Withdrawn/changed domestic ferry routes

[AlastairFraser]

And before the Severn Bridge opened there was a ferry between Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare. Similarly, I believe that there was a ferry across the Tamar between Devon and Cornwall before the Tamar road bridge opened.

It may be prudent to highlight the Torpoint to Devonport Ferry crossing the Tamar, which still exists and is well patronised.

 

[stadler]

Was there ever an Isle Of Grain to Isle Of Sheppey ferry? I am always surprised that such a ferry does not exist. It would be very useful for people who live in Grain to be able to go the tiny distance to Sheerness for shopping. If it did exist in the past then when did it get withdrawn?

 

[David Burrows]

Southsea to Ryde

 

[Gloster]

Southsea to Ryde

Was Southsea-Ryde ever an independent route or just a variant of Portsmouth Harbour-Ryde? My recollection is that the calls at Clarence Pier were normally made by the Harbour-Ryde service en route.

 

[Millisle]

Three others in Scotland I used: Kylesku, Strome and Queen's Ferry. There was also the Tay Ferry.

 

[Sealink]

Scalpay - Kyles Scalpay.

CalMac service replaced by bridge in 1997

 

[flymo]

There were ferries between Hebburn and both Walker and Wallsend on the River Tyne, the Wallsend ferry lasting until around 1986. These were used by workers to cross the Tyne and to the various shipyards that were there then. Journey time was just a few minutes. TT snippet from 1979 for reference.

 

[Pegpilot]

The Ouse Ferry near Howden just popped in to my head. Withdrawn in 1929 when the Boothferry Bridge opened. Still marked by the nearby Ferryboat Inn, itself closed a few years ago.

 

[AY1975]

I'm a bit surprised no-one has mentioned the transfer of the Channel Islands ferries from Weymouth to Poole. As I recall for a time in the 1990s, and maybe even in the early 2000s, the Condor jetfoil/Seacat type vessels still went from Weymouth but the conventional ferries were transferred to Poole in about the late 1980s or early 90s (and have used Poole ever since).

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

There were ferries between Hebburn and both Walker and Wallsend on the River Tyne, the Wallsend ferry lasting until around 1986. These were used by workers to cross the Tyne and to the various shipyards that were there then. Journey time was just a few minutes. TT snippet from 1979 for reference.View attachment 194767

Wallsend-Hebburn immortalised in the film "Get Carter". Although AFAIK most people didn't get shot at and have their car pushed into the river whilst using it!

 

[Cloud Strife]

Plenty of them in Scotland:

Ardrossan-Belfast. This is where the infamous "Irish Berth" got her name as it was built for this service, operated by P&O.

Ardrossan-Douglas (IoM). While not strictly a domestic service, CalMac made an attempt at this route in the mid 90s in cooperation with the Isle of Man Steam Packet. Sailing took 8 hours, and the ship (Claymore) had accommodation onboard, both for use during the voyage and also overnight in Douglas. The idea was to use the spare vessel in revenue service, and the IoMSP also sold an onwards ticket to Dublin.

Kyle of Lochalsh - Kyleakin: the most infamous of them all. Replaced by the Skye Bridge, it was incredibly profitable for CalMac and regularly saw lengthy hours-long queues in summer. While it's not the place for a lengthy rant on the topic, the islanders were rightfully furious about the entire situation, with many of them being prosecuted for refusing to pay the tolls.

Kyle of Lochalsh – Toscaig: ended in the mid 70s, as far as I know, the route was supported by the local council.

Rothesay-Brodick. Launched during the mid 90s when CalMac went wild with trying new things, the route went via Largs and was designed to give a reasonable connection between Bute and Arran, as the islands were (still are!) without a reasonable connection between the two. Vehicles were transported between Rothesay and Brodick as well, though they couldn't use Largs due to the lack of a linkspan there.

Otternish - Leverburgh. The history here is quite interesting, as originally, North Uist and Harris were only connected via the Uig Triangle service. To get between the two, you'd have to go from Lochmaddy to Uig, then onwards to Tarbert. CalMac did run one daily sailing direct, but it still took two hours. There was a (non-CalMac) passenger ferry available that did the direct run from Otternish to Leverburgh in additional to the Otternish-Berneray run, and once it became popular enough to launch a car ferry, CalMac took over. It only lasted for three years before the port switched to Berneray with the opening of the causeway.

Eriksay - Ludag. Another route that ended because of the building of a causeway, it was a nightmare for the locals. The ferry was quite routinely cancelled due to low sea levels.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Feb 2026 ==

More in Scotland:

Stromeferry- North Strome. Ceased to operate when the Stromeferry bypass was built in 1970.

Gourock - Dunoon. While the passenger service still exists, it previously operated as a car ferry until someone realised that it wasn't quite legal to subsidise a car ferry while a commercial car ferry service operated nearby.

Campbeltown - Red Bay. Operated by Western Ferries for three years at the start of the 1970s.

North Kessock - South Kessock. Closed when the Kessock Bridge opened in 1982.

Aberdeen - Stromness - Lerwick. When Northlink took over from P&O and new ferries were built, part of the new operation included a brand new terminal in Hatston, just outside Kirkwall. Prior to that, they used the terminal in Stromness, as Kirkwall didn't have a linkspan.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Fleetwood-Douglas

I took that with my wife in the 1980s. Sad it is no longer possible.