18th October 1920: Britannia
Why was P & A Campbell’s Britannia in Glasgow on Monday 18th October 1920 and what was the weather like? 18th October 1920: Britannia – Kingswear Castle
Supporting the preservation and operation of paddle steamers Waverley and Kingswear Castle
Why was P & A Campbell’s Britannia in Glasgow on Monday 18th October 1920 and what was the weather like? 18th October 1920: Britannia – Kingswear Castle
On this rainy day Glen Usk closed P & A Campbell’s 1949 Bristol Channel season. What was the wind doing and what was she rostered to do? 17th October 1949: Glen Usk – Kingswear Castle
Waverley has not had a straightforward return to the Clyde after finishing her visit to the Thames on Sunday 11th October. Forecast winds up to gale force 8 along the way forced her to take shelter first off Bembridge, then after bunkering at Falmouth, in the lee of Lundy Island. She got underway from there…
Read more
In the 1960s few people worked so tirelessly at the coal-face of paddle steamer preservation as Tony McGinnnity. After that he moved on to do other things and his remarkable paddle steamer legacy from the 1960s has sometimes been forgotten by later generations. There was a memorial service to him at St Olave – often…
Read more
On Monday 15th October 1962 Sandown left Portsmouth at 11am for a very unusual destination. Where was that and why? 15th October 1962: Sandown – Kingswear Castle
In the aftermath of WW1 P & A Campbell’s White Funnel Fleet saw competition from W H Tucker’s Yellow Funnel Fleet on the Bristol Channel. How did that pan out? 14th October 1920: Lady Evelyn – Kingswear Castle
In 1963 Caledonia was kept in reserve to fill in on Clyde ferry services as required right up to December when she was relieved by Talisman. What was she doing on Sunday 13th October? 13th October 1963: Caledonia – Kingswear Castle
Red Funnel’s Southampton based Vecta ran for P & A Campbell on the Bristol Channel during the tail end of the 1965 season. On Tuesday 12th October she set off for Weymouth. Why Weymouth? 12th October 1965: Vecta – Kingswear Castle
On 11th October 1961 Lyme Regis Council met to decide what to do about damage to three ladders and six stone steps caused by Princess Elizabeth in their harbour that season. What was the outcome? 11th October 1961: Lyme Regis Council – Kingswear Castle
The autumn timetable on Lake Geneva ends on Sunday 11th October. Rhone will end her season with the run from Geneva (10.45) to Lausanne (14.30 – 14.55) before returning to Geneva (18.40) on both Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October. After that she is expected to return to Lausanne light ship on Monday 12 to…
Read more
Here are some pictures of Waverley looking good alongside Tower Pier October 2026
How many paddle steamers were needed to run the Joint Railway service between Portsmouth and Ryde on Tuesday 10th October 1922? 10th October 1922: Portsmouth/Ryde – Kingswear Castle
Bristol Queen ended her 1961 season on 19th September and was laid up in Cardiff. However unexpectedly she was brought back into service and continued to run both down Channel and on the Cardiff/Weston ferry until Monday 9th October. Why was that? 9th October 1961: Bristol Queen – Kingswear Castle
Low river levels on the Elbe at Dresden are once again causing issues for the paddle steamers there. On Thursday 8th and Friday 9th October all but the short hourly round trips (10am – 3pm on 8th & 10am to 4pm on 9th) from Dresden have been cancelled. There is just not enough water to…
Read more
To mark 60 years of Ships Monthly, the October edition includes a special feature looking back over 60 years of paddle steamers, in Britain and elsewhere, since 1966. Like all printed media, Ships Monthly now has to compete in an increasingly digital world. So, if maritime magazines matter to you, do please support it by…
Read more
On 8th October 1969 Eppleton Hall was on her way again after an issue off Portugal on her voyage from the Tyne across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast of America to San Francisco. What was the issue? How was it fixed? 8th October 1969: Eppleton Hall (Part 1 of…
Read more
On 5am on Friday 7th October 1938 Glen Gower was 5 miles out to sea off Ilfracombe on her way to lay up in Bristol. She had left the Palace Pier Brighton at 9am on Monday 3rd October with a handful of passengers. So why did this trip take so long? 7th October 1938: Glen…
Read more
We understand that Lake Como’s PS Concordia is now rostered for just one trip this month on 31st October leaving Como 0910, for Bellagio 11.45, Menaggio 13.15 and back to Como at 16.30. In case of any last minute changes do check before going: Orari_Web-A26.pdf For the October 2002 Pictures of the Month on the…
Read more
Monday 5th October was the last day of the 1958 season for Cardiff Queen. The following day she joined Bristol Queen and Glen Usk to lay up in Penarth Docks. For 1959 only two of them, Cardiff Queen and Glen Usk, would be re-commissioned. Why was that? 6th October 1958: Cardiff Queen – Kingswear Castle
Anyone remember “Early Closing Day”? And what sort of trip did P & A Campbell’s Waverley run to take advantage of it on Wednesday 5th October 1927? 5th October 1927: Waverley – Kingswear Castle
Gallia finished her summer season on Lake Lucerne on Sunday 20th September: a round trip from Lucerne (12.12pm) to Fluelen (3pm0 and back to Lucerne (5.47pm). Schiller’s last day in service was Sunday 27th September when she ran the same service: a round trip from Lucerne (12.12pm) to Fluelen (3pm0 and back to Lucerne (5.47pm)…
Read more
Duchess of Devonshire arrived in Exmouth on Saturday 4th October 1919 after having sailed round Lands End. Why had she done this? 4th October 1919: Duchess of Devonshire – Kingswear Castle
Waverley had a new captain for her visit to the Thames in 1997. Who was that? 3rd October 1997: Waverley – Kingswear Castle
Paddle Steamer Waverley is today, Friday 2nd October 2026, celebrating a phenomenal 80 years since she was first launched into the River Kelvin, Glasgow. This anniversary is particularly significant given how few steam ships have ever had a career that spanned eight decades. The World’s last seagoing paddle steamer made a spectacular passage through London’s…
Read more
PSPS Member no 1, the indefatigable Mrs Eileen Pritchard, organised a visit to the Portsmouth based Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service paddle tug Grinder on 2nd October 1965. Who was there and what unplanned bonus did the day deliver? 2nd October 1965: Paddle Tug Grinder – Kingswear Castle
In 1953 Cosens fielded three paddle steamers running from Bournemouth plus a fourth visiting regularly. Embassy was last to finish on Thursday 1st October. To check out the steamer notice for this day: 1st October 1953: Embassy – Kingswear Castle
The October Pictures of the Month are now up on the KC website and this time feature Embassy at Weymouth. She is mostly remembered for her sailings from Bournemouth to the Isle of Wight after the war and on up to 1966 but this is not what Cosens bought her for in 1937. So why…
Read more
After their first season in the new BR livery by 30th September 1965 both Sandown and Ryde had finished their summer programme at Portsmouth and were safely tucked up in Newhaven for the winter. 30th September 1965: Sandown and Ryde – Kingswear Castle
What was Clyde legend PS Jeanie Deans doing on Tuesday 29th September 1964 and why was that day so significant? 29th September 1964: Jeanie Deans – Kingswear Castle
On 28th September 1945 Cosens’ PS Empress arrived at Strood on the Medway to be transformed into a film star. What role? What film? 28th September 1945: Empress – Kingswear Castle