It is both a pleasure craft for vistors and a vital link between communities – now a new film about the Fleetwood to Knott End Ferry is to get a screening.
The documentary film ‘End to End’ has been lovingly created by Anton Arenko, a sound recordist and acclaimed filmmaker from Stockport.
Anton, who has already made a deeply moving film about the Manchester Arena bombing, wanted to capture the living story of the ferry service which has been crossing the River Wyre since the Victorian era.
The film will be shown at Fleetwood Library on Monday November 11, at 2pm.
Anton says: “Our film charts the ferry’s incredible history as well as the people connected to it through the past and the crew that run it today.
“We wanted to document this piece of living history before it was too late.
“We have been very grateful for the knowledge and support of the local community both in Knott End and Fleetwood.”
The Fleetwood to Knott End ferry service still offers a vital link for visitors and locals between Fleetwood and Knott End.
The ferry journey, which takes less than 10 minutes, has been provided in recent years by the 34-seater Wyre Rose, operated by Wyre Marine Services and skippered by father and son Tony and Philip Cowell.
Rising levels of siltation have restricted the ferry operations in recent years – the service is governed by the tides and is no longer able to operate during low water.
The ferry’s colourful history dates back to the mid-1800s when Knott End fisherman, old John Croft, and his sons took passengers across the estuary in their sailing and row boats.
Sailings were haphazard, planned to fit in around the Crofts’ fishing and cockling commitments.
In 1894, Fleetwood Council, after recognising the need for a commercial ferry service to strengthen links between the thriving port and holiday town and the Over Wyre farming community, took over the running of the ferry, hiring the Croft family to operate it.
During the early part of the century, thousands of folk piled on to the ferryboats each week, many of them holidaymakers and day trippers seeking an escape from bigger, brasher resorts like Blackpool and Cleveleys.
In 1905, a record 10,200 passengers streamed out from the ferry in just one day.
Over the years, a number of different vessels have been used for the service, including the Wyresdale, Lunevale and Caldervale.
Further reading: a book by author Angela Norris, also tells some wonderful stories about the Fleetwood to Knott End Ferry.
* ‘Ferry Tales:Memories of the Fleetwood to Knott End ferry’ is published by Time and Tide Publishing, priced £9.99. It is available from Fleetwood Museum, Fleetwood RNLI shop.
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