Balmoral to sail again in summer

A SHIP that has carried generations of daytrippers around the British coast will be returning to Wales this summer – thanks to a successful fundraising appeal.

Vintage coastal steamer MV Balmoral is the sister ship to the Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer.

Both have been regular visitors to South Wales for decades.

Despite being the National Historic Ships Flagship of the Year for 2016, Balmoral endured a challenging year.

Early season technical difficulties resulted in several days of sailings being cancelled.

Further cancellations due to bad weather meant more than a quarter of sailings were lost, including the important August Bank Holiday weekend.

The trustees of the MV Balmoral Fund Ltd, the owners of the historic vessel, took the decision last October to launch an appeal to raise sufficient funds to ensure she could sail again this year.

Donations came from many loyal Balmoral supporters, as well as many of the thousands of passengers who have enjoyed sailing on the vessel and the appeal was a great success.

The 736-tonne ship, which entered service in 1949, will sail on 33 days from her principle departure point at Penarth’s historic pier – on some days calling as often as four times a day.

There sailings will also be from Porthcawl, Swansea and Briton Ferry.

This year there are three new special sailings from Milford Haven, thought to be the first since 1978.

One is around the Haven and River Cleddau, then a special bird-watching nature cruise around Skomer, Skokholm and Grassholm islands.

There will also be a direct sailing from Milford to Lundy Island.

To find out more, visit www.whitefunnel. co.uk