Teignmouth - Shaldon Ferry

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We took a visit to the seaside towns of Shaldon and Teignmouth. These two towns are divided by the river Teign. They are pleasant little towns to visit and make for a relaxing day out on a hot summer's day.

You could walk between the towns on the road bridge or like we did take the short trip on England's oldest passenger ferry.



There has been a ferry here from at least 1296, but it may be even older as they don't have any records from before that time.

During the Napoleonic War, they added gunports to the ferry to make it look like a war vessel using it to deter the French from invading, this then became a tradition, and subsequent boats have been designed with fake gunports.

Originally rowboats were used, and the first motor ferries were introduced in 1907/08.



It operates all year round but is subject to weather and tides, so for safety reasons it won't run during storms, and in winter it operates a reduced service but continues to run each day except 25th December and 1st Jan.

The trip across isn't very long, and we waited less than ten minutes, it was an enjoyable and cheap way to entertain the kids, giving them a bit more adventure to add to all that we did that day.

#tourist_attractions
#things_to_see
#plymouth
#outdoor
#near_devon
#fun_for_children
#family_attractions
#family
#cruises
#cruises
#child_friendly
#boating
#attractions
%wndevon