Old withdrawn international ferry routes.

[stadler]

I was just looking in to the history of our international ferry routes and the amount that have been lost over the years is crazy.

We have lost all of these routes just in the last fifty years or so:

Withdrawn In 1982:
• Harwich to Bremerhaven (Germany)

Withdrawn In 1982:
• Ramsgate to Calais (France)

Withdrawn In 1984:
• Folkestone to Calais (France)

Withdrawn In 1991:
• Dover to Zeebrugge (Belgium)

Withdrawn In 1997:
• Ramsgate to Dunkirk (France)

Withdrawn In 2001:
• Folkestone to Boulogne (France)

Withdrawn In 2002:
• Harwich to Hamburg (Germany)

Withdrawn In 2003:
• Dover to Ostend (Belgium)

Withdrawn In 2005:
• Harwich to Cuxhaven (Germany)
• Harwich to Gothenburg (Sweden)
• Newcastle to Gothenburg (Sweden)
• Newcastle to Kristiansand (Norway)

Withdrawn In 2006:
• Lerwick to Seythisfjorthur (Iceland)
• Lerwick to Torshavn (Faroe Islands)

Withdrawn In 2008:
• Scrabster to Seythisfjorthur (Iceland)
• Scrabster to Torshavn (Faroe Islands)

Withdrawn In 2008:
• Newcastle to Bergen (Norway)
• Newcastle to Haugesund (Norway)
• Newcastle to Stavanger (Norway)

Withdrawn In 2008:
• Newhaven to Le Havre (France)

Withdrawn In 2009:
• Dover to Dieppe (France)

Withdrawn In 2010:
• Dover to Boulogne (France)

Withdrawn In 2010:
• Rosyth to Zeebrugge (Belgium)

Withdrawn In 2012:
• Swansea to Cork (Ireland)

Withdrawn In 2013:
• Ramsgate to Ostend (Belgium)

Withdrawn In 2014:
• Harwich to Esbjerg (Denmark)

Withdrawn In 2014:
• Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire (Ireland)

Withdrawn In 2021:
• Hull to Zeebrugge (Belgium)

Withdrawn In 2023:
• Liverpool to Dublin (Ireland)

Can anyone think of any other ferry routes to and from the UK that have been withdrawn as i am trying to put together a full list? I am talking mainly in the last fifty years or so. I am sure if you go back earlier than there were hundreds and hundreds. But have any others been withdrawn in recent decades?

I would also be interested to hear of any memories that anyone has of any old ferry routes? I went on quite a few of the above. One of my favourites was the old service to Seythisfjorthur (Iceland) and Torshaven (Faroe Islands) service that Smyril Line ran. I managed four journeys on that (two in each direction) before it was withdrawn. Having a direct ferry to Iceland and Faroe Islands was so nice as it is otherwise a very long winded route via Denmark etc. I also did the Denmark and Norway and Sweden ferries a few times. We used to have such a good selection of ferry services. Anyone else have any memories of any old routes?

I do wonder what it will be like in another twenty years. I imagine more routes will by withdrawn by then. It is sad that our ferries have seen such a massive decline. I suppose all the cheap budget airlines are to blame.

 

[Gloster]

The May 1976 Thomas Cook also has:
Folkestone-Oostende
Dover-Dunkerque
Harwich-Zeebrugge
Southampton-Cherbourg
Dover-Zeebrugge
Southanpton-Le Havre
Sheerness-Vlissingen
Plymouth-St. Malo
Newcastle-Esbjerg
Tilbury-Gothenburg
Felixstowe-Gothenburg
Immingham-Gothenburg
Great Yarmouth-Scheveningen
Middlesborough-Scheveningen
Harwich-Kristiansand
Felixstowe-Rotterdam
Felixstowe-Zeebrugge

I don’t know if all of these fit your search: it was only a quick skim.

 

[Class73Electro]

Withdrawn In 2008:
• Newhaven to Le Havre (France)

Withdrawn In 2009:
• Dover to Dieppe (France)

These two are interesting because they only lasted about a year, if that - basically it was LD Lines just throwing anything and everything at the wall and seeing what stuck.

Have good memories of doing the Harwich - Hamburg route once as a kid - was a great ferry (Prince of Scandinavia) and sailing down the Elbe river was really impressive!

Could also possibly include Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire, with the removal of the HSS, possibly Stranraer - Belfast, though technically this was a move (Stranraer moved up the loch to Cairnryan) rather then route closure, although I think Stranraer has badly lost out since!

