Hampton Ferry

The Hampton ferry in Worcestershire has been transporting people across the Avon since the thirteenth century - and all for thruppence!

The villagers of Hampton in Worcestershire planning to visit nearby Evesham have the choice of either using the bus (17 pence in 1976 prices) or using the rope ferry across the River Avon (a much more reasonable 3 pence). Ferry man Ernest Huxley explains to Peter Plant how the ferry works and shows how he's pulled the ferry backwards and forwards since 1929.

The river crossing at Hampton is thought to have been in use since Benedictine Monks used it to cross the Avon to reach Evesham Abbey in the thirteenth century.