The Walberswick Ferry
About
A wooden boat on the Suffolk punt pattern, rowed by hand across the mouth of the River Blyth between the end of Ferry Road in Southwold and Ferry Knoll on the Walberswick side. There is no timetable and no booking: you walk down, wait, and the ferryman takes you over. Rowing is the normal crossing and the reason to do it, but the operator is straightforward that a motor launch stands in when conditions are unsuitable for rowing, in winter, or when the queue is longer than the rowing boat can clear, so an engine is not guaranteed to be absent. It carries up to twelve people at a time. The crossing takes a couple of minutes and saves a road journey of about 13 kilometres round by Blythburgh, which is the whole point of it. It is licensed by East Suffolk Council and runs a daily service from 30 March to 1 November 2026, 10am to 5pm, with a reduced weekend-only service outside those dates. Fares are cash only. Being an open rowing boat on a tidal river mouth, it is weather and tide dependent and does not run in rough conditions, so treat it as a bonus rather than a fixed part of a plan.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Normally rowed by hand, with a motor launch only when it is too rough or too busy
- ✓Saves a 13km road detour via Blythburgh
- ✓Lands beside Walberswick's crabbing quay
- ✓Up to twelve passengers a trip
Tips
- →Cash only: 2.50 pounds an adult, 1 pound for children aged 5 to 18, 1.50 pounds a bicycle. Dogs and under-5s free.
- →No booking and no timetable; just turn up.
- →Daily 10am to 5pm from 30 March to 1 November 2026; weekends only outside that window.
- →It does not run in rough weather, and the footbridge upriver is the alternative crossing on foot.