MV ''Balmoral'' is a vintage excursion ship owned by MV Balmoral Fund Ltd., a preservation charity. Her principal area of operation is the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

, although she also operates day excursions to other parts of the United Kingdom. The ''Balmoral'' is included on the

National Historic Ships National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

National Historic Fleet The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media a ...

History

''Balmoral'' was built as a ferry by John I. Thornycroft & Company at

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

in 1949, for the Southampton, Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. Limited, more normally known as the Red Funnel line. As built, ''Balmoral'' could carry up to 10 cars on her aft car deck, and she normally operated on her owner's ferry service from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on the English mainland to

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. From her introduction she also occasionally performed excursion duties, but as dedicated car ferries were introduced to her main route, her role became more focussed on offering coastal cruises around the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

. Red Funnel ceased operating excursions in 1968, after which ''Balmoral'' was acquired by

P & A Campbell P & A Campbell was a shipping company based in Bristol which operated steamship services in the Bristol Channel between 1893 and 1979. History In the early 19th century, steamships were introduced to Europe with Clyde steamer sailings which ...

. She moved to the

, where she became part of P&A Campbell's White Funnel Fleet until 1980, by which time she was the last working member of the fleet. ''Balmoral'' moved to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

to become a

floating restaurant A floating restaurant is a vessel, usually a large steel barge or hulk, used as a restaurant on water. The ''Jumbo Kingdom'', formerly located at Aberdeen in Hong Kong, was at one time the world's largest floating restaurant, until it sank at s ...

. This was unsuccessful and the ship was placed for sale again.

Preservation

At this time the Waverley Steam Navigation Co. Ltd were looking for another vessel to operate alongside the world's last seagoing

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 ...

, . ''Balmoral'' was purchased by them and subjected to a major refit. As part of this, her car deck was enclosed to form an area that is now in use as a dining saloon.Adams, R. B. (1986). ''Red Funnel and Before''. Kingfisher Publications. ''Balmoral'' returned to the

in 1986. Since then the ship has operated a summer season of excursions around the Bristol Channel, with visits to most areas of the UK. In winter 2002, ''Balmoral'' received new engines, her original twin 6-cyl Newbury Sirron diesels were removed and replaced with a pair of Danish-built Grenaa diesel engines. This work was partially funded by a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. ''Balmoral'' can now accommodate up to 800 passengers and has a

self-service Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases. Aside from Automated Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out, labor-saving of which has been described as self- ...

restaurant on board, along with two licensed bars, a heated observation lounge and a souvenir shop.

Refit

In December 2012 Waverley Excursions and Waverley Steam Navigation announced that ''Balmoral'' would not be sailing in 2013. The ship's operation has been hampered increasingly in recent years by extreme weather conditions. In 2015, ownership of MV ''Balmoral'' was transferred to a new registered charity MV Balmoral Fund Limited, and she is now operated by their subsidiary, White Funnel Ltd. Following a refit costing over £300,000 and with help from a Coastal Communities Fund Grant, ''Balmoral'' started public sailing again on 19 June 2015. It was announced in December 2017 that she would not be sailing in 2018 as she requires major hull plating work.

In popular culture

''Balmoral'' appeared in the 2018 film ''

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' is a Historical fiction, historical novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows that was published in 2008. It was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (film), adapted into a fi ...

''. Balmoral was also hired in the 2017 drama Another Mother's Son, featuring

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

and John Hannah She also features in the 2019 film '' Stan and Ollie'', a biographical comedy-drama based on the lives of the comedy double act

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

and

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

. In Television, she featured in BBC One's Easter 1916: The Enemy Files, starring

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...

Gallery

File:MV Balmoral at Minehead Harbour.jpg, the car deck in 1974 at

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

File:MVBalmoral.jpg, at

Sharpness Sharpness ( ) is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream ( typical sp ...

, Gloucestershire File:MV Balmoral pulls into Junction Lock.jpg, MV Balmoral pulls into Junction Lock, Bristol harbour, Aug 2017

References

External links

- MV Balmoral Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmoral Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Bristol Channel Bristol Harbourside 1949 ships Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet Ships of Red Funnel Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company