Megoran’s Musings

Let’s take a snapshot of a week in the life of Cosens’s Monarch running from Bournemouth in August 1960 and see what she was rostered to be up to: Friday

Unlike her two quasi-sisters Tattershall Castle and Wingfield Castle, which were built fairly locally to Hull at Hartlepool by William Gray & Co, the London and North Eastern Railway ordered

On Saturday 4th August 1962 Medway Queen was scheduled to make two round trips between Strood and Southend. She was due away from Strood (9.30am) for Southend (11.10am – 11.30am)

Balmoral spent the night of Tuesday 3rd and into the early morning of Wednesday 4th August 1937 at anchor in thick fog off the Needles with 125 passengers aboard. She

On Saturday 2nd August 1924 the huge excursion paddle steamer La Marguerite was scheduled to run a day trip leaving Prince’s Landing Stage Liverpool (10.45am) for Llandudno (1.05pm – 1.15pm),

On Saturday 1st August 1936 the Southern Railway and P & A Campbell offered a joint cheap afternoon excursion from London to the Isle of Wight by fast electric train

Yesterday we looked at what Balmoral was doing during a week in August 1956. Move on ten years to 1966 and we see a changed scene with Red Funnel’s excursion

For any who loved paddle steamers, or getting afloat, Bournemouth offered a feast of paddle steamer activity in 1939. On this day Monday 31st July the original schedule was for

On Monday 30th July 1962 I took my Auntie Mary, my Dad’s sister, for the morning cruise on Consul leaving Weymouth at 10.30am due back 12.30pm. She had a passing

On Wednesday 31st July 1963 Embassy left her overnight berth at Poole at 8.40am for Bournemouth Pier where she arrived at 9.40am in good time to load for her 10.30am

On Tuesday 29th July 2008 Kingswear Castle ran afternoon cruises and an early evening charter on the River Medway from her base at the Historic Dockyard at Chatham and from

On Thursday 28th July 1960 Princess Elizabeth was scheduled to leave Torquay at 10am for a day trip to Plymouth due back at 8pm. I have the engine room log

Consul’s crew had Saturdays off in the early part of the 1962 season but in the peak weeks from the middle of July they were rostered to run seven days

On Thursday 27th July 1889 Brodick Castle was scheduled to sail from Swanage (9.30am), Bournemouth (10.30am) and Boscombe (10.40am) for Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, (11.45am), Cowes (12.45pm) and Portsmouth

On Thursday 26th July 1934 Lorna Doone was scheduled to run a day trip from Southampton at 9am around the Isle of Wight. She then called at Ryde (10.15am) before

On Saturday 25th July 1959 one of the three Humber paddle steamers Lincoln Castle, Tattershall Castle or Wingfield Castle sailed down from Hull to the Royal Dock Basin at Grimsby

Looking back through the history of excursion paddle steamers we find that some summers were really good with endless sunshine and light airs. Others were terrible with loads of wind

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

On Friday 24th July 1964 the Clyde turbine steamer Queen Mary II was taken out of service with boiler trouble so her sailing “Down the River”, or as it was

On Tuesday 23rd July 1935 Killingholme was scheduled to run a two hour afternoon cruise at 3pm from the Royal Dock Basin at Grimsby on the Humber to view the

On Monday 22nd July 1912 Killingholme was on charter to take King George V, Queen Mary and the rest of the royal party to open Immingham Dock. Killingholme and her

Balmoral was Red Funnel’s largest, fastest and most commodious excursion paddle steamer. Built to counter competition from P & A Campbell at the turn of the century she was in

On Sunday 21st July 1968 Ryde was rostered to run four round trips between Southsea and Ryde. She sailed light ship from her overnight berth opposite the Harbour Station for

Although returned to Red Funnel in 1945 after war service it was not until July 1947 that Bournemouth Queen’s major rebuild was complete and she was ready to be returned

On Sunday 20th July 1997 Kingswear Castle ran one of our annual Teddy Bear Cruises to try to encourage a new generation to come aboard and fall in love with

On Monday 19th July 1971 Maid of the Loch was scheduled to leave Balloch (10.30am) for Tarbet (11.55am) and Inversnaid (12.10 – 12.20pm) before returning to Tarbet (12.35pm) and Balloch

On Wednesday 18th July 1962 Medway Queen left Strood as scheduled at 9.15am and Southend at 10.55am for Clacton where she was due to arrive at 1.25pm to take up

On Saturday 18th July 1914 Cosens’s Majestic, described as “Second to None on the South Coast”, was rostered to run a day trip from Bournemouth to witness a “Grand Naval

On Tuesday 17th July 1900 Balmoral ran her inaugural cruise for directors, shareholders and other invited guests from Southampton having arrived from her Clyde builders fresh and sparkling three days

On Wednesday 16th July 1947 three paddle steamers, Embassy, Monarch, and Princess Elizabeth offered no less than eight departures from Bournemouth Pier during the day not counting the evening single

Friday 15th July was Consul’s first scheduled trip of the season from Weymouth to Totland Bay, Isle of Wight in 1960. She was due away from Weymouth at 10am for

On Wednesday 14th July 1954 Glen Gower cancelled her day trip from Newhaven to Boulogne due to the weather. Before the Second World War day trips from the Sussex Coast

On Sunday 13th July 1958 Bristol Queen, Cardiff Queen and Glen Usk offered multiple trip options on the Bristol Channel from Swansea, Mumbles, Ilfracombe, Porthcawl, Barry, Cardiff, Penarth, Weston, Clevedon