can remember quite well. We went to Paris for our honeymoon in July 1971, and travelled from Victoria to Dover by rail, then hovercraft to Boulogne, and on to Paris by train. The highlight of the journey for me was not the hovercraft, but passing a line of dumped steam locos just after departing from Boulogne!

 

[Dr Hoo]

I used the service on several occasions. During one phase the connecting train service from Boulogne to Paris was a gas turbine ‘Turbotrain’ - very unusual.

 

[30907]

Used it both as a foot passenger (first time it was cancelled and our group ended up on the old Normannia in rough weather ) and with family in a car (it was cheaper that year!).

 

[The exile]

Never travelled by hovercraft (the risk of spending the entire journey throwing up made the prospect somewhat unattractive) but remember them whizzing past various ferries!

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Yes, I used it several times from Dover to Boulogne and v.v. The downside was the faffing around with the bus from Dover Priory to the Hoverport (an intended rail link was never built) and it was prone to cancellation in even just a moderate sea. This could totally wreck your plans if you had onward continental connections and had to revert to the ferry. On the French side it was very slick with a dedicated Boulogne-Aéroglisseurs station and a fast turbo train to Paris Nord.

I never saw the strange contraption that was the SNCF machine in action - it always seemed to be OOU. Seaspeed later merged with Hoverlloyd to become Hoverspeed of course.

For me the best channel crossing before the Channel Tunnel was the Jetfoil from Dover to Ostend - this left from Dover Marine (Western Docks) so connecting directly with train and likewise on the Belgian side.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was like flying in an ancient 747 with severe turbulence and added car alarms. Not the best experience in quality terms though in a way quite fun.

 

[The exile]

For me the best channel crossing before the Channel Tunnel was the Jetfoil from Dover to Ostend - this left from Dover Marine (Western Docks) so connecting directly with train and likewise on the Belgian side.

Very interesting motion, ISTR. Not much up and down or side to side, but surging forward and back, presumably corresponding to wave and trough.

 

[75A]

My memories of the Hovercraft both to France and the Isle of Wight, was how loud they were both inside and out.

 

[Stossgebet]

Who can remember when British Rail and SNCF were joint owners of a cross-channel hovercraft service.

Put paid to buy the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

Came to mind today when I found a couple of old Seaspeed drinks coasters (see photo).

Not just the channel tunnel.
The eu banning duty free had a hugely negative impact on all of the short sea crossing routes from Kent.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2026 ==

Yes, I used it several times from Dover to Boulogne and v.v. The downside was the faffing around with the bus from Dover Priory to the Hoverport (an intended rail link was never built) and it was prone to cancellation in even just a moderate sea. This could totally wreck your plans if you had onward continental connections and had to revert to the ferry. On the French side it was very slick with a dedicated Boulogne-Aéroglisseurs station and a fast turbo train to Paris Nord.

I never saw the strange contraption that was the SNCF machine in action - it always seemed to be OOU. Seaspeed later merged with Hoverlloyd to become Hoverspeed of course.

For me the best channel crossing before the Channel Tunnel was the Jetfoil from Dover to Ostend - this left from Dover Marine (Western Docks) so connecting directly with train and likewise on the Belgian side.

There are Jetfoils still in use in Japan, Kawasaki built them under licence from Boeing.

 

[Beebman]

The excellent Tim Traveller YouTube channel has a video made a few months ago of the remains of Boulogne Hoverport including the former railway station as well as some history of the hovercraft service (plus an appearance from fellow YouTuber Geoff Marshall who accompanied him that day):

In the late 1960s, France and the UK built four brand new hoverports - designed to accommodate the legendary SRN4 cross-channel hovercraft. Today, only one of the four hoverport terminals is still standing. And I decided it's about time I went to explore it.

 

[SargeNpton]

My only journey was from Calais to Dover on the French craft in 1990/1991. I had a ticket for the ferry but it was cancelled due to a French dock strike, so Sealink bussed foot passengers to the hoverport and paid for the hovercraft ticket.

That's probably where I picked these coasters up from.

 

[StephenHunter]

Were these hovercraft used for freight at all?

Including, I must ask, eels?

 

[SargeNpton]

Cars only I believe. English/Hungarian dictionary therefore irrelevant.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2026 ==

Were these hovercraft used for freight at all?

Including, I must ask, eels?

 

[Djgr]

Not just the channel tunnel.
The eu banning duty free had a hugely negative impact on all of the short sea crossing routes from Kent.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2026 ==


There are Jetfoils still in use in Japan, Kawasaki built them under licence from Boeing.

