Why no ferrys from South(West) Wales to Cornwall?

[Bmblbzzz]

Didn't the Severn Bridge replace a ferry service?

A ferry with no direction home!

[tatanab]

Didn't the Severn Bridge replace a ferry service?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aust_Ferry

[SA_SA_SA]

Why would a large volume of people want to get a ferry between Cornwall and South Wales?
....

Tourists from Ireland?
Tourists from Cornwall/Wales?
Freight from Wales to Cornwall avoiding saving long road route?

[Mick F]

SW Wales has the M4 and A40 right out to Fishguard and Milford Haven.
W Cornwall has the M5/A30 right down to LE and A39 down to Falmouth.
Both have rail services too.
Airports as well.

[pwa]

Upto about the 1990s there were day trip boats operating from Porthcawl to Ilfracombe, but that fizzled out. I'd suggest there are no ferries between Carmarthenshire / Pembrokeshire and Cornwall because there is insufficient demand. Simple as that really.

[fausto copy]

So, how about extending the Swansea Bay barrage proposal out as far as Lynton and building a road on it.
That'd certainly cut down travel times from yere to there.

[ChrisButch]

A related question is why there are no fast passenger ferries linking the coastal towns of the South West. Given the slow road and rail connections beyond Exeter, you would think there would be a high seasonal demand and possibly even a local commuting demand for some routes. They're common in Norway, where road connections along the coast are equally problematic. But even a modest experiment in Torbay has recently failed miserably.

[mjr]

A related question is why there are no fast passenger ferries linking the coastal towns of the South West. Given the slow road and rail connections beyond Exeter, you would think there would be a high seasonal demand and possibly even a local commuting demand for some routes. They're common in Norway, where road connections along the coast are equally problematic. But even a modest experiment in Torbay has recently failed miserably.

"Hare yew" got a link, please?

Looking on a map, the most obvious Wales-facing rail+road connections in the South West are at Hayle, Newquay and Barnstaple, but I think all would need some port development. There are also Minehead and Watchet in Somerset but they would probably need a better link from the West Somerset Railway to the mainline or some road smoothing. Weston-super-Mare has a long boat pier which had water under at most times, but it's now in an awful state (which is why I think the Balmoral puts in at a slipway instead) and I think that's too close to the rail tunnel and road bridges to be viable anyway.

Do any of those ports line up well with Welsh ones?

[Bmblbzzz]

There are two piers in WsM, one totally collapsed (Birnbeck) and one AFAIK in good condition. But I think ChrisButch was talking about links along the coast of Cornwall and Devon, not across to Wales.

[mjr]

There are two piers in WsM, one totally collapsed (Birnbeck) and one AFAIK in good condition. But I think ChrisButch was talking about links along the coast of Cornwall and Devon, not across to Wales.

Birnbeck hasn't completely gone, has it? Not safe but ultimately, there'll be an island to support a pier for the foreseeable even if the Victorian one does go entirely. And Grand Pier is no longer long enough and was in a bad place for currents anyway.

[Cyril Haearn]

Upto about the 1990s there were day trip boats operating from Porthcawl to Ilfracombe, but that fizzled out. I'd suggest there are no ferries between Carmarthenshire / Pembrokeshire and Cornwall because there is insufficient demand. Simple as that really.

+1, never took that trip unfortunately
The North Devon coast looks a bit terrifying on the map, maybe I will stick to Wales

[Bmblbzzz]

There are two piers in WsM, one totally collapsed (Birnbeck) and one AFAIK in good condition. But I think ChrisButch was talking about links along the coast of Cornwall and Devon, not across to Wales.

Birnbeck hasn't completely gone, has it? Not safe but ultimately, there'll be an island to support a pier for the foreseeable even if the Victorian one does go entirely. And Grand Pier is no longer long enough and was in a bad place for currents anyway.

It's not completely gone but I rode past it in October and it was beyond "unsafe". You certainly couldn't walk to the end (I suppose you could parcours it, you'd have to in order to get over the security fence). The buildings on the island aren't in good shape either, and not being looked after, either. Unfortunately. It must have been quite an impressive sight once; still is, but in a different way.

[ChrisButch]

A related question is why there are no fast passenger ferries linking the coastal towns of the South West. Given the slow road and rail connections beyond Exeter, you would think there would be a high seasonal demand and possibly even a local commuting demand for some routes. They're common in Norway, where road connections along the coast are equally problematic. But even a modest experiment in Torbay has recently failed miserably.

"Hare yew" got a link, please?

If you're asking for a link about Norwegian fast coastal ferries, here are some examples from the far North:
http://www.nordnorge.com/EN-svalbard/?News=98
- but there are also plenty of examples further South, radiating out from Bergen for instance. And yes, I was talking about routes along the coast (especially the South coast of the peninsular, where there are greater population concentrations), not across to Wales.

[KTHSullivan]

I can remember back in the day (1960's) getting a paddle steamer from Barry to Western-Super-Mare, but in the mists of time can't really remember if this was a regular service or a seasonal thing. The ferry across the river Severn before the first bridge was built had a quite limited capacity and subsequently attracted large queues of traffic during the school holidays; as a consequence it was often quicker to bypass the ferry and cross the river at Gloucester. In those days, S Wales to Cornwall was a two day trip with an overnighter in Exeter or thereabouts. But four star could be bought for five bob (25p) a gallon!

[Mick F]

Back in the 50's and 60's, the roads weren't well suited for long distances.

Little story:
My Uncle Jack and his new wife married in 1959 went off in their Triumph Mayflower southwards on honeymoon. They were married in Eccleston Lancashire.
Uncle Jack told me once, that they took all day driving, and gave up when they got to Cullompton. No motorways, few bypasses, and you had to go right through many many towns and cities, just to get a couple of hundred miles.

Therefore, it could easily be a good idea to get a ferry from one place to the other, rather than trying to battle the roads. These days, it's not necessary. Uncle Jack and Aunty Mary could have driven from Eccleston to Cullompton in maybe four or five hours these days. They could have left after breakfast, and been in Cullompton at lunchtime.