...for a Rusty Usky moment!

From the quay edge at Black Rock.

As I mentioned in my post the morning, Black Rock was once the site of a ferry service between Wales & England across the River Severn.

Black Rock was an important river crossing point for many centuries and dates to pre-Roman times.

During the Roman occupation Black Rock was on the main route between Aquae Sulis (Bath) and Venta Silurum (Caerwent).

The ferry service originally carried foot passengers, cattle and trade goods on rowed/sailed boats leaving from a small quay; this is what remains of the last stone quayside at Black Rock.

Evidence suggests the present stone ramp replaced an earlier one of similar construction.

The cobble stones at top of the ramp are slowly grassing over, but indicate the original roadway.

After the railways came to Wales a branch line was built to Black Rock; the cutting that carried the track is no more than an overgrown ditch nowadays.

When the line was opened in 1863 trains would travel out onto a wooden pier, where the passengers would get off before climbing aboard the ferries.

The pier was severely damaged by fire in 1881 and demolished after the Severn Tunnel opened in 1886, but parts can still be seen at low tide.

To cope with the tidal rise/fall a special dock area was carved into the river bottom allowing the ferry service to run 24 hours.

Notice the small lighthouse to the left indicating the line for the ferry boats. The pier ran down to the right of the image.

The lighthouse marker.

I hope you've found my little trip into local history interesting...

You may not know this, but before there was a railway tunnel under the River Severn and long before anyone thought of building road bridges above it, there was a passenger ferry service that ran between Black Rock on the Welsh side to New Passage on the English side, carrying passengers, cattle and iron ore. The Black Rock ferry also pre-dates the Aust ferry.

In 1863, the Bristol & South Wales Union Railway built a branch from the main line to Black Rock. Trains would travel out onto a wooden pier, where the passengers would get off before climbing aboard the ferries.

Very little exists of the pier now, but it was sited here.

From the foreshore it is possible to examine the base of one of the remaining piles and as you can see, the Second Severn Crossing is only a short distance downstream.