Bertha's first ferry ride

We had a relaxed morning packing up and getting ready to leave Treloan. We weren't sorry to be moving on. The facilities really let the site down.

We drove straight to the King Harry Ferry, a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the estuary of the River Fal between the parishes of Feock and Philleigh, roughly halfway between the city of Truro and the town of Falmouth. Without the ferry, you would have to drive an extra 26 miles via Truro. We were happy to pay the £7 fare not to have to do this! 😀

It is likely that there has been a ferry of some description here for centuries. The King Harry Steam Ferry was initiated in 1888 as a submerged chain ferry bridge, using a steam engine to pull the ferry along the chains, and replacing a manually propelled barge that was previously used on the route. The current ferry cost £2.8 million in 2006 and is the seventh vessel to be used since 1888. Although the owning company has retained the words Steam Ferry in its name, all ferries since 1956 have used diesel-electric propulsion.

Every year, the King Harry Ferry saves 5 million car miles, 1.7 million kilograms of CO2, 500,000 kilograms of carbon, and 750,000 litres of fuel.

The crossing of the River Fal has recently been voted one of the ten most scenic ferry trips in the world by The Independent, alongside the Staten Island Ferry in New York and the Star Ferry in Hong Kong.Read more