The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Queen of the Isles
Excitement abounds as the Queen of the Isles sets sail.
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter Clive Gunnell is aboard the MV Queen of the Isles as daytrippers, holidaymakers and locals enjoy the journey from St Ives in Cornwall to St Mary's in the Scillies. They will have three hours to spend on St Mary's after arriving in Hugh Town. The Queen of the Isles operated at a loss and by 1967 was chartered as a day ferry by companies including the White Funnel Fleet operating out of Bristol.
Launched on 16 November 1964 in Bristol and built by Charles Hill and Son in 1964, the Queen of the Isles was intended to be run by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company as a ferry between Penzance and Scilly. The MV Scillonian was already in operation on this route. In April 1965 the MV Queen had a maiden voyage taking three hundred day passengers on an eighty-four mile round trip to the Isles of Scilly. The Queen of the Isles was eventually sold to Tonga in 1970.
Related
Watch for free
Hart's Ice Cream of St Ives Hart's Ice Cream of St Ives
Current affairs 1983 4 mins Location: St Ives
Tune down, turn off and scoop out as the famous outlet for ice cream closes its doors.
Watch for free
Rough Seas at St Ives Rough Seas at St Ives
1925 1 mins Silent Location: St Ives
The notoriously windy Cornish art and fishing town is hit upon by the sea
Watch for free
The Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall
Travelogue 1938 15 mins Location: St Ives
Rapid survey of early Cornish history, featuring its language, landscape and industries.
Watch for free
Cornwall Trip 1935 - Part 1 Cornwall Trip 1935 - Part 1
Amateur film 1935 12 mins Silent Location: Penzance
The open road: come along on a motoring trip around the West Country in this early holiday home movie
Watch for free
Scenes on the Cornish Riviera Scenes on the Cornish Riviera
Advert 1912 19 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
From Saltash to St Ives, a whirlwind tour of Edwardian Cornwall.
Watch for free
Beatniks of St Ives Beatniks of St Ives
News 1963 2 mins Silent Location: St Ives
Clive Gunnell wanders around St Ives and ponders the Bohemian lifestyle of the beatniks.
Watch for free
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
Watch for free
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Watch for free
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Watch for free
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Watch for free
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Watch for free
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.