Cruising down the Bristol Channel in Waverley

In recent years I've been drawn to many things nostalgic. Maybe it's a sign of growing old, or maybe I've learned to appreciate some of the finer and rarer things in life. Going on board the Waverley was one of them. The Waverley is a ship built in 1947, and today is the world's last seagoing paddle steamer, ie a ship that uses steam to drive the paddles.

livinguktaiwan divider.png

Waverley history

During the initial decades, the Waverley was cruising up and down UK taking passengers on many memorable trips. By the seventies, she was in operation on and off due to maintenance issues, particularly the need for new boilers that were crucial to power the steam engines. Her final refit was completed in 2020 at a cost of £2.3m but due to Covid she was unable to resume regular operations that year.

Day cruising

Fast forward to 2023, the Waverley started cruising around UK again, and in June, one of the day cruises departed from my local town. It proved a popular tour and all the tickets were sold out before the day. Most of the passengers were the silver generation who said they used to cruise the Waverley decades ago. Some used to cruise as a child with their parents or grandparents, and many were like me who wanted to experience a piece of history.

We arrived a good half an hour before boarding time and there was already a long queue ahead of us. In addition, quite a big crowd had come to see me Waverley off as it was quite an event for the town.

Onboard

Finally it was time to depart. And that was when I realised there were even more onlookers round the other side of the building. By the way, do you see the big blue mural on the right? That's the one I saw the artist painting two months ago in this post.

It was a lovely day, and I sat out on the deck as we cruised away. We were told to bring a jacket as it was windy out in the sea. It was, but not unbearably windy. In fact, the sea breeze and the smell of the sea were very soothing. Despite being born and lived here most of my life, I've never been out in the sea here, and it was lovely to see things from another perspective. For all my life I've been looking out to the sea from ashore, now I'm actually in the sea. It felt so great.

Inside Waverley

After sitting outside for a little while, I decided to go inside to explore the Waverley and to get myself a cup of tea. Yup! Brits will know how important the morning cuppa is!!

The café is through the door by the white pillar. There's also a sit down restaurant where you can have a hot meal, as well as a bar downstairs. Plenty of places to sit down indoors if you don't like the outside.

This is the gift shop and has lots of knick knacks and souvenirs on sale. If you buy a postcard you can even send it in the post box on board. This is a proper Victorian post box, the letters VR at the top stands for Victoria Regina, the Queen Victoria reign. How cool is that!

Here are a few more images of the interior of Waverley. She's been restored over the years to what it used to look like, classic and elegant. And this is what I love about the Waverley, how it strives to preserve the past for the future.

Engine room

At the heart of the Ship is her magnificent 2100 horsepower, triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, open to full public view. _{Source Waverley website} The engine room is located in the middle of the ship and is a must see for all passengers. You can't miss it if you walk around the ship due to its noise and immense heat, and it was fascinating to watch it in motion.

It's rather difficult to describe the engine room to you so I've added a video that I took on board. Remember to turn on and up your volume to get the best experience.

The engine room is always guarded by a member of crew who is stationed right in front of the engine. This may be a noisy, steamy, greasy engine room but no details have been spared during her restoration. I love the shell shape lamp and the rattan chair. And look at the control box sigh the brass backing panels on the levers. If this was a modern day vessel, we would just have a big clunk of cold metal. No style or character at all.

Sunset return journey

I cruised on the Waverley for 4 hours in the morning to a coastal town called Ilfracombe where I went on shore for about 3 hours. My visit there will be for another post. It took us another 4 hours to cruise back home. And that was the best part of the whole journey. Imagine being out in the sea on a warm summer evening, the gentle sea breeze gently caressing your face. Those precious shimmery golden coins are almost within reach, but I am content to just witness and be thankful for their presence.