 

[Welly]

My parents and I visited Legoland in Billund back in 1981. We took the Harwich - Esbjerg ferry "Dana Anglia" both ways. There was no public transport to Billund from Esbjerg at the time so my Dad had to drive us in a hire car.

Two other ships "Dana Regina" and "Dana Gloria" plied this route as well - none of the three were identical!

 

[The exile]

The Rosyth - wherever is missing. Surprised to discover that entirely without trying I’ve been on 4 of the list!

 

[Class73Electro]

The Rosyth - wherever is missing. Surprised to discover that entirely without trying I’ve been on 4 of the list!

Rosyth - Zeebrugge

 

[Djgr]

Liverpool to Dublin

 

[Peterthegreat]

A minor correction.
Zeebrugge is in Belgium (not the Netherlands).

 

[gg1]

Swansea to Cork
Weymouth to Cherbourg
Shetland to Faroes (presumably Lerwick to Tórshavn)

 

[Dai Corner]

Swansea - Cork ceased in 2012.

 

[Pegpilot]

Probably worth pointing out that the Lerwick/Denmark/Faroes/Iceland ferry didn't get pulled. Smyril just withdrew the intermediate stop in Lerwick.

 

[greyman42]

Withdrawn In 2003:
• Dover to Ostend (Belgium)

I did not know this had been withdrawn. I always thought it was very popular as a "booze cruise".
I assume this sort of weekend lost it's popularity for some reason. Did the route just become untenable?

 

[Jan Mayen]

I did not know this had been withdrawn. I always thought it was very popular as a "booze cruise".
I assume this sort of weekend lost it's popularity for some reason. Did the route just become untenable?

Presumably changes to duty free, the start of Eurotunnel, cheap air fares.

 

[greyman42]

I always thought that the drinking on the ferry on the way over was part of the experience. Perhaps it was a older generation thing that younger people did not carry on with.

 

[MartinC]

The May 1976 Thomas Cook also has:
Folkestone-Oostende
Dover-Dunkerque
Harwich-Zeebrugge
Southampton-Cherbourg
Dover-Zeebrugge
Southanpton-Le Havre
Sheerness-Vlissingen
Plymouth-St. Malo
Newcastle-Esbjerg
Tilbury-Gothenburg
Felixstowe-Gothenburg
Immingham-Gothenburg
Great Yarmouth-Scheveningen
Middlesborough-Scheveningen
Harwich-Kristiansand
Felixstowe-Rotterdam
Felixstowe-Zeebrugge

I don’t know if all of these fit your search: it was only a quick skim.

The Sheerness-Vlissingen route was very short lived, I think only a couple of years. Trouble between the Crew Council and the Masters.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Harwich to Cuxhaven was formerly Harwich to Hamburg, with the cruise down the Elbe the best bit and well worth getting up early for! Lopping it back to Cuxhaven in the early 2000s was the beginning of the end.

 

[thejuggler]

In 1987 I did Sheerness to Vlissingen on Fred Olsen ferries for a field trip to Netherlands.

 

[Peterthegreat]

In 1987 I did Sheerness to Vlissingen on Fred Olsen ferries for a field trip to Netherlands.

It was actually Olau line.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I did Felixstowe to Zeebrugge in 1993-4, it was just vehicles, no foot passengers

 

[EYFanatic]

Withdrawn In 2013:
• Ramsgate to Ostend (Belgium)

As an aside, that story is very funny... The crew on Ostend Spirit (previous Spirit of Calais) discovered they wouldn't get paid, TEF who ran the service were going bankrupt in a matter of days so the Master rang up P&O on the bridge phone, told them what was going on and the crew stole their own ship, turned the AIS off and snuck out and away to Tilbury where she was handed over to a P&O crew consisting of a Captain, Chief Officer and Chief Engineer plus a watch crew - from accounts on various websites at the time, Ostend Spirit's crew got quite the welcome for a spot of daring do

#

Back on topic more, there used to be a Hull-Stockholm and Hull-Helsinki ferry service until the 70s

 

[daodao]

The Sheerness-Vlissingen route was very short lived, I think only a couple of years. Trouble between the Crew Council and the Masters.

The Sheerness to Flushing route operated from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s. There had previously been a ferry from nearby Queenborough to Flushing, with rail connections, up to WW1.

 

[MatthewHutton]

Probably worth pointing out that the Lerwick/Denmark/Faroes/Iceland ferry didn't get pulled. Smyril just withdrew the intermediate stop in Lerwick.

