The Last Clyde Ferry - A Short History of Glasgow's Ferries
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- Опубліковано 8 лис 2023
- Before the River Clyde at Glasgow was improved in the 19th century to increase its depth, the river was so shallow that you could walk across it at low tide in certain places. These fords became unusable after the river was deepened, but big ships could now sail right into the heart of the city to offload or pick-up goods for import or export.
With an increase in the number of riverside industries taking advantage of the 'new' river, everything from engine works and forges to shipbuilding yards, the river because a busy bustling place, and what had once been an occasional ferry being rowed across the Clyde blossomed into a full-time industry in itself, transporting workers back and forth, to and from their work.
In addition to ferries that simply crossed the river at various places, other vessels, called Cluthas, took passengers up and down the river, stopping at eleven landing stages between the centre of Glasgow and Whiteinch, the latter being the location of one of the old fords: The Marlin Ford.
The Cluthas didn't last very long, from 1884 to 1903, and were probably impacted by the arrival of the electric tram. The ferries were phased out gradually. The Whiteinch ferry was removed in 1963 when the Clyde Tunnel was opened. The Govan ferry didn't last much longer. The Clyde Street ferry went in 1967 to make way for construction of the Kingston Bridge. The Kelvinhaugh ferry lasted until the 1980s, while other ferries gradually disappeared as industry along the banks of the river died and fewer and fewer workers existed to use the ferries.
But one ferry still runs. It's a modern passenger ferry that takes passengers across the River Clyde at Renfrew where the old vehicular chain ferry used to run. And that ferry, is the last Clyde ferry.
NOTE - During chat at the Stobcross Ferry location near the foot of Elliot Street I wrongly presumed that the remaining iron structures were part of the chain mechanism that moved the vehicular ferry from one side of the river to the other. Given that the chains are attached to a platform or ramp, it seems more likely that the chains and the mechanism here were used simply to raise and lower a quayside ramp that would assist vehicles getting on and off the ferry at different tide and river levels. If anyone can shed more light on this I'd be very interested.
My old Granda was a Govanite & he used to take me down to the ferry over to kelvinhaugh in the mid to late 1970s when i was a kid when the ferry still ran.
Dogged the odd day from school and got the ferry to go to the art galleries, great memories.
Lovely video , a tribute to those who worked these ferry's and nice to see some still survive in different use😊.
Loved every minute of this. Keep them coming
Lived at Lancefield Quay from 1991 - 1998. That is when the apartments there were seen as homes for "yuppies" - me being one of them!
How Good was Glasgow when it had the ferries - very Good , it was a special place - i even remember the erskine ferry - and was there when princess anne opened the erskine bridge ( eyesore !!) This would be around 1970 or 71 , Great video ed , atb, steve.
I parked at the Ferry Inn a fortnight ago on a trip down memory lane…my Dad worked at Braehead Power Station after the war and biked to the ferry from Clydebank. My Papa was a mercantile clerk in Singers.
Totally blown away with this video Ed. Thanks so much for taking time to make it. 😊
Cheers George.
Really interesting. I travelled on all three vehicle ferries , finnieston, Partick and Whiteinch back in the day
What a great video. Very interesting story.
I love your beautiful accent (although it took me a few minutes to get used to it as I am German) and your calm and serene narration. Very enjoyable. Your selection of historic photographs is just outstanding - honestly some of them drove me tears as they are so beautiful.
Permit me a slight niggle: sometimes you talk about remains which are still visible but you don't show them in the video (e.g. at 15:30).
Apart from this: just excellent!
Many thanks Harald. You're absolutely right about me not showing the remains at 15:30. Every time I look at it I think the same thing. I did try to film them at the time, but it was one of those moments when I got confused as to whether the camera was on or off. So I 'filmed' (or didn't film!) the remains with the camera off, and the only footage I got was all over the place as I was trying to frame the next shot. Sigh.
@@EdExploresScotland well, these things happen even to the best camera men ;-) Never mind. As I wrote: I love your videos!
