Category Archives: Pictures of the Month

From the mid eighteenth century Weymouth became the favoured holiday destination for the moneyed and aristocratic elites buoyed up by King George III’s decision to spend much of sixteen summers

Although paddle steamer operator Cosens & Co of Weymouth had a pretty near monopoly on excursions to sea from Weymouth, if you exclude the motor boat trips from the beach

There were six paddle steamers in service on Lake Geneva this June all quietly going about their business, carrying good loads and offering trips either connecting individual honeypot tourist locations

By the middle of May 1953 Embassy was back in service running predominantly from Bournemouth to Totland Bay and Yarmouth Isle of Wight. Monarch was on the Bournemouth/Swanage service. They

On Saturday 15th April 2023 two tours of the Laubergast Shipyard near Dresden were offered with the first setting off from Dresden aboard the PS Pillnitz shortly before 10am. A

The late Stafford Ellerman’s Uncle Lewis Wood drew a number of pictures of ships of all sizes including a handful of the paddle steamers he had sailed on in his

The late Stafford Ellerman’s Uncle Lewis and Auntie Celia were inveterate travellers on liners and coastal excursion steamers. Lewis kept meticulous diaries of their voyages complete with pictures he took

Not all paddle steamers were built with cooking facilities for crew or passengers. Those running short trips starting and finishing their days at the same place didn’t really need them.

Lewis and Celia Wood were inveterate travellers on ocean liners and coastal passenger vessels. In 1949 they made two trips down the Thames, the first being aboard Royal Daffodil on

As we saw last month the late Stafford Ellerman’s Uncle Lewis and Auntie Celia Wood were inveterate travellers on ships of all sizes including P & O liners, cross Channel

The late Stafford Ellerman left meticulous records of his extensive travels both in this country and abroad. In this he followed the example his Uncle Lewis Wood. He was a

In 1960 there were still some paddle steamers running ferry services in the UK throughout the year including those on the Tay, Firth of Forth, Humber, Woolwich and between Lymington

A paddle steamer manager will have a multiplicity of things on their mind to keep the show on the road and deliver an enjoyable and reliable product for their passengers.

Consul started her 1960 season on Saturday June 4th by running a shuttle service to Portland Navy Days from the Weymouth Pleasure Pier with departures on the hour every hour

Embassy had her galley positioned on the port side sponson abaft the paddle box. The porthole closest to the camera in this picture was for the pantry which contained a

Although the excursion trade initially boomed in the aftermath of the Second World War, by the middle of the 1950s it was in steep decline. By the second half of

In late May and early June of 1910 P & A Campbell’s steamer trips from the Sussex Coast piers at Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings were in the hands of their

In the summer season of 1938 either the St Tudno or the St Seiriol was due away from the Liverpool Landing Stage at 10.45am every day up to September 26th

With fierce competition from Cosens and what became Red Funnel, P & A Campbell moved their south coast operating base from Southampton to the Sussex Coast shortly after the start

This winter the Lake Geneva paddler Italie is rostered to be in service operating a lunch cruise every Sunday in January, February, March and on up to 10th April leaving