Passengers on Reedham ferry will miss 'tranquil' way to work

Passengers who use a chain ferry say they will miss their "tranquil' commute while it undergoes repairs.

Reedham Ferry on the River Yare in Norfolk has closed to traffic for about a month, and the vessel is being taken for inspection and maintenance.

It is a requirement of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that the ferry is re-certificated every three years.

Regular passengers now face diversions of up to 30 miles until the ferry service resumes.

Aside from the railway line, the ferry is the only crossing service for the public. It can take motor vehicles, bicycles and foot passengers, with the nearest road bridges carrying the A47 over the Yare at Great Yarmouth and south of Norwich.

The ferry is being inspected in Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft in Suffolk.

Mathew Hunt, 31, uses the ferry twice a day as he commutes from Halesworth in Suffolk to Reedham Primary School.

"It's a different way of getting in [to work] and the staff here are fantastic," he said.

"The banter in the morning makes the commute quite fun, really, and it's tranquil."

On the day before the ferry stopped, Annette Brown was returning to Great Yarmouth having taken her husband to work on the south side of the river.

"It's going to be about two extra hours a day on a travel, which is not good," she said.

Richard Holt uses the ferry to get his sons to their sports club twice a week in Southwold, Suffolk.

"It takes an extra 20 minutes to drive if I've got to go [the long way] round. You understand why it has to be done. It has to be maintained," he said.

Ann Wall said she would not enjoy the diversionary route. She takes the ferry every day, which has a £7 return fare.

"I am going from Reedham to Lowestoft and it's a choice of this route or the [A47] Acle Straight. I hate the Acle Straight," she said.

"I'm not very good at maths, but it's 16 miles this way [via ferry] and it's 26 miles the other way.

"I can't do the maths of how much it costs a mile, but I prefer going this way. There's no traffic... the likelihood is I'll see a deer and a rabbit and that's about how busy it gets."

David Archer, who with his family has operated the ferry since 1949, said the ferry would be out of service for between four and six weeks, depending on repairs.

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