The ferries in Suffolk are a series of local

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 ta ...

services in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

Eastern England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, ...

. Most cross rivers within the county, and one connects Suffolk with

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

to the south.

Bawdsey Ferry

RiverDebenChainFerry TheLadyBeatrice (1894)

Bawdsey Ferry carries foot passengers and bicycles across the mouth of the River Deben between

Felixstowe Ferry Felixstowe Ferry is a hamlet in Suffolk, England, approximately two miles northeast of Felixstowe at the mouth of the River Deben with a ferry to the Bawdsey peninsula. Two Martello towers dominate the sea front. The Felixstowe Ferry Millennium ...

and Bawdsey and provides continuity for the

Suffolk Coast Path The Suffolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath along the Suffolk Heritage Coast in England. It is long. Previously known as the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Path after the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty through wh ...

and

Regional Cycle Route 41 Regional Cycle Route 41 in Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; ...

. It operates from Easter weekend until the end of October on a varying timetable, and can also be used as a water taxi to moored yachts. Prior to 1894 the small passenger boats ran ferry trips. In 1894 Sir William Quilter, owner of

Bawdsey Manor Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the River Deben close to the village of Bawdsey in Suffolk, England, about northeast of London. Built in 1886, it was enlarged in 1895 as the principal residence of Sir William C ...

, established a steam-drawn

chain ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

which the family owned until 1931. From 1931 until the start of WW2 Charlie Brinkley then operated a launch for passengers with his son Robert (senior). Bawdsey Manor was purchased by the RAF in 1936 to become

RAF Bawdsey Royal Air Force Bawdsey or more simply RAF Bawdsey is a former Royal Air Force station situated on the eastern coast in Suffolk, England. Also known as Bawdsey Research Station (BRS), the first Chain Home radar station was built there, characte ...

and the ferry was closed to the public during WW2. After the end of the war a daily service was operated until 1974 under contract to RAF Bawdsey and since 1974 it has operated on summer weekends only. The Bawdsey Ferry is mentioned in three

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...

, the 'Felixstowe & Bawdsey Ferry Railway Act 1887', the 'Felixstowe and Bawdsey Ferry Railway (Extension of Time) Act 1890' and the 'Felixstowe and Bawdsey Ferry Rly. (Abandonment) Act 1892'

Butley Ferry

A small ferry operates across the River Butley for foot passengers and for cyclists using

. It is operated by volunteers on weekends and bank holidays during the summer. It is the smallest licensed ferry in Europe.

Harwich Harbour Ferry

Operates across the River Stour and

River Orwell The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...

running between

Harwich Quay Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

and

Landguard Fort Landguard Fort is a fort at the mouth of the River Orwell outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, designed to guard the mouth of the river. It is now managed by the charity English Heritage and is open to the public. History Originally known as Langer ...

near to the

Port of Felixstowe The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, is the United Kingdom's busiest containerization, container port, dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2017, it was ranked as 43rd List of busiest container ports, busiest contain ...

and also to

Shotley Gate Shotley Gate is a settlement in the civil parish of Shotley, in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is located at the tip of Shotley Peninsula and is the larges settlement in the parish of Shotley, in 2020 it had an esti ...

on the Shotley Peninsula (summer only).

Southwold to Walberswick Ferry

The

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around ...

ferry across the River Blyth uses a traditional rowing boat. In 2017 it operated daily from the start of April to the first week of November, other than most of May and October when it ran on weekends only. Until 1885 a rowing ferry was used when a floating bridge

was started, initially hand-cranked ferry later being replaced by a steam ferry which ran until 1942 after improvements to the harbour made operation of the ferry too difficult. Frank Palmer then restarted the old rowing ferry and was succeeded by Bob Cross and David Church.

References

External links

Bawdsey Ferry

Suffolk Google Map

Butley Ferry

Google Map

Harwich Harbour Ferry

Official site for Harwich Harbour FerryGoogle Map
{{coord, 51, 56, 22, N, 1, 18, 17, E, name=Harwich Harbour Ferry

Southwold to Walberswick Ferry

Explore Walberswick - Ferry sailing times and pricesGoogle Map
Ferry transport in England Transport in Suffolk

Bawdsey Ferry

Butley Ferry

Harwich Harbour Ferry

Southwold to Walberswick Ferry

See also

References

External links

Bawdsey Ferry

Butley Ferry

Harwich Harbour Ferry

Southwold to Walberswick Ferry