So it is not true that the hovercraft to the Isle of Wight are the last commercial ones in the world?

 

[Dr Day]

Wasn’t there also a rival Hoverlloyd from Pegwell Bay iirc, with slightly smaller craft than the Seaspeed ones? Even if it was a bit rougher and more prone to cancellations, the journey time including load/unloading of cars made it a far quicker and more frequent option than the ferry, almost turn up and go.

 

[181]

There are Jetfoils still in use in Japan, Kawasaki built them under licence from Boeing.

So it is not true that the hovercraft to the Isle of Wight are the last commercial ones in the world?

It may well be true (at least if you're referring to regularly scheduled passenger services) -- the jetfoils were/are hydrofoils rather than hovercraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_929_Jetfoil

 

[Rover]

Wasn’t there also a rival Hoverlloyd from Pegwell Bay iirc, with slightly smaller craft than the Seaspeed ones? Even if it was a bit rougher and more prone to cancellations, the journey time including load/unloading of cars made it a far quicker and more frequent option than the ferry, almost turn up and go.

Yes there was, I travelled on it on holiday as a child, it was red I think whereas the BR Seaspeed one was blue which I also travelled on, my poor mother was sick on it!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I did more crossings on these things in the flight observer's seat than I did on the cushions...

I also managed to get all six SRN4s for "haulage" ( "hoverage"? "flightage"? ), yes - including the short lived GH2005 "Sure"

More than once, when they were doing the £1 non-landing returns, I did three return trips in a single day from Dover, which confused the hell out of teh customs people when they found I wasn't carrying a single fag or bottle...

...and I was a passenger on the very last return flight on the final day of operation, both ways.

 

[WesternLancer]

I did more crossings on these things in the flight observer's seat than I did on the cushions...

I also managed to get all six SRN4s for "haulage" ( "hoverage"? "flightage"? ), yes - including the short lived GH2005 "Sure"

More than once, when they were doing the £1 non-landing returns, I did three return trips in a single day from Dover, which confused the hell out of teh customs people when they found I wasn't carrying a single fag or bottle...

...and I was a passenger on the very last return flight on the final day of operation, both ways.
View attachment 209040

Superb.
What was the date of that last day in service Peter?

 

[sh24]

Very interesting motion, ISTR. Not much up and down or side to side, but surging forward and back, presumably corresponding to wave and trough.

Yes. Did it once in moderate seas and that was enough. Very green by the end of the crossing.

Jetfoils were more fun. Did a few Hong Kong - Macau journeys.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Cars only I believe. English/Hungarian dictionary therefore irrelevant.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2026 ==

They could in theory take trucks up to a certain size, though not 40-tonners. I believe they were used a bit by fast parcels carriers, but not to any great extent.

 

[ajs]

There is an SRN4 and many other hovercraft at the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-the-solent.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Put paid to buy the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

It wasn't just the Channel Tunnel, but the general price war on the Dover-Calais route. It was originally expected that the Channel Tunnel would finish off all but one of the ferry operators, but what happened was quite the opposite: the ferries fought back with vicious price promotions, while Eurotunnel was saddled with a massive amount of commercial debt.

Then, Eurotunnel priced the tunnel as a premium operation rather than the original "just turn up, pay at the toll booth and go" operation that it was designed for, meaning that the conventional ferry companies were free to operate as a low cost model. Then the end of duty free made things even worse for the Channel Tunnel and Hoverspeed (operators of the hovercraft), because the conventional ferry companies (P&O, Stena and Seafrance, later P&O Stena and Seafrance) could and did build large shops onboard with huge amounts of cheap booze, and people were pretty much free to fill their cars. I remember how the end of duty free was supposed to kill the ferries, but then it turned out that being able to take carloads of wine and beer at a very low price was far more attractive than a bottle of vodka at duty free prices.

Hoverspeed in comparison couldn't build large shops inside the hovercraft, and they were at an enormous disadvantage by not being able to offer a reliable service compared to the tunnel. Then the hovercraft started aging, and they finally replaced them with Seacats, although Sea Containers were already in deep financial trouble at this point. But really, the big problem was that the conventional ferries offered a far superior shopping experience: you could get inside the shop halfway through the voyage, buy as much as you want, dump it in your car on arrival in Calais, then sail back to Dover without ever moving your car. With rock bottom fares, Hoverspeed had no chance, and their shopping model (shops in the terminals) was nowhere near as attractive as the conventional ferry model.

