On Thursday 24th July 1958 Cardiff Queen was scheduled to sail from Swansea (8.45am), Mumbles (9.05am), Ilfracombe (10.50am), and Clovelly (12.10pm) to Lundy Island to land (1.15pm – 4.15pm) and then back to Clovelly (5.10pm), Ilfracombe (7.15pm), Mumbles (9pm) and Swansea (9.20pm).
The previous Friday the British and Commonwealth Games had been opened in Cardiff by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The day before, Wednesday 23rd July, the Royal Yacht Britannia had arrived in Cardiff for the event which was witnessed by Glen Usk.
1958 was not a good season for weather, passenger numbers or P & A Campbell’s increasingly weak financial position. There was a lot of wind with late July seeing several days of continuing gales which resulted in cancellations.
There was increasing talk around the decks about the company’s financial health with some wondering whether or not things were getting so bad that the Receiver might have to be called in. This was not a happy summer for P & A Campbell.
Keep tuned in to see how this pans out.
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 24th July 2021.
