LNER paddle steamer Waverley bucks the trend
FOR the first time since he became general manager at Waverley Excursions five years ago, Paul Semple has not had to launch an appeal to pay for the famous LNERbuilt paddle steamer’s winter repairs and dry docking.
“We carried a record 157,000 passengers in 2023 and lost hardly any sailings to weather or technical failures, so, the result is that we have enough to cover everything this winter,” Paul said.
“We’ve bucked some quite gloomy trends in the preservation world at present, with some of the bestknown heritage railways such as the Great Central and Swanage having to launch appeals to keep going.
“Our success has been down to the cost of fuel oil dropping from a record 94p per litre in 2022 to 69p last year, while we attracted new passengers by keeping our timetable fresh. That involved visiting piers such as Warrenpoint and Shoreham-on-Sea for the first time and returning to others we hadn’t been to for some years, such as Troon, Craignure, Tenby, Portishead and Ipswich.”
Season highlight
Paul promises more new and oldfavourite destinations this season, while he says that the highlight will take place in August when Waverley meets PS Kingswear Castle on the River Dart, again offering something new to attract passengers.
Waverley Excursions is also offering free travel to anyone aged under 16 when accompanied by a fare-paying adult in a bid to popularise the paddler among children, families and young people.
“We are doing this for the first time as we want to establish the boat with children as they are our future passengers,” he explained. “I first saw Waverley as a wee boy and was smitten. I want other children to be the same!”
Paul said it is easier to freshen the timetable than it is for a heritage railway, which runs between fixed points, but he feels that success will flow from applying the same principle as the ship. He says that this includes value for money and effective marketing, using what’s appropriate and where.
“We had 30,000 leaflets delivered to home in Argyll and Bute and it really paid off, while we use local papers extensively where we call and find that this generates passengers.
“One of the things that I’m sure many heritage railways have already done, but what we’re doing for the first time, is to commission an economic impact study. We know that the ship and attractions such as heritage railways do have an impact on local economies and tourism and we have estimated ours in the past, but this study will give us firm figures to use when seeking future support for the ship from a variety of public and private bodies and communities.”
Plan ahead
Waverley has been undergoing winter maintenance, including deck timber renewal, with dry docking taking place at Greenock before the first sailing of the season from Glasgow on Friday, May 17. Over the season, the world’s last seagoing paddler will visit Northern Ireland, North Wales, the Bristol Channel, south coast piers and the Thames. Full details are at www. waverleyexcursions.co.uk