Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2015 | Page 23
FEATURE
The Floating Bridge
Guest writer Mark Fox continues with his new series looking
at different places of historical interest on the Island
This issue he examines the Cowes chain ferry
A
s a small child I remember one of
the most exciting things about a
visit to West Cowes was the short
trip on the floating bridge. It made West
Cowes seem like a far away and exotic
place to go to, having to travel by sea as
well as land to reach it. Nowadays my
children share something of that early
excitement and it is the route we always
use. So I must confess to a fondness for
the floating bridge.
I like the informal way cars and foot
passengers mingle as they move on and
off. I like peering through the windows
and watching the hustle and bustle of
the river and its banks. I like the clunkclunk-clunk sound as it moves on,
speeding up and slowing down, and
sometimes stopping altogether if an
over eager yachtsmen misjudges a dash
past the moving ferry and looks as though
it might get caught up in the chains.
The area on both sides of the bank
around the ferry have changed
significantly over the years, with the
decline in industry and the rise in
residential accommodation, and yet there
is still something permanently reassuring
about the fixed presence of the ferry
and those who operate it. I have a huge
respect for those who crew the ferry; in all
weathers and conditions I’ve never known
them to be anything less than friendly.
The floating bridge provides a vital road
and passenger link across the Medina
between the two parts of Cowes. Without
it a 10-mile car journey via Newport is
involved to go from one side to the other.
The first floating bridge was started
in 1859. Before that ferrymen plied
backwards and forwards carrying people
and goods. In the very early days a floating
pontoon was hauled back and forth by
men and horses.
It started life as a private company and
over time various local authorities have
owned and operated it. It is remarkable
to think that the current floating bridge,
built in 1975, is only the eighth to have
been in operation since the service
started. The floating bridges are names
by number. The current one is called
‘Floating Bridge 5’ because it is the fifth
one under the current owners.
The floating bridge is an increasing rare
example of a chain ferry still in operation.
Many others have been replaced by
bridges or tunnels. The service is reliable
and dependable, and that matters to
everyone who uses it. Only occasionally
does an exceptional high or low tide
interrupt the service.
The Cowes Floating Bridge is a fixture
and feature of the community around it,
valued and appreciated by all those who
use it. It is hard to see it being replaced
by a bridge or a tunnel. And who, really,
would want that anyway?
www.visitilife.com
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