Penarth, The Hovercraft 1963
Photo ref: P24184
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In a bid to recapture the public's imagination and recreate the excitement and glamour of cross-channel travel, Campbell's were to introduce a hovercraft service in the summer of 1963. The journey between Penarth and Weston-super-Mare could be accomplished in just 12 minutes. Never financially viable, the experimental service, its novelty not withstanding, was discontinued at the end of the season.

An extract from Around Penarth Photographic Memories.

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Piers

This selection of vintage photographs shows some of our finest piers in their heyday, recalling their glory days when seaside piers were at the heart of the traditional British family holiday.

Around Penarth Photographic Memories

Around Penarth Photographic Memories

The photo 'Penarth, the Hovercraft 1963' appears in this book.

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Memories of Penarth, the Hovercraft 1963

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. These memories are of Penarth, The Hovercraft 1963

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I was there that day, standing with the crowd at the pier end. Quite right, the pebbles flew around when I think back on that day..it was quite dangerous, but fun. Always remember that day.
I remember being on the beach the day of the hovercraft coming to Penarth. I was there with a couple of my friends, I would have been nearly 16. We were really excited as we watched it approach then suddenly when it came on to the beach we started to run back as the pebbles were being tossed about from the down draught.
Hi Mike, did you go to St Cyres at all? Let me know.
I remember the excitement of seeing the hovercraft as a child. We used to spend many days on the beach at Penarth usually at the Pier end but when the Hovercraft visited we of course congregated at what we called the 'landing stage' end near the yacht club. The photo shows a boat in the background and I remember a service to Flat Holme run by a Mr Noel or Knowle. We called it 'Knowles boat'. For many years I craved a ...see more