Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - The White Funnel Fleet - P & A Campbell Limited

above left - 'Cardiff Queen' arriving at Mumbles. above right - Another view of 'Glen Usk' leaving a wide wake as she sails from Weston for Cardiff. All the photographs illustrating the article are by the author. [346]

Today [c.1960], most Bristol Channel seaside resorts, including Bristol, Clevedon, Weston, Minehead, Lynmouth, Ilfracombe, Lundy Island, Tenby, Mumbles, Porthcawl, Barry, Penarth and Cardiff, are visited by the steamers. The Newport service was discontinued in the 1950's.

During the season, from Easter until October, one of the 'White Funnel' steamers ply daily between the South Wales ports of Cardiff, Penarth or Barry, and Weston on the Somerset coast. Another sails on long day trips, such as Cardiff or Bristol to Ilfracombe and Lundy Island or Porthcawl, Mumbles, Tenby and the Gower Coast.

Since the second world war, the private car and motor coach have greatly increased in popularity and this had affected the numbers of passengers using the steamers. Consequently, the number of steamers in operation has been cut down in the past 15 years. The Ravenswood and Britannia have been broken up, while the Glen Gower was recently sold for use on the continent.