king harry
ferry facts
In its 32 years of service the old King Harry Ferry travelled 128,000 miles, that’s just over 5 times round the earth.Each day, the ferry supports an average of 200 commuter trips, 150 local businesses and up to 650 vehicle crossings.
The King Harry Ferry is one of only five chain ferries in England.
The new ferry weighs 350 tonnes, is 55.2 metres in length, 14.3 metres in width and can carry up to 34 cars.
Each chain on the new King Harry Ferry weighs the same as a humpback whale and their combined strength is enough to lift ten double decker buses.
Voted one of the top ten ferry crossings in the world by the Independent on Sunday.
see our new ferry
how it works
In order to guide the 350 tonne ferry back and forth in all weather conditions, the ferries 270m long chains have to be incredibly strong and tough. With up to 80 crossings a day, 364 days a year, the chains undergo a huge amount of wear and have to be replaced regularly, not ideal when they cost over £16,000 a pair! After entering the ferry over small ‘jockey wheels’ at each end the chain is fed onto the main ‘drive wheels’ which pull the ferry across the river. These large wheels are over 2m in diameter and are driven by hydraulic motors, which in turn are powered by one of the ferries three diesel engines.
think green
The new £2.8 million ferry has been built with minimal environmental impact as a primary design criteria. As a result the new ferry runs on ultra efficient diesel engines that have cut emissions by over 75% and reduced noise pollution by over 80%. Each year King Harry Ferry saves: 4.5 million car miles 1.7 million Kg of CO2 500,000 Kg of Carbon 750,000 litres of fuel. 280,000 Cars are carried each year by the King Harry Ferry.
ferry gallery
coming soon