The King Harry Ferry

The King Harry Ferry crosses the Carrick Roads reach of the estuary of the River Fal in Cornwall connecting Philleigh and Roseland to Feock and Falmouth. The ferry is a vehicle-carrying chain ferry and since 1956 has been operated by hydraulic motors powered by diesel engines. Drive wheels turn the huge chains and the ferry is pulled across the river. The renovation of the ferry by the Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth in 2006 was aided by a grant from the European Union.

The crossing may be centuries old. One theory is that the ferry is named after King Harry because the ruins of a chapel found on the eastern side at Philleigh was the Chapel of St Mary and King Henry thought to commemorate the death of King Henry VI. The ferry is run as the King Harry Steam Ferry Company Ltd, its name in 1888 when a steam powered ferry was introduced. The company is organised by a syndicate of five local families. The four-minute crossing is very picturesque and provides a shortcut across the Fal instead of a journey around the tip of the estuary of 26 miles via Tresillian and Truro. It is sometimes possible to buy hand dived mussels or local oysters and other produce while waiting for the ferry.