RENFREW FERRY or more correctly, the Yoker - Renfrew Ferry.
ACCESS : From the north side in Yoker use Yoker Ferry Road. From the south side use Ferry Road in the town of Renfrew.
Also see : ERSKINE FERRY, OLD KILPATRICK
The Renfrew Ferry is outwith West Dunbartonshire, but has played a significant role for those to the north of the Clyde to get to the south side.
As of May 2025, the essential purpose of a ferry at this point on the Clyde ceased with the opening of the Renfrew Bridge. However for the foreseeable future it is to be kept operating. It seems that it retains a great deal of sentimental importance adding to its practical value for the few pedestrians and cyclists who use it,
Time will tell as to how long it survives.
There have in fact been several ferries serving this route. They have been reduced in size with the construction of the various bridges and with that the reducing need for cross access for larger vehicles. A well known one that still exists albeit in altered form is the nightclub moored in the Broomielaw and known as The Ferry. (Previously Renfrew Ferry).
Wikipedia tells us that:
Originally the service operated from King's Inch, further upstream on land which is now the site of the Braehead Shopping Centre, but moved around two hundred years ago to better serve the town of Renfrew. In the 1960s there were many other crossings operating close to the Renfrew Ferry, mainly serving the dominant shipyards of the Clyde. A number of ferries across the Clyde ended service as bridges and the tunnel were completed.
Renfrew Ferry continues though. It is the last operational Clyde crossing this far upstream, and the closest to Glasgow City Centre.
The service was passenger-only until the car boom of the 1950s and 1960s, when it became a car ferry. With the opening of the Clyde Tunnel just two miles upstream, which allowed faster crossings, the car service ceased in May 1984.
Earlier ferries were hauled accross with rope or chains.
From 1984 until 2010 SPT and its predecessor operated two passenger-only boats, appropriately named the MV Renfrew Rose and Yoker Swan.
The north slipway in 2024. Wide to serve vehicle ferries. The old jetty still remains.
The ferry arrives to fetch us. Just us this time.
It may be a very short distance; the ferry rather small, but there is a sense of anticipation, of history on the Clyde.
And here it is. Metallic drama as the drawbridge clunks onto the cobbles and we walk on.
Welcome aboard.
In the hands of the able pilot. A mobile phone. Iron Brew. A useful piece of rope. A ship's compass - in case the fog descends and the other bank can't be seen?
The Clyde has seen some mishaps. Lifebelts are essential.
In able hands. Our pilot navigates the route... yet again... yet lives an essential piece of Clyde history.
The ferry on the north side with the old timber jetty.
Greeted by the old Ferry Inn on the south side.
A quaint setting. Look closely and you will see two ferries on the other side of the jetty. One in the water that was in service at the time and another on the hard up the slipway. Another private boat sits to the left.
A small lone craft out on the grey water.
Housing downstream on the north bank.
And naval yards upstream on the north bank.
Give way to larger craft.
Same service. A different craft. Island Trader.
Ready to walk up the gangway.
An earlier larger ferry, the Renfrew Rose.
A cold evening waiting for a crossing.
PAISLEY HERITAGE : https://www.paisleyheritage.org.uk/post/a-river-s-lifeline-the-renfrew-ferry
SABRE : https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/w/index.php?title=Renfrew-Yoker_Ferry
WIKIPEDIA : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renfrew_Ferry
