page_title: Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry
section_title: Hythe Ferry
hierarchical_section_title: Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry / Hythe Ferry
caption_attribution_description: Hythe Hotspur IV at Hythe Pier, Hampshire 1946 Built by the Rowhedge Ironworks. 64 ft long 350 passengers (now 300) Main engine: Gardner diesel, re-engined between 1968 and 1971 with more powerful Kelvin diesel, increasing the speed from 8.5 to 9.5 knots.
context_page_description: Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tourists, and forms an important link in the Solent Way and E9 European coastal paths.
  The pier, railway and ferry service are currently operated by Blue Funnel Ferries of Southampton. In October 2016 the previous owners warned their staff of potential redundancy which suggested an uncertain future from the pier and ferry service. After months of talks Lee Rayment of Blue Funnel completed negotiations to acquire the Pier, Train and Ferry with operations starting on 21 April 2017.
  The railway is the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world.
context_section_description: Every train connects at the pier head with an arrival and departure of the Hythe Ferry. The ferry carries passengers and bicycles, and takes about 10 minutes for the crossing. En route, the ferry passes the terminal used by the passenger liners Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria and by other cruise ships, giving good views of the vessels when they are in port.
  The Southampton terminal is at the Town Quay, also the terminal of the Red Funnel ferries to the Isle of Wight. Town Quay is a short walk from the city centre, and is linked to both the city centre and Southampton Central railway station by bus.
  A ferry has operated from Hythe to Southampton since the Middle Ages, and it is marked on a map by Christopher Saxton of 1575. Steam vessels were introduced in 1830. From 1889 the Percy family were involved in the running of the ferry, and from 1900 to 1980 the service was run by the General Estates Company, owned by the Percy family. As a consequence of this, many of the ferries used carried the name Hotspur, named after Henry Percy or Hotspur, who was immortalised by William Shakespeare.
  The current owners, Blue Funnel, have two regular vessels providing the ferry service with a 3rd, Ocean Scene,  as cover when necessary.
  Hythe Scene  (formerly known as Great Expectations) is a catamaran ferry originally used on the White Horse Ferries service across the River Thames from Tilbury to Gravesend.
  Jenny Ann (formerly known as Faldore II and Puffin Belle)
  Previous ferries to have operated on the service include:
  MV Hythe Hotspur ex Gosport Ferry, Southsea Queen bought in 1978 to operate cruises and act as standby vessel for the ferry.
  MV New Forester introduced in 1982.  She utilised the engines removed from Hotspur III.
  MV Solent Rose was borrowed from the Hurst Castle ferry service in 2013.
  MV Uriah Heep removed from service following a collision with the pier on 13 May 2016. As a result of the collision the Maritime and Coastguard Agency withdrew the vessel's passenger safety certificate and vessel was later sold.
  Hotspur IV was built in 1946 and served on the service until 2014.
  Hotspur IV was the last in a line of similar ferries. One of her earlier half-sisters, Hotspur II of 1936, saw further service as a ferry on the Firth of Clyde under the name Kenilworth.
caption: The Hotspur IV at the pier head
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