Hi Ed, as a young boy I cycled from Parkhead and got one of the passenger ferries across to Govan and pedaled back home. I also used the vehicular ferries when I started working on the lorries. Great informative video.
Cheers Colin.
Nice work Ed, a pleasure as always to watch- I hope you enjoyed making it.👍
Cheers Roger. I get a great deal of enjoyment in everything about these videos, whether in the planning, the filming, and especially the editing. It's all in the editing. Although I don't stick to a precise script when out and about, I have to know that what I'm waffling about is based on facts, although, that said, I do tend to make mistakes every now and then. Such is life. Take care.
Used the renfrew ferry many times during my childhood 18:36
Clydebuilt ships still working all over the world, particularly ferry boats, very distinctive.
Atmospheric and fascinating video. Ferry No 8 that you showed berthed at the mouth of the Kelvin is virtually operational , she is 85 feet overall x 16 foot beam and draws around 3 feet, Constructed in 1951 by Hugh McLean in Renfrew she still has her original 80 HP Glenifer diesel with of course a propeller and rudder at either end . Owned by the Glenlee trust she could be available for purchase subject to proposals and plans for future use being acceptable to the trustees. Ferry No 8 was in use for some years on the Forth and Clyde canal however the canals locks are a mere 65 feet meaning she could operate on the lengthy summit levels but not lock down at Maryhill.
Very interesting. Thanks for that.
I think the above was from one of my fellow volunteers on no. 8 😂. She must be saved!
Thank you for the tour and research. Very enjoyable and so nostalgic.
Thanks Gavin.
A very interesting video! And the Renfrew Ferry is unfortunately on its last legs, with a new bridge already under construction and slated to open in 2024-25, most likely bringing to an end almost 630 years of ferry crossings at that point!
That will be a sad day indeed.
Great video with some good old photos of the Clyde, thanks.
Thanks David.
Great work Ed!
Sometimes I think people forget the actual scale of heavy industry in Glasgow at these times, very fitting that it was known as the second city of the Empire.
Interesting as ever Ed. Another gem, many thanks👍
Cheers David.
Wow,I live on Dumbarton rd Yoker,went across in the wee ferry once,but watched it cross many a time to my amazement,thank you for posting,your videos are always packed with great information!💥💥💥
Thanks Jackie.
Used to use the Renfrew Ferry to get up to Otago st by bus for piping lessons in the late 70s when I was a kid in Renfrew. I never knew about the Kelvinhaugh ferry and by 79 or so some of the docks were being filled in. You could see them going through Govan.
Another great video, thanks again.
Cheers Pete.
My Wife came from Anderston and we used to get the Ferry from Anderston over the Clyde and walk to the Gorbals where I came from, that was in the 70s ,changed Days sadly. 😎🇬🇧
Very interesting and informative video. I remember visiting my grandparents as a small boy in the late 1970s / early 1980s and my parents would always take me over on the Renfrew chain ferry as a treat! I didn't know that the chain ferry was now at Glasgow so might have to go and have a look next time I am up. My mum was born and raised in Port Glasgow during the 1940s and remembers much of the industry that you mention in this and other videos. I expect with the new Renfrew / Yoker Bridge coming that the current Renfrew ferry will also soon be confined to history.
The new bridge under construction near Yoker/Renfrew is a little downstream from the ferry location, so hopefully the ferry will still be more convenient for many folk.
@@EdExploresScotland Thanks for the information. That is good news. Hopefully the ferry will continue.
Thanks Ed, a wonderful and informative video.
Cheers Danny.
Very interesting...
nice one ed many thanks
Love your videos Ed, keep up the great work.
Thanks Alastair.
The Stobcross Street terminal once featured in an episode of Rab C. Nesbitt. Rab fished a suicidal old dosser out of the Clyde there.
Hello Ed, that's us pack rafting in your video. We spotted you vlogging as we landed but it's another of my subscribers that mentioned were in your video. Great content, I've subbed. Andrew
Hi Andrew. Yes, that was a good weather day, with low winds - always helps with zoomed shots. Apart from the ferry, you were probably the only craft moving on the Clyde that day. All the best.