I am surprised there aren’t enough people who don’t like flying to justify the stop given it goes past anyway.

 

[stadler]

Probably worth pointing out that the Lerwick/Denmark/Faroes/Iceland ferry didn't get pulled. Smyril just withdrew the intermediate stop in Lerwick.

I am surprised there aren’t enough people who don’t like flying to justify the stop given it goes past anyway.

Oddly they changed it from Lerwick to Scrabster two years before withdrawing from the UK entirely. My guess is that they were hoping that Scrabster would attract far more passengers than Lerwick as it is on the UK mainland and does not require another ferry to get there. I would have thought it would be popular as Iceland and the Faroe Islands get a lot of tourism and it would allow you to bring your own car.

 

[The exile]

I am surprised there aren’t enough people who don’t like flying to justify the stop given it goes past anyway.

Got to justify the cost of customs and immigration staff as well, though!

 

[Whisky Papa]

I always thought that the drinking on the ferry on the way over was part of the experience. Perhaps it was a older generation thing that younger people did not carry on with.

That was certainly the strategy of the crowd that disembarked from the ferry in Ostend while my wife, young son and I were waiting for a taxi to our hotel on the Saturday of Spring Bank Holiday weekend in May 1994, having had a relatively civilised journey over on the Jetfoil from Ramsgate. One of the few occasions I genuinely feared for our safety, we got out of the way sharpish and walked to the hotel. Plenty of smashed windows in the town when we headed out on the Sunday morning.

 

[ainsworth74]

Newcastle to Bergen (Norway)

Was sad when I learned that route had gone. I did it in around 2003 as part of a school trip to Norway (and then Kristiansand to Newcastle back) and it was great fun for a bunch of teenagers crossing the North Sea in the midst of the oil fields (with rigs lit up in the distance like beacons and spending time in the bar when we really shouldn't have been ). No doubt killed off by budget airlines which I'm sure is how such a trip would be done these days!

 

[Ploughman]

Was sad when I learned that route had gone. I did it in around 2003 as part of a school trip to Norway (and then Kristiansand to Newcastle back) and it was great fun for a bunch of teenagers crossing the North Sea in the midst of the oil fields (with rigs lit up in the distance like beacons and spending time in the bar when we really shouldn't have been ). No doubt killed off by budget airlines which I'm sure is how such a trip would be done these days!

Did that trip in 1972 with school.
But also added the coastal mail boat trip from Bergen to Trondheim and then train to Oslo and return to Bergen / Newcastle.
The Mail boat was an early 1900's boat with no stabilisers, so rounding the heads between Fjords got a bit lively.
Some of the piers we stopped at I doubt would let a more modern ship to call.
I think we had about 30 calling points in 36 hours,


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Dec 2025 ==


Are any of the Military Ferry routes gone as well?
I have been on the Marchwood - Antwerp run a few times. With an LSL. in 1980-82
Sir Galahad strikes a memory with me.

Round Table class Landing Ship Logistics LSL RFA - Royal Navy

round table class landing ship logistics lsl rfa royal navy fleet auxilary

www.seaforces.org

 

[MatthewHutton]

Oddly they changed it from Lerwick to Scrabster two years before withdrawing from the UK entirely. My guess is that they were hoping that Scrabster would attract far more passengers than Lerwick as it is on the UK mainland and does not require another ferry to get there. I would have thought it would be popular as Iceland and the Faroe Islands get a lot of tourism and it would allow you to bring your own car.

Probably would get more people now than 2008.

That it takes a week to get to Iceland I am sure puts people off who don’t like flying or don’t want to for environmental reasons. Certainly Thurso you can get to in a day and then you’d be on the boat for a day and a half for Iceland?

 

[Snow1964]

Southampton had a service to northern Spain for a while (about 50 or 60 years ago).

There was an even more exotic service, Southampton - Lisbon & Tangier which was operated by cruise ferry called Eagle in early 1970s. Some images on attached link.

Blast from the past: Southern Ferries’ Eagle

hhvferry.com

 

[Killingworth]

Newcastle (Tyne Commission Quay) - Oslo by Fred Olsen Line's Blenheim and Braemar.

For 1953 Braemar see; https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/braemar-fred-olsen-line-oslo.232839/

Here at TCQ in 1967.

(Blenheim built in 1951 looked similar and and shared the route. Sadly badly damaged in a fire in the North Sea in 1968 and didn't return to the route.)