Bristol Packet Boat Trips is a limited company offering public and charter excursions in

Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

and on the River Avon. The company has four boats: the river launch '' Tower Belle'',

narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commerc ...

''Redshank'', glass-topped ''Bagheera'' and locally built ''Flower of Bristol''. The company also has an interest in Bristol Hydrogen Boats which has commissioned and built a hydrogen powered ferry boat.

History

The Bristol Packet was founded in 1973 by Nick and Corrina Gray. At that time there were no passenger boats operating in the city docks or on the river Avon, the last services had been offered by the ''Kingstonian'' in the 1960s. The docks were semi-derelict and there were few visitors. Trips were initially offered around the docks on the narrowboat ''Redshank'', which along with her accompanying butty ''Greenshank'', had been brought from the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

by the Grays. Nick offered "interesting, anecdotal commentaries which added some depth and interest to the trips", according to the ''

Bristol Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

''. In 1976 the river launch ''Tower Belle'' was brought to Bristol enabling trips upstream to

Hanham Hanham is a suburb of Bristol. It is located in the south east of the city. Hanham is in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. It became a civil parish on 1 April 2003. The post code area of Hanham is BS15. The population of this c ...

and downstream to the

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth of the r ...

. Avon Gorge trips had not been available to the public since the demise of P & A Campbells in the 1970s. The Grays eventually sold the company in 1980. Tickets for boat trips were sold from a 1910 showman's wagon at Wapping Wharf. In 1995, The Bristol Packet commenced operations on the Flower of Bristol, enabling a further extension of the evening charter business. The most recent addition, in 2002, to the company's fleet was Amsterdam built sightseeing boat ''Bagheera''.

Boats

''Redshank''

''Redshank'' is a traditional English

, built in 1936 by W. J. Yarwood & Sons in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

, Cheshire. The original name was ''Reading'' and she was operated by the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company. In the 1950s, she was acquired by the Willow Wren Canal Carrying Company, who renamed her as ''Redshank''.

''Tower Belle''

''Tower Belle'' started life as a river launch named the ''Wincomblee'' on the Tyne, built in 1920 by

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she worked on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, before she was brought to Bristol in 1976.

''Flower of Bristol''

''Flower of Bristol'' was built by Abels Shipbuilders in the Albion Dockyard, Bristol in 1980 for Avon River Cruises, and was acquired by the Bristol Packet in the late 1995.

''Bagheera''

''Bagheera'' is a glass-topped tourist boat, built in Amsterdam in 1973. She was acquired from a company in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

that offered canal cruises to

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo ( nl, ZOO Antwerpen) is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. ...

. She had also worked previously in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Bristol Hydrogen Boats

Bristol Hydrogen Boats is a consortium of three companies: Number Seven Boat Trips, Auriga Energy and the Bristol Packet. With aid of a grant of £250,000 from

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 wards ...

, they have built a hydrogen powered ferry boat, named ''Hydrogenesis''. This started operations in the spring of 2013 and is claimed to be "Britain's first hydrogen-powered ferry". It operated as a public ferry for 6 months, but fuel was expensive, and the boat was transferred to Bristol Packet for private hire.

References

External links

Bristol Packet Boat TripsBristol Hydrogen Boats
{{Transport in Bristol Transport in Bristol Tourist attractions in Bristol Bristol Harbourside Ferry transport in England Ferry companies of England