A skipper is being sought to run a new Calstock Ferry service as a trial from this Spring, on an historic passenger ferry route which has operated on the River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall for hundreds of years.
The Calstock Ferry stopped taking passengers over 20 years ago, but the new Skipper will trial an electric passenger ferry for one season between Ferry Farm on the Devon side of the Tamar and Calstock on the Cornish side to see if it is financially viable. This is a Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme project, hosted by Tamar Valley National Landscape and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Calstock had a quay in Saxon times and by the mid-19th century Calstock had quays stretching for three quarters of a mile, due to the Tamar Valley’s thriving mining and market garden industry and because the river provided cheap and easy transport. The Tamar Valley forms part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site and in its heyday in the 1950’s, market gardening was a major industry in the area, supported by eight to ten thousand people.
As well as providing a passenger service between the banks of the River Tamar, the ferry will enable people to walk the new 87-mile walking route, the Tamara Coast to Coast Way, that stretches between the South and North coast in the South West, without needing to take the train from Bere Alston to Calstock. Leisure trips will also be available to explore the River Tamar.
William Darwall, Tamara Landscape Scheme Manager says:
“The Calstock Ferry was a much-loved feature on the River Tamar and we’re really hopeful that it will prove to be financially viable and continue into the long term.
“We have a wonderful aluminium electric landing craft that’s fully kitted out to take passengers and we are refurbishing the old ferry boat store on the banks of the river on Calstock Old Quay, which coincidentally is where the old ferryman used to live! All we need now is an accomplished Skipper.
“This is such an exciting project and we’re really looking forward to seeing the boat taking paying passengers for the first time.”
For more information and to apply for the role visit: www.tamaralandscapepartnership.org.uk/opportunities
The Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme aims to create a brighter future for the Tamar Valley and its communities by working with farmers, landowners and communities to manage and enhance landscapes that are rich in wildlife, as well as cultural and historic heritage; to help improve access to special places and to promote ways for people to enjoy the landscape whilst improving their health and wellbeing. With match-funding commitments from other partners, the total to be invested across the Tamar Valley landscape until December 2025 will be £3.2 million.
