All Aboard! Paddle Steamer Waverley, 2018

Click here for the 2018 gardens index.

Click here for the 2023 gardens index.

In 2023, we visited Lundy Island with Waverley, there are some glorious pictures taken on a sunny day here.

PS Waverley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_Waverley and http://www.waverleyexcursions.co.uk/) is the last sea going paddle steamer in the world, other such ships being restricted to rivers and lakes (http://www.paddlesteamers.info/PaddleSteamerList.htm). It spends each summer cruising round the Clyde in Scotland and each autumn intensively cruises the Bristol Channel, Solent and Thames. Running such heritage technology in the 21st century does not come cheaply but the fares for a cruise were within our budget. As the picture shows, they are popular and many of the offerings sell out quite quickly including the single annual visit to Lundy Island, so we had to settle for a two short sailings from Clevedon in early September.

Clevedon itself is now really not much more than a dormitory town for Bristol but along the 'sea front' there are some classic buildings with a great outlook on a fine day but which no doubt get lashed by winter gales.

Clevedon Pier is a classic Victorian era Grade 1 listed 'building' which is now owned and run by a charitable trust (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevedon_Pier and https://clevedonpier.co.uk/). 

It was built in the 1860s to do precisely what it would do today, the motto of Clevedon, 'Vigilate et Orate' (Watch and Pray), is proudly displayed on the pavilion at the end (http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Clevedon). It was definitely not T shirt weather.

Necessarily we had little opportunity to take in the outside of the ship. It was running a little late, so we were quickly urged on board. There was a near full complement of passengers, most of whom seemed to about as old as the ship which was built to replace an earlier paddle steamer of the same name sunk while acting as a mine sweeper during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. 

The tidal rise and fall here (up to almost 12m) is such that provision has to be made for boarding at different levels of the pier. It was as much as we saw of the paddles which are 'caged' for their own protection. The motif is said to be Edward Waverley, the eponymous hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel.

Aft and fore are mounted a capstan and a windlass which are steam powered using similar duplex engines. I've uploaded a short video which shows the capstan at work - https://youtu.be/RLZ1-ZrZE94. 

This was a 'bridges' cruise, a chance to view both lower Severn crossings from a different angle. I've never been a great fan of the newer one, it's more functional than elegant, but from this angle it looks rather better.

The long span of the original bridge makes broadside photography 'challenging'  but it's hard to believe that it's now 50 years old, having opened in 1966. Typically the 'Welsh' side (actually also in England) was gloomy while the English side was bright.

It's fiendishly expensive to run this ship, it burns about 750 litres of medium fuel oil per hour in operation and apart from fare revenue, much of the passenger accommodation (limited to ca 800) is given over to bars and restaurants which were well patronised. For us, though, the main attraction had to be the engine room which was obviously designed for easy viewing. It's a triple expansion engine with the high pressure cylinder in the middle and intermediate and low pressure cylinders (left and right as I recall). For pictures clarity, these were taken with the engine stopped.

Like airline pilots, the engineers are on duty continuously although very little needs to be done when running except make routine checks. 

This is the crankshaft end, the geared wheel will be used to 'bar' the engine into position during servicing. It uses Stephenson's link, when reversing the engine the rods swap position, something that's well worth observing when the ship is getting under way or docking. I've uploaded a short video which shows this - https://youtu.be/ZsOpSkNQ8DM. 

Underneath and partly hidden is the condenser, which ensures that fresh water is recycled into the boiler as much as possible. There is an associated unphotographable steam powered air pump.

This is the power end, being a 'modern' ship it uses piston valves.

The other item of steam power are the two boiler water feed pumps (Weir type) because all the electrical needs are provided by a diesel generator hidden in the boiler room. Finally, a reminder of the intensive operation, that represents a very long day for the crew. 

Compared to the bridges, the islands seen on the afternoon cruise were definitely underwhelming  as viewed. Steepholm operates as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary (https://www.steepholm.online). Access is tide dependent and available on roughly fortnightly charters from Weston-super-Mare organised by the trust that manages the island, as such they make for a very long day (ca 12 hours start to finish). 

Flatholm is more accessible and is run as the 'Flat Holm Project' by Cardiff City Council (https://cardiffharbour.com/flatholm/). Essentially a nature reserve, it is accessible by boat from Cardiff (http://www.visitcardiff.com/seedo/flat-holm-island/). 

We piled off the ship and made our way home. It had been a most satisfying day.