The ferry seen from the Weybridge bank.
The ferry seen from the Shepperton bank; the arched bridge in the background links D'Oyly Carte Island to the south bank.

The Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in Surrey, England. The service has operated almost continuously for over 500 years.

Connected communities and landmarks

The ferry runs from Shepperton on the north bank of the river to Weybridge on the south bank. It provides a crossing for the Thames Path, and is the only ferry on route of the path itself. Three public houses are within 300 metres of the ferry, two on the south bank and two of which focus on their restaurants, one of which is a listed building and was the home of the Dutch Ambassador.[1][2]

Operation

The ferry operates from 0800 on weekdays, 0900 on Saturdays, and 1000 on Sundays. Service finishes at 1700 to 1730 in winter and 1800 in summer. Operation is on request and intending passengers should ring the bell provided on each side of the river. Tickets can be bought in the Ferry Coffee Shop or on the ferry itself. When the ferry is not in service, the nearest alternative is to cross the river downstream at Walton Bridge, a round-trip distance of some 3 miles (4.8 km) on foot, further by car.[1]

The ferry has operated on different vessels for over 500 years discounting a 26-year-break before 1986. Exceptional expense and a very low housing density in the immediate area prohibited a proposed replacement by a long, unsupported by piers, footbridge. The river was made fully lock-controlled along these reaches. Before 1815 Shepperton at its Lower Halliford neighbourhood was one of the first fording places of the Thames.[3][4]

In film, fiction and the media

In fiction, the Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry is the scene of the first confrontation between the British military, six twelve-pound artillery pieces, and the Martians, five fighting-machines, that the protagonist witnesses in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. A Martian is destroyed by a direct hit from an artillery shell, and its comrades use their heat rays to wreak vengeance on the fleeing crowds waiting to cross the ferry.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Marius, Callum (19 February 2022). "The 500-year-old ferry service where you ring a bell and a wooden boat takes you across the River Thames". My London. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Good Pub Guide Accessed 2015-04-07
  3. ↑ Shepperton Conservation Area Preservation and Enhancement Proposals at 2.1, R. Fairgrieve, 1994, Borough of Spelthorne
  4. ↑ "Weybridge – Shepperton Ferry: Information & Timetable". All about Weybridge. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  5. ↑ Wells, H.G. "Chapter 12 - What I saw of the destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton". War of the Worlds.

51°22′56″N 0°27′25″W / 51.382355°N 0.456812°W / 51.382355; -0.456812

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