3 mini blogs

Thursday 26th October 2023

A ride on the Waverley paddle steamer

Earlier this month the famous Waverley – the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer – was in London operating a series of daily tours along the Thames estuary as part of its Summer seasonal programme of trips around the coast of Britain. The paddle steamer is registered on the National Historic Fleet as a vessel of “pre-eminent national significance” and has operated in preservation since 1975 carrying over 6 million passengers.

As neither my friend Ray Stenning or I had ever had the pleasure of taking a ride on this magnificent historic vessel we eagerly booked a journey from Tower Pier to Whitstable on the north Kent coast.

It was a hugely popular event and we were both surprised at just how many people were already on board for the mid week journey when we arrived at the Pier sited on the north bank of the Thames between London and Tower Bridges soon after 09:00 and joined the queue to embark.

We were soon on board and joined those passengers at the front of the steam ship ready for a full on view as we would head east under Tower Bridge along the Estuary.

First up though the ship had to turn around which was achieved with the help of a sturdy tugboat pulling up alongside and then getting attached to the front …

… and then the sight everyone wanted to capture on their cameras …

… sailing under the raised Tower Bridge…

… got the cruise off in fine style.

As I’ve found on previous River journeys (with Thames Clipper/Uber Boat), it’s a fantastic way to see the familiar sights either side of the Thames and a well informed live commentary kept us informed of historic and contemporary references to the famous landmarks we were passing both alongside and underneath.

It wasn’t long before we reached Gravesend and our first call where we took on more passengers and then continued east past the new Pier at Barking to serve the growing Barking Riverside development and then into the wider stretches of the River with more distant views of Essex and Kent.

Passengers were moving around the vessel enjoying the refreshment areas on board as well as observing the “triple expansion steam engine” in operation which was powering the paddles enduring our easterly progress along the Estuary.

After passing south of Canvey Island we reached our next stop at the end of Southend-on-Sea Pier where we off loaded a fair number of passengers as well as taking on many more new passengers…

… after which we began the final leg of the journey, crossing the Estuary to reach Whitstable where everyone disembarked.

Waverley was returning via Southend-on-Sea and Gravesend to London Bridge later that afternoon but we’d only booked a one-way ticket and returned on Southeastern instead.

It had been a lovely four-and-a-half hour cruise and a trip on Waverley is recommended if you get the opportunity during next year’s seasonal programme which begins on Friday 17th May and a Glasgow to Oban sailing on 20th May. This will be followed by sailings from Oban to the Inner Hebrides until 27th May including Waverley berthing at Kyle of Lochalsh on 21st and 22nd May making for a wonderful opportunity of a steam ship excursion coupled with a ride on the iconic West Highland and Kyle of Lochlash railway lines next year.

Next year’s programme will also include a visit to Plymouth and other ports/piers in the south west.

How’s route 907 doing?

Readers may remember I took a ride on the then newly introduced bus route 907 between Stevenage and Cheshunt back in April. It’s operated for Hertfordshire County Council by Centrebus whose owner Julian Peddle was telling me how impressed he’s been with the growth in numbers of passengers travelling; so six months on I took a another ride on Tuesday last week to see for myself.

Back in April the late morning Cheshunt bound journey I travelled on carried nine passengers – seven of whom had alternatives that would have been just as quick. This time, an early afternoon departure from Stevenage carried 21 passengers, so some welcome growth, and although around a third of those made local journeys in the Stevenage area, Ware to Hertford or Hertford to Hoddesdon corridors covered by other routes, another third made longer journeys which could have alternatives but the 907 offers a better direct journey while the remaining third were making journeys without the need for changing buses thanks to the 907.

It was also good to see the three new buses bought with Government funding especially for the new route with Connect Herts and route 907 branding were all on the road.

The omens look good for the 907’s future but I got the impression the section of route between Corey’s Mill Sainsbury’s and Stevenage’s bus station at the north end of the route and between Broxbourne and Cheshunt’s Brookfield Centre at the southern end are the weakest sections of the route. Those sections represent 25 minutes running time, or 50 on a round trip. Not quite enough to save one of the three buses on the route.

Another new route – the 908 – operated by Arriva, and also to be branded Connect Herts begins on Monday between Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City and I’ll report on that next Thursday.

Book Review – Muddle and Get Nowhere

Keith Shayshutt has kindly sent me a copy of his latest book, this time written with co-authors Ben Colson and Robin Bennett. It’s what one might call a speciality book; not so much ‘written’ but painstakingly ‘compiled’ featuring a quite incredible amount of detail on the Eastern Counties bus company in 1970. Ben Colson who’s already written a great book on the company – ‘A Journey’s End’ – has this time written an illuminating two-page introduction highlighting the wonderful idiosyncratic working practices that bedevilled the East Anglian based company through the 1960s and 1970s.

Whereas reviewing A Journey’s End I wrote… “it’s not a book for bus enthusiasts who want detailed route chronologies and fleet lists; nor for those who like their transport books full of photographs. This is something for those interested in the links between society, communities, workplaces and transport”, this latest 348 page (and that’s not a typo, it is 348 pages) …

… is packed full of everything a bus enthusiast with a specialist interest in Eastern Counties in 1970 could possible want.

There are three pages of photographs and details of all the vehicle types operated by the company in 1970; two pages detailing the opening date and address of the company’s 79 (not a typo either) depots and outstations including the vehicle allocation as at May 1970 of all incredible number of outstations; there’s a fold out diagrammatic map of the bus network, information about principal towns and villages served with market and early closing days and population; followed by four pages of a route list with details of revenue, miles, average mph, running hours, percentage crew/OMO, cost and profit/loss (mostly the latter); then three pages of contracts operated by the company and then the two biggies…..

Chapter 6 details every bus working in May 1970 across 30 pages with chapter 7 detailing the working timetables showing every listed journey (including express services) laid out timetable fashion showing the route number, type of vehicle, garage/outstation and vehicle working which covers the remaining 288 pages of this quite incredible publication.

All this detail is liberally illustrated with some wonderfully nostalgic photographs which admirably capture the 1970 era of bus operation.

If you like detail. If you have an interest in Eastern Counties. If 1970 is a special year for you, as it was for Ben, Robin and Keith, then this certainly is the book for you. And although costing £40 you won’t find a better ‘page per pound’ let alone ‘detailed information per pence’ bargain anywhere else on the bus book shelf.

Roger French

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