HYTHE FERRY

09/04/2026

Hythe Ferry Update - Thursday 9th April 2026

The Hythe Ferry has long been an important and historic transport link for the local community.

Over the past 18 months, the owner of The Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company has worked extensively to try and find a sustainable solution that would allow the service to return.

This included exploring funding opportunities, grant support and inviting potential investors or operators to come forward.

Unfortunately, despite exhausting every possible avenue, no viable proposals or interested parties have emerged.

Following legal advice, the difficult decision has therefore been taken to place The Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company into voluntary liquidation.

This is a deeply disappointing outcome and not one that has been reached lightly. We know how much the ferry means to the local community.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the ferry during this challenging time.

04/02/2026

Hythe Ferry Update - Wednesday 4th February 2026

The Hythe Ferry has long been an iconic and historic transport link, connecting Hythe and Southampton for generations. Serving both local commuters and visitors, it remains a vital part of the Solent’s heritage and community.

Since Red Funnel’s acquisition of the Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company in September 2023, the ferry has operated over 5,500 sailings and carried more than 70,000 passengers, providing essential connectivity at a time when the service might otherwise have ended.

To date, Red Funnel has made significant investment into the Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company, including a complete vessel refit, ongoing running costs, upgrade works and pontoon repairs. We have continued to support key team members while working tirelessly to secure funding for further essential infrastructure and safety works. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the service has remained suspended since August 2024 due to ongoing infrastructure and funding challenges.

Following its acquisition of Red Funnel and subsidiary, the Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company, Njord Partners recognises the ferry’s historic importance but feels its expertise and portfolio aren’t best suited to operate the service moving forward. Therefore, we are actively seeking a new owner who shares our vision to restore, modernise and unlock the full potential of this historic route.

This is an exciting opportunity for an investor to acquire the Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company. Allowing them to bring innovation and technology to a well-established service with strong local support and heritage value. Interested parties should contact [email protected] for more information by 19th February 2026. In the interest of all parties, it is expected that this process is completed within a rapid timeline.

We continue to work closely with the Hythe Pier owner during this transition and remain committed to supporting colleagues.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the ferry during this challenging period, including those who contributed to the GoFundMe page. Funds raised will continue to be allocated to repair the pontoon, however, anyone wishing to have their donation returned should contact [email protected].

While it is deeply disappointing that more progress could not be made to resume the service, we remain hopeful that, with a new investor and strong community engagement, the Hythe Ferry will be preserved, modernised and developed for generations to come.

⛴️

18/12/2025

Hythe Ferry update - 18th December 2025

We’d like to thank everyone for their patience and continued support as we focus on finding the best way forward to protect this important service for our local community.

Essential works to support the pier and ferry operations are progressing, and we’re pleased to confirm that the owners of Hythe Pier recently completed critical electrical repairs.
This is an important step forwards but there is still work to be done.

The ferry is a much-loved and historic part of our community, and we’d like to reassure you that there’s a lot happening behind the scenes, with our team, to find the right way forward and secure its future.

As soon as we have any further updates we will let you know.

In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas ⛴️

21/08/2025

This coming Saturday, 23rd August 🏴‍☠️

19/08/2025

🏴‍☠️

🛍️ A Market Fit for Pirates!
Wander through our swashbucklin’ pirate market—brimming with tasty grub, fine crafts, live music, and towering pirates on stilts! Bring yer gold coins and yer appetite!
🏴‍☠️
Saturday 23rd August - 10am until 4pm

30/06/2025

Hythe Ferry Update - 30th June 2025

We’re delighted to confirm that Phase 1 of our essential infrastructure works will recommence this coming Thursday and Friday!

We hope to bring you further updates as they commence, in the coming weeks.

We’re also pleased to share that we’ve opened up discussions with the aim of bringing together officers from Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, New Forest District Council, and the New Forest National Park Authority.

This is a fantastic opportunity to begin shaping conversations around devolution and the future role of water-based transport and looking at how services like the Hythe Ferry could support regional transport planning under a future Mayor.

It also allows us to explore alternative travel options for our community that don’t rely solely on the A326.

We know how much this service means to you all, and we hope this update gives you confidence in the progress being made.

We’re working hard, with real commitment, to bring the Hythe Ferry back as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support ⛴️

23/06/2025

🚨 Pier Trespassing Incident – Public Notice 🚨

Unfortunately, we had trespassers on the pier on both Saturday and Sunday night. Some damage was caused to fencing, and police were called to the scene to es**rt individuals off the premises.

The pier is private property, and access is only permitted during operational hours via the ferry service and staff.

The pier owner will now be introducing additional security measures, and we would like to remind everyone that full CCTV is in operation 24/7 along the entire length of the pier, meaning we have clear photo evidence of the trespassers, how they got on to the pier and what they were up to.

Thank you to the local police and to those in the community who continue to help us protect this vital piece of Hythe’s heritage.

Hythe Ferry Team ⛴️

19/06/2025

Waterside Arts are taking part in Waterside Heritage Day you can follow our chalk trail from HYTHE FERRY to the Waterside Heritage learning some interesting facts along the way.
If you want to find out even more join one of our history walks starting at the Pier Entrance at 11am, 12.30pm, and 2pm.
You can also have fun taking part in our Then and Now project. Pinned on this page are old photos of locations on the Waterside, track them down and recreate the photos and post them here. You can just do one or you may want to do them all. We will log your current photos for posterity at the Waterside Heritage as a record of the Waterside in 2025

01/06/2025

The Pier, Train and Ticket Office will be closed today.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
(Sunday 1st June)

11/05/2025

The Pier, Train and Ticket Office will be closed today.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
(Sunday 11th May)

08/05/2025

Hythe Ferry update - 8th May 2025

We wanted to provide a brief but important update on the investigation works that took place this morning.

You may have spotted the Williams Shipping barge at the end of the pontoon today, we're incredibly grateful to them for assisting us with this crucial first phase of works.

Phase One; focusing on testing the strength of the structure that supports the walkway.
This needs to be lifted or moved before we can begin the critical repairs to the pontoon and piles. It's a vital step and the results of this phase will determine how we proceed with Phase Two (pontoon repairs) and Phase Three (pile works).

We're currently working with three specialist contractors on this stage:

* Below the Hook Ltd.
* Ultramag Inspection Services
* Williams Shipping

At the same time, we’re also planning for our annual ferry refit, required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). This typically takes place in June/July and the cost was around £60,000 last year.
We're doing all we can to carefully manage timelines and budgets to get the ferry service up and running again as soon as possible, and in the most cost-effective way.

Lastly, despite repeated efforts, we’ve yet to secure any financial support from New Forest District Council (NFDC).

We still have a long way to go, but we’re pleased to be able to bring you a positive update today.

Thank you for your continued patience and support. We know how important the ferry is to the community, and we’ll keep doing everything we can to bring it back into service safely and sustainably.

⛴️