From H. Mariacki, Bristol:

We live in Bristol and like to visit my mother’s family in Cowes when we can. My mother is mainly confined to a wheelchair now but thoroughly enjoys travelling to East Cowes on the Red Funnel ferry.

Her sister lives in Cowes so using the Red Jet service would be easier but never mind.

We left the East Cowes terminal only to find the floating bridge out of service. In my opinion the replacement boat service was not suitable for a wheelchair user, so we booked a taxi to Cowes. This journey took over 80 minutes owing to the extremely heavy traffic caused by the roadworks.

Talking to my auntie about this, she said road congestion was very bad nowadays — her husband’s father had worked at J. S. White’s during the Second World War. He lived in Newchurch, and said it was quicker to travel to Cowes from Newchurch in the 1980s, so who knows what it is like now.

When he didn’t catch the train he cycled and used the floating bridge, which remained in service throughout the war — even surviving a U-boat attack; the torpedo passing under the floating bridge and beaching itself on a slipway at White’s.

So a month or so passed and we again visit. Guess what? No floating bridge. Out of service for maintenance. I thought it was new.

I think the Red Jet in future.