Totnes Steamer Quay - Rail River Link 2 (UWV604S)

River Link is a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, cruise boat, and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

operator, based in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. The company is owned by Dart Valley Railway plc, who also own and operate the

Dartmouth Steam Railway The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between and in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer touri ...

Services

River Link operates the

Dartmouth Passenger Ferry The Dartmouth Passenger Ferry, also known as the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat company, is a passenger ferry that crosses the River Dart in the English county of Devon. It is one of three ferries that cross the tidal river from Dartmout ...

, which connects the terminus of the steam railway at Kingswear station to the waterfront at Dartmouth, on the opposite bank of

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

. It also operates river and coastal cruises from Dartmouth, including a cruise the length of the tidal Dart to the Steamer Quay in

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

. The railway between

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

and Kingswear, the ferry from Kingswear to Dartmouth, and the river cruise from Dartmouth to Totnes form three segments of a heavily promoted round-trip known as the ''Round Robin''. In order to close the loop, River Link operates a bus service, often using

open top bus An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, which has been built or modified to operate without a roof. Early buses were constructed without roofs but in more recent times they have only been built for tourist and s ...

es, between Totnes and Paignton.

Current Fleet

Dart Pleasure Craft currently operates a fleet of eight vessels. *

PS Kingswear Castle PS ''Kingswear Castle'' is a steamship. She is a coal-fired river paddle steamer, dating from 1924 with engines from 1904. After running summer excursions on the River Medway and the Thames for many years she returned to the River Dart in Devon ...

Kingswear Castle is on long-term loan from the

Paddle Steamer Preservation Society The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) is a United Kingdom-based registered charity and owner of two working paddle steamers; PS ''Kingswear Castle'' and PS ''Waverley''. In September 1959 a letter by Dr Alan Robinson appeared in ''The D ...

. She was built in 1924 at Philip and Sons shipbuilders, using components from an older vessel of the same name. She primarily operates the 1 hour harbour cruises from Dartmouth, making occasional trips to Totnes too. She is out of service for the 2022 season, while undergoing a major refit, but should return for 2023. *

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

:The largest vessel in the fleet carrying 400 passengers. Built in 1964 for the River Dart Steamboat Company, she was operated for the Millbrook Steamboat and Trading Company out of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

from 1977. In 1985, she returned to the Dart, and has operated for Dart Pleasure Craft ever since. Presently mainly used on the Totnes service. * Dart Explorer :A modern

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

, carrying 300 passengers and built for the company in 1991 as ''Devonair Belle''. She is mainly used on the Dartmouth Day Cruise service, as well as the 1 hour harbour cruise, and also operates most of the private charters. *

Dartmouth Castle Dartmouth Castle is an artillery fort, built to protect Dartmouth harbour in Devon, England. The earliest parts of the castle date from the 1380s, when, in response to the threat of a French attack, the civic authorities created a small enclosu ...

:Built in 1947 by Philip & Son Ship Builders and Engineers, she was previously operated by the Millbrook Steamboat and Trading Company. Although she was originally intended to be built as a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

, she was fitted with twin diesel engines just before completion. She now operates on the River Dart, mostly on the hour harbour cruises, with occasional trips to Totnes, and as an extra vessel on the Dartmouth passenger ferry too. * Dart Venturer :Originally built as ''Plymouth Venturer'' for

Plymouth Boat Cruises The Plymouth Boat Cruises was an excursion boat operator on the River Tamar in South Devon. It was started in 1981, in competition with Millbrook Steamboat & Trading Co Ltd. In 1985 the Millbrook company withdrew from the Tamar, and several of i ...

in 1982, this 300 passenger vessel ran for them until 2002, when it was "swapped" with Dart Pleasure Craft's smaller ''Plymouth Belle''. She normally works the Western Lady Ferry service between

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

and

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

. * Dittisham Princess :Built as the Flagship of G.H. Riddalls and Sons' fleet in 1995, this 181 passenger vessel was taken over in 2000. She normally works the Western Lady Ferry service between

and

. * Dartmouth Princess :Built as the ''Devon Belle II'' in 1990, she joined the G.H Riddalls fleet in 1995. Since being taken over by Dart Pleasure craft in 2000, she has become the main ferry on the short Dartmouth-Kingswear route. *Kingswear Princess :Built in 1978 at Conyer Marine in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

as Twin Star II, for the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

factory ferry in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

, the Kingswear Princess was bought by the Dartmouth Riverboat Company in 2010. She is now used in ferry service in tandem with Dartmouth Princess.

External links

River Link web site

References

{{River Dart Water Transport Bus operators in Devon Ferry companies of England Ferry transport in England Transport in Devon Companies based in Devon River Dart

Services

Current Fleet

See also

External links

References