Another brilliant video. Glasgow has always struck me as a city that puts up with the river, rather than make use of it. Most cities use their rivers to their advantage, Glasgow just happens to be next to it. You would think a modern ferry service would still be viable stopping at various points up and down the river like a circular. (much like the former Clutha service). It would certainly be a fun way to commute along the banks. I think the problem now is most places people want to visit are back from the river... Very well researched and put together. Top job on the editing Ed!
Shipbuilding? I think glasgow has used its river very well👍
I totally agree, the recent city fathers are embarrassing. So much could have been achieved profit and marketing fashion first society and beauty last.
@@andyp9040The loss of that industry and the shell hole it left on the Clyde is a disaster.
@@andyp9040 In the past they did... But there are only a couple of yards still building ships on the Clyde now.
Many thanks for your comment, and you're absolutely right, in that these days the river is not used to its full potential. Look at London, and all the cruises with folk admiring the view while sat at a window seat and table with food and drink at hand. We did have a river cruise service not that long ago. It used to leave from under the main railway bridge in the city centre. What happened to it? One person suggested to me that its demise was down to too many rules and regulations put in place by Glasgow City Council. Don't know how much truth is in that, but goodness, surely we run a river cruise service for tourists?
aye but your a great history teacher, learning so much from your hard work in researching and putting this together. A big thank you pal, A guess you wis a teacher or somethin'.
As usual for this channel - superb content, very informative and well put together! Absolutely loved this! Brought back so many memories (see my other comments).
Cheers Derek.
Excellent! "Cheaper to buy it than to make it". I grew up in Haverhill Massachusetts's that was at one time called The Queen Shoe City... the best quality women's shoes in the world. In the very early 60's there were flyers pasted everywhere to boycott and stop the "cheap imports" coming into the Country. They were talking about Italian Shoes. Imagine. Eventually the jobs went, the shops closed, the businesses around the shops closed....except for the bars. They have survived to this day. Nuclear War proof I think.
Great wee video Ed , I stay on the Clyde , love the river . The guys in your video Kayaking , one of those guys is also a Tuber , he's on ' Andrew Park Outdoors ' on here . Best regards Ed
Cheers Ian.
Mr. Burns, my father was a proud scot from down Motherwell way. I’m a follower of the Bhoys and all things Scottish. Thank you for a peek into the history of Glasgow and the Clyde. I hope to see Glasgow in person in the near future. Your videos only serve to whet my appetite.
It's a great city Russ. Like all big places it has its problems, but it's a city I love.
I love videos about the Clyde and it’s ships / boats 👍🏻
Lovely video. You really resemble your grandfather !
That was fantastic so well put to together and great research. Thank you.
Thanks Stephen.
Another excellent and informative video, so much has been lost and forgotten about the Clyde.
Keep up the good work Ed ❤
Thanks Dougie.
Thanks for the interesting history lesson Ed. Another quality video. Loved the old photographs. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Bryce.
Cracking video Ed! I can remember getting the ferry as a very young lad to go to the football matches with my late father. Brings back very cherished memories. Thank you.
Thanks William. I remember the plank of wood that was used to get on and off the passenger ferries. The older I get the more I think of it as a narrow plank, but I'm sure it must have been fairly wide and substantial.
another great video Ed, thanks for posting. Didn't realise some of these ferries lasted until the 1980's, I have travelled on the old chain drive renfrew ferry numerous times. I must be getting old 🤣😂
Cheers Jim. We're all getting old. 👍
A very interesting video. I never knew that the Clyde was once shallow enough to walk across. A friend used to use the Govan Ferry. He used to shout ''Ahoy there'' to alert them that he was ready to cross. 😁 Great video. 👍
Thanks. Could only be crossed at low tide.
Thanks eddy it must have looked glorious in its hey day ❤
The riverside was my playground as a wee boy in the '60s. I still love walking along its banks, but it's changed beyond all recognition.
