Balmoral

The excursion ship Balmoral was built at Southampton by John I Thornycroft & Company for the Southampton, Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. Limited, more normally known as the Red Funnel line. It operated as a ferry to the Isle of Wight until dedicated car ferries were introduced and then mainly on excursion cruises work. In 1968 the vessel was purchased by P & A Campbell and moved to the Bristol Channel until the company closed its sailings in 1980.

Subsequently the ship was purchased for a failed restaurant project at Dundee and then passed to Waverley Steam Navigation Co. Ltd for operations around the Bristol Channel. In 2015, ownership of MV Balmoral was transferred to a new registered charity MV Balmoral Fund Limited, and she is now operated by their subsidiary, White Funnel Ltd. The ship has not operated since the end of 2017 and has seen major repair work and it is hoped to be back in service soon.

Here she is seen lying alongside the quay in Bristol Harbour.