The Royal Iris is set to be replaced later this year
The Royal Iris on its final journey with passengers (Image: Liverpool Echo)
People have shared their memories as the Royal Iris Mersey ferry carried its last round of passengers earlier today (Sunday, March 29). Leaving the terminal this afternoon at 4pm, passengers paid an emotional goodbye to the ferry as it is soon to be put out of service before being replaced by the Royal Daffodil.
Earlier this year, Mersey Ferries announced that the Royal Iris of the Mersey will be decommissioned with it set to he replaced later this year by the new £26m Royal Daffodil.
It was first launched in 1959 from Devon under the name Mountwood, but was later renamed in 2002 to the Royal Iris after it had undergone a significant facelift.
In that time it has been an ever-present in the lives of Scousers young and old, whether it was used for the morning commute to work or on school trips.
One of those on board to make one last journey on the Royal Iris was John Lunt, 66, who has been coming on the ferry almost his entire life.
He said: “I’ve got great memories [of the ferry]. My eldest child’s 43, and we used to regularly come on. Coming back and forth with the children, it was absolutely amazing. I’ve got tons and tons of footage of this wonderful waterfront, how it’s changed. It’s been a great asset to Liverpool.”
Meanwhile, Avis Greer, 87, remembers when the ferry was first put into action. She said: “I was 20 when it started off coming on this one.”
However, she said it was a race against time trying to catch the ferry one last time. She added: “We only came out to shop, and we said we’d just go down and see if it’s going out. We got there about 10 minutes before it was due to leave. It’s a lovely way to finish the afternoon.”
Another passenger who remembers the ferry in its early days is Margorie Humber, 73, who said that despite six decades passing, very little has changed. She said: “It is identical, there’s no difference. That’s what’s so atmospheric about it, that it does hark back to a different era. I’m just delighted to be part of that.”
Meanwhile, Leah Rogers, 30, recently became Mersey Ferries’ first mate [second-in-command to the captain] and she said that it was an “amazing” feeling to join her captain Gary on the ferry earlier today.
She said: “I remember being a kid coming on here all the time with my family and my little brothers and we’ve got so many photos over the years of us being on here and singing the songs. To be sailing and helping deliver the final voyage is just an unbelievable experience and something I’d never dreamed of doing.”
As the Royal Iris has set sail for the final time, Mersey Services will continue running as usual with the Snowdrop and Iris’s replacement, the Royal Daffodil, set to begin passenger service later this year.