@@EdExploresScotland I know what you mean many places like in my home town like that I've not visited for years now as it got upsetting seeing it gone ❤️
My dad walked me through the old tunnel before it closed, it was dark and damp and a bit spooky. Great video
Thank you. I have very vague memories of it, although I'm not sure that it was open at the time.
@@EdExploresScotland I was very young at time, can't remember exactly when it was, but presume must have been early 60s. Can remember very damp musty smell. Always wondered if the tunnel still exists, presumably sealed at ends and full of water by now
Brought another memory to mind of when they did amphibious duck service which entered the Clyde at the Renfrew ferry slipway. Was a strange experience driving down the road into the River
I enjoy your videos. I live beside the river Dee in Aberdeenshire. There are many fords over the river still today. In years gone by, Drovers would have used these shallow parts of the river to drive cattle from the Highlands and Deeside to markets in the South of Scotland and sometimes as far as East Anglia. Our forefathers had hard lives but knew how to use the land and the rivers.
Cheers David. Back then, as you say, we knew the land and how to use it. These days, knowing the location of your nearest McDonald's is like a badge of honour.
Excellent one Eddie, watched it twice now and definitely a watch again. Ever visited the roman causeway at Erskine?
Thanks John. The Erskine area is certainly an interesting one.
Thanks Ed, you look like your Grandfather.
Love yer Videos Ed. Please don't change your accent .
As a wee boy in Partick, other wee boys would wonder why I didn't talk like them. I still don't know.
Great video Ed. Very educational. Shame we don’t make use of this river much more like other Cities around the World. Thanks for sharing. Andy
Cheers Andy. The river could be jumping with pleasure craft taking visitors back and forth, sat at windows with food and drink at hand. And the big question is why is it not.
I was in the Kelvingrove Art Galleries yesterday & saw
“Ed’s Bees Honey” for sale in the shop.
Have you expanded your empire from Tomato Soup? 😂
Great video Sir 🫡
It wusny me, but I quite like the word 'empire'. Henceforth, when anyone asks what I do in my old age, I'll say I'm growing an empire.
When the old Renfrew Ferry was moved to its current location the engines (Gleniffer diesels) and chain mechanisms were still in place and largely complete. If they are still there maybe the current owners would let you film them? When it was working you could stand in the gangway and watch the chain running over the drive cogs.
As a child I have been on the Renfrew chain ferry, the Finnieston passenger ferry and through the harbour tunnel. It was the advent of the tramcars which saw the end of the Cluthas - one of the (fictional) crewmembers, known as Sunny Jim, found other employment on board a certain Puffer...
The Exhibition centre train station used to be called Stobcross & it had 3 large railway sidings for freight that arrived by ships
Thank you Ed. Great presentation. The dredger “Scald” is dredging the river TODAY, as far upriver as King George V dock, then dumping its spoil at the Tail o’ the Bank. The vehicular ferry at 17:55 is a self propelled ferry, not chain driven.
Cheers. Always a few big logs floating in the river, which I'm sure have to be removed from a safety point of view. I've yet to ascertain what those iron chain things near the foot of Eliot Street actually are. I saw the chains and presumed wrongly that they were part of the chain movement, but in fact I suspect they were used to raise and lower the ramp that you can also see. I just don't know whether that ramp was on the quay or attached to a ferry. More work required on my part.
@@EdExploresScotland See “The Glasgow Navy, the ships of the Clyde Navigation Trust” by Brian Patton for more info. There are 3 small booklets. Part 1 deals with the Cluthas; part 2 with the Harbour Ferries; part 3 with dredgers and hoppers - if that’s what floats yer boat.
I don’t think the shore structures you saw at Finnieston had anything to do with propulsion of the ferry, which I think was self propelled.I think they were to raise and lower the access ramps as required by different tidal heights in conjunction with the elevating deck.
Thanks Iain. You're absolutely right. The chains are clearly attached to a ramp, and used just as you say. Goodness only knows why I thought otherwise.
