King Harry Ferry

The King Harry Ferry offers its passengers the chance to avoid miles of congested roads and once aboard you can get out and enjoy the slow river crossing which takes in one of Cornwall’s deepest and most beautiful rivers – the Fal River. The iconic ferry with its glass side, chain viewing windows and touch screen information display is combining state of the art technology with a traditional friendly service.

In order to guide the 350 tonne ferry back and forth in all weather conditions, the ferries 270m long chains have to be incredibly strong and tough. With up to 90 crossings a day, 364 days a year, the chains undergo a huge amount of wear and have to be replaced regularly. Each chain weighs the same as a humpback whale and their combined strength is enough to lift ten double-decker buses. After entering the ferry over small ‘jockey wheels' at each end the chain is fed onto the main ‘drive wheels' which pull the ferry across the river. These large wheels are over 2m in diameter and are driven by hydraulic motors, which in turn are powered by one of the ferries three diesel engines.