Also the other issue: the capacity of the hovercraft was just too low. They could only carry 50 cars and 300 passengers, which meant higher fares. Combined with the reputation for making people sick, you can see why people would prefer a 75 minute crossing from Dover instead, or the 35 minute Channel Tunnel.

One other issue: the hovercraft terminals were built like airport terminals. The idea was that they were a destination in themselves, designed to accommodate large amounts of foot passengers. But this contributed to higher operating costs, especially when compared to the very basic terminals in the Eastern Docks at Dover and Calais.

More than once, when they were doing the £1 non-landing returns, I did three return trips in a single day from Dover, which confused the hell out of teh customs people when they found I wasn't carrying a single fag or bottle...

I have a similar amusing story from the days of P&O doing the same. We went to Calais as students, and discovered a market selling a considerable amount of clearly quite illegal fireworks. Obviously being idiots, we bought lots of them, only to realise that we probably wouldn't get them into the UK. So, we did the sensible thing: we bought two litres of the cheapest spirits available, and my friends had the fireworks concealed on them. Obviously the customs bloke stopped us, and asked if we had anything to declare. I declared my two litres of gut rot spirits, and he politely informed me that I was over the limit and that I had to either give up a bottle or pay the duty on them. I got him talking about the limits, pleaded that it was an innocent mistake and that it was only for me, etc etc. He was nice enough about it, but firm. Obviously in the meantime, he'd completely forgotten about my friends waiting, and so he confiscated the extra bottle and sent me on my way.

Not sure I'd try that again now, given how many illegal fireworks my friends had under their jackets!

The eu banning duty free had a hugely negative impact on all of the short sea crossing routes from Kent.

Strangely, it didn't actually turn out like that in the end. It was believed that it would be devastating, but both Eurotunnel and the ferries responded by attracting much more freight as well as selling industrial amounts of duty-paid goods. The heyday of the Calais booze warehouse was *after* duty free was banned, not before. If anything, banning of duty free was what made Dover-Calais flourish, although at the expense of other routes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2026 ==

For me the best channel crossing before the Channel Tunnel was the Jetfoil from Dover to Ostend - this left from Dover Marine (Western Docks) so connecting directly with train and likewise on the Belgian side.

The Jetfoil also went from London for a year. Tower Pier to Zeebrugge was the route, ridiculous as it sounds today. I think there was also a later route from St Katherine's Dock to Oostende, and the Jetfoils (unlike the hovercraft) were much more comparable to aircraft, especially in terms of stability. I believe that P&O explicitly marketed the Jetfoils as being like a passenger plane, with meals served onboard and an experience that was designed to mimic being in the air.

In practice though, the Jetfoils weren't really suitable for the Channel at all. I'd even say that the failure of the Jetfoils helped push through the Channel Tunnel in the end, because there was a clear and strong demand for a fast link between London and Paris/Brussels.

 

[izvor]

The terminal at Pegwell Bay is still there - no buildings but the apron and car park still rotting away quietly, except when the local bikers arrive.

At Dover I remember them just pulling up on the beach - or so it seemed to me as a kid, probably an apron within the harbour area, close to the Eastern Docks. The noise they made was incredible and echoed through the town and up the valleys. I didn't like them, and my only trip on one, in a very rough sea and diverted as a result, only served to reinforce my opinion - never again!

For me the best channel crossing before the Channel Tunnel was the Jetfoil from Dover to Ostend - this left from Dover Marine (Western Docks) so connecting directly with train and likewise on the Belgian side.

Oh how I agree - the most civilised way of crossing the Channel ever. Towards the end I believe it was subsidised by the Belgian government, but even this failed to save it.

 

[TrenHotel]

I remember a hovercraft trip from Dover to Calais in the mid-80s. It was Hoverspeed by then, but the sick bags still had big double arrows on.

 

[Rover]

I also managed to get all six SRN4s for "haulage" ( "hoverage"? "flightage"? ), yes - including the short lived GH2005 "Sure"

I went around 7 or 8 times so 14 or 16 crossings but never noted down which ones, I may have had them all, knowing my luck I probably had the same one each time!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Superb.
What was the date of that last day in service Peter?

Sunday 1st October 2000.

 

[WesternLancer]

Sunday 1st October 2000.

Thanks. Didn't realise it lasted quite that long! Good to know

 

[341o2]

In the 1971 Jams Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Bond uses a Seaspeed SRN4 The Princess Margaret to cross the channel from Dover on his way to Amsterdam.