| Re: Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years in service Posted by Oxonhutch at 08:33, 30th March 2026 |     |
I'd take the Torpoint Ferry over that rusty old tub full of Scousers any day of the week! 
Graham might have used it to get to school !
| Re: Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years in service Posted by eightonedee at 07:44, 30th March 2026 | |
Wow! Who would have thought that the ferry I last used on my first visit to Liverpool back in 1980, which hardly seemed a paragon of modernity back then, would still be in use today.
Two other abiding memories of that trip ,- how cheap the beer was in New Brighton, and how desperately run down and dilapidated much of Liverpool was back then. All those politicians and journalists who twitter on today about "Broken Britain " should have seen Liverpool 8 back then.
| Re: Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years in service Posted by TaplowGreen at 04:40, 30th March 2026 | |
Ferry cross the Tamar doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
However there is a link. The Royal Iris was launched in Devon in 1959.
However there is a link. The Royal Iris was launched in Devon in 1959.
I'd take the Torpoint Ferry over that rusty old tub full of Scousers any day of the week!
| Re: Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years in service Posted by bobm at 02:45, 30th March 2026 | |
Ferry cross the Tamar doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
However there is a link. The Royal Iris was launched in Devon in 1959.
| Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years in service Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:48, 29th March 2026 | |
From the BBC:
Ferry crosses the Mersey on final voyage after 66 years
Launched in 1959, the Royal Iris will be replaced by a new vessel
An "iconic" ferry that crossed on the River Mersey for 66 years has set sail on its final voyage.
The Royal Iris of the Mersey featured in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey, starring the band Gerry and the Pacemakers, who also sang the legendary title song.
It is set to be replaced by the new £26m vessel Royal Daffodil later this year, with an interim service to be run on the Snowdrop, a vessel nicknamed the Dazzle Ferry because of its design by Sir Peter Blake, who created the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album cover.
Liam Phelan of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said the Royal Iris is estimated to have carried more than 17 million people since 1960 between Liverpool and Wirral. "Locally, she's as iconic probably as the Graces and the Mersey Tunnels," he added. "She's part of the history of the Mersey and obviously today's a bit of a sad day for us."
(BBC article continues)
Launched in 1959, the Royal Iris will be replaced by a new vessel
An "iconic" ferry that crossed on the River Mersey for 66 years has set sail on its final voyage.
The Royal Iris of the Mersey featured in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey, starring the band Gerry and the Pacemakers, who also sang the legendary title song.
It is set to be replaced by the new £26m vessel Royal Daffodil later this year, with an interim service to be run on the Snowdrop, a vessel nicknamed the Dazzle Ferry because of its design by Sir Peter Blake, who created the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album cover.
Liam Phelan of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said the Royal Iris is estimated to have carried more than 17 million people since 1960 between Liverpool and Wirral. "Locally, she's as iconic probably as the Graces and the Mersey Tunnels," he added. "She's part of the history of the Mersey and obviously today's a bit of a sad day for us."
(BBC article continues)
Rather poignant for me: I, too, was 'launched' in 1959, in the Devonport Hospital maternity ward overlooking the ferry there.
