The Renfrew Ferry

The Stillness of Evening At The Renfrew Ferry

I headed down to the Renfrew Ferry on Thursday evening to catch the sunset. I love these types of structures. The one shown here is the northern end of the Renfrew Ferry which is a short passenger ferry crossing the River Clyde from Yoker to Renfrew. A ferry has operated in this area since the early 1600s. It remained a chain ferry until the mid1980s & this structure was for supporting the chain mechanism

Like a lot of the Clyde it is well past it's best- those days when this area was a hive of shipbuilding with several ferries like this crossing the Clyde carrying workers to and from the numerous shipyards either side of the river. Still it's a nice, reflective spot to hang out at the end of the day with the small boat's engines breaking the stillness and carrying dad's with wee kids and young couples from one side of the river to the other. While I was there the lovely soft, muffled wing-beat sound of 2 swans in flight heading down the river added to the moment.

Sundown At The Renfrew Ferry

3 portrait picture stitch
each photo 8second exposure, f16, ISO 100,18mm
using polariser, nd12 & nd0.6 soft grad filters 

A ferry service had begun by 1614 although the  first public ferry boat was reported to be in use by 1710  between King's Inch and Blawarthill on the north bank. In 1782 Alexander Speirs, a Glasgow tobacco merchant, built a mansion on the King's Inch. The path to the ferry  now ran through his property. In 1787 the family asked  if the ferry could be moved half a mile west, offering in return to build two quays, a ferry house and a new road, the now known Ferry road. The ferry Inn was opened in 1789 and by 1791 the ferry was operating from its new site.
 The ferries still used ropes or chains fixed on each bank, at first hauled but hand, but from 1868 by steam-power. Larger boats were built in 1897 ad 1912. The ferry was used for mostly workers traveling to the shipyards and factories on both sides of the river. The ferry proved of great use during the war of 1941 to bring fire-engines to Clydebank from Renfrewshire during the bombing.
 By the year 1953 the ferries were not used as much as the shipyards and factories were closing down. By the early 1970's most motorists used the Clyde tunnel and Erskine bridge to cross the Clyde. Thus the decision to end the vehicle Ferry in 1984 and it became a passenger ferry.
 One of the older Ferries is now docked in Glasgow being used as a music venue.
 Renfrew Ferry has run for centuries, transporting passengers across the River Clyde to Yoker. As recently as 1984 a chain operated service was still in use. This service, which began over 200 years prior in 1782, was then replaced by a modern passenger ferry. This is one
 of the few remaining ferry points for passengers wishing to cross the Clyde.