Eddy, this last ferry will be gove within a year or so with the new bridge; surprised you never mentioned this.
At the start where you are standing, directly opposite on the north side is the back of forrest furnishing and there are 2 benches for public use next to the river bank. All other parts of the river on north side between yoker slip and glasgow harbour flats are blocked to the public, unless you tresspass onto private land. I always find thst bit at the back of forrest furnishing a weird place
Hi Tim. It's a strange one but you're right. I only discovered that small riverside section at the foot of Balmoral Street a few months ago. Had to wade through all manner of car repairs to reach it.
Thank you Ed for your educational and enjoyable videos. As a young Engineer, I worked near the old Clyde Tunnel and the Broomielaw Ferry. At lunch time, we frquently would take the ferry accross the river then walk back via the old pedestrian tunnel. Not on my own though. I was too feart. Please contiue making your videos.
Thank you, Eddie Hunter.
Is the tunnel still under the clyde, or did they fill it in
As far as I know, the pedestrian tunnel is closed but not filled in. It has a large pipe running through it (water main?) so I think it is still there to allow for maintenance.
Found this online : So what of the tunnel? It was sealed and a large water main installed by Scottish Water in 1987. No-one can be absolutely sure that the vehicle tunnels were filled in but there is still a locked door in the Northern Rotunda which gives access to the pedestrian tunnel.
Cheers Eddie.
Hi have you any information on the erskine ferry,my father usd it sometimes also used car ferry att govan very well presented regards 21:03
I use Canmore quite a lot. All you have to do is carry out a search for that ferry, and this page, with photos, comes up:
canmore.org.uk/search/image?SIMPLE_KEYWORD=erskine%20ferry
I remember using the Renfrew ferry when it had the chain, then a few years back using it when it just was a ferry without the chain it was hit and miss if it turned up. I worked in the breahead shopping centre so it the ferry didn't turn up i would have to get 3 buses to got there , i was travelling from clydebank. They have been talking about a bridge years ago to be built across the clyde so transport could cross it eg buses, cars but it still hasn't been built. I remember my sister was visiting from usa and i beside to take her to the breahead shopping center via the ferry when we got to the ferry we were waiting and it never turned up, there was a lot of people waiting to. Well we were talking to some woman and one of them beside to phone her friend for a lift and said it was ok if we travelled with them to breahead my sister we over the moon because in the car the woman were telling stories and laughing she had a great time and loved the fact she was hearing the Glasgow banter a great memory of the Glasgow hospitality
They've started work on the bridge at Renfrew, it will go from Meadowside st over to Dock St next to the Rossy Dock.
the ferry went from kelvinhaugh to stag street as a kid i used it
I crossed on the Govan ferry. When the Clyde Bridge was built we as boys used to ferry across the Clyde on workmen's boat from Tradeston to Finnieston ... illegally of course. Latter day pirates.
The things we got up to as youngsters. As a wee boy I climbed the Finnieston Crane. On ladders, but not to be recommended.
At Low Water a large sandbank is visible at Bridge Wharf, another 10 years and you will be able to walk across the Clyde to the Broomielaw again there.
Thanks to the Clyde Port Authority who don't dredge past Govan any more, the city centre will be vulnerable to flooding, not that they care.
They and the City Council have forgotten the old verse, 'The Clyde made Glasgow and Glasgow made the Clyde'.
Cheers Alex. I suspect the Clyde has only ever been deep enough up river of Port Glasgow virtue of frantic dredging.
would be a good idea to show us wehat youre talking about ed when yer pointng we canny actully see what youre talking about
Glasgow was built on trade, and industry.
Sugar
Slaves
Shipbuilding
Tobacco of course.
Sadly oor wee renfrew ferry isnt to last much longer... with a new development taking place on what was once lobnitz yard. Fancy road bridge will most likely deprive our river of its final ferry.
Will be a very sad site to see the ferry village without its wee ferry
Absolutely.