We’ve all arrived in Boulogne-sur-Mer and are trooping off Seaspeed’s SR.N4 hovercraft, ‘The Princess Margaret’. (A sister SR.N4 craft was named after another haughty and irascible subsidiary member of the House of Windsor, ‘The Princess Anne’.)
Crossing the English Channel from Dover took around 35-40 minutes in fair weather, thus making day trips to France a feasible option from my London base. Seaspeed was a joint venture between British Rail and SNCF, so good rail connections were provided. Dedicated shuttle buses conveyed passengers between Dover Priory station and Dover Hoverport, while SNCF provided a purpose-built station at Boulogne adjacent to the hovercraft terminal.
This was my first-ever hovercraft journey, high-tech compared with the Sealink ferries I had used on previous cross-Channel forays. Further trips followed throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, but by then hovercraft seemed to have become somewhat passé. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 ensured their ultimate demise, further accelerated by the proliferation of budget airlines. But more than 40 years ago, flying was an option way beyond my budget, and I had in fact only taken one round-trip airline journey.
‘The Princess Margaret’ outlived her royal-blooded namesake, but was scrapped in 2018. ‘The Princess Anne’ survives in a dedicated museum in Lee-on-Solent.
November 1979
Zorki 4 camera
Agfa CT18 film.
Tags: the princess margaret sr.n4 hovercraft Boulogne-sur-mer seaspeed
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Viewed through the salt-encrusted window of sister vessel ‘Solent Flyer’, this is the latest hovercraft to ply the route between Southsea and Ryde Esplanade. Operated by Hovertravel, it is a GT12000 produced by Griffon Hoverwork. Seating 78 passengers, the 12000TD is powered by a marine Diesel engine that offers enhanced fuel economy and durability. The pair entered service in 2016, represented the fourth generation of commercial hovercraft since the service began in 1965.
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A cluster of us bring out our cameras to photograph the Hovertravel Griffon 12000TD ‘Solent Flyer’ make another 10-minute dash across the Solent on the Ryde-Southsea service. This is the fourth generation of hovercraft to ply the route since it was inaugurated in 1965.
Tags: isle of wight griffon hoverwork griffon 12000td Solent flyer ryde hovertravel hovercraft
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The hovercraft service between Southsea and Ryde, IoW was launched in 1965, continues to run to this very day, making it the world’s oldest commercial hovercraft service. It is operated by Hovertravel. Having made the 10-minute dash across the Solent, one of Hovertravel’s AP1-88 craft arrives at Ryde to land alongside a sister vessel.
September 2005
Rollei 35 camera
Fujichrome 100 film.
Tags: ap1-88 ferry solent isle of wight ryde hovertravel hovercraft
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The day trippers and holidaymakers gather to watch Hovertravel SR.N6 hovercraft arrive at Ryde after the ten-minute trip across the Solent from Southsea Pier. Hovertravel launched the Southsea-Ryde scheduled service in 1965 using these pioneering craft. While the fortunes of hovercraft operations have ebbed in recent years, partly due to escalating costs and technological limitations, but Hovertravel remains in business today, using a fourth generation of vessels.
August 1977
Zorki 4
Agfa CT18 film.
Tags: Saunders-roe sr.n6 isle of wight solent ryde hovertravel hovercraft
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