On Friday 8th August 1924 St Elvies was scheduled to take the day trip leaving Prince’s Landing Stage Liverpool at 10.45am for Llandudno (1.05pm – 1.15pm), Beaumaris (2.10pm), Bangor (2.25pm) and Menai Bridge (2.35pm). She was due away from Menai Bridge at 3.40pm to retrace her route to Bangor (3.50pm), Beaumaris (4.10pm), and Llandudno (5.15pm) before sailing back to Liverpool where she was due in at 7.30pm.
This roster was usually undertaken at that time by the enormous La Marguerite but Fridays were comparatively quiet days on the route and so that was usually her day off. At 240ft length overall St Elvies was considerably smaller than the 330ft long La Marguerite but she was still a big ship and larger and better appointed than many other excursion steamers around Britain at the time.
She was built in 1896 for the Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company’s routes being much associated throughout her career with the trip from Liverpool and Llandudno round Anglesey as well as from Llandudno across to the Isle of Man. She was withdrawn and scrapped in Birkenhead in 1930. That’s like scrapping a paddle steamer today built in 1986.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
This article was first published on 15th August 2020.
