Are We Bovered?
The new hovercraft service from Portobello near Edinburgh to Kirkaldy in Fife across the Forth is greeted with some enthusiasm by the media. There was almost a feeling of wow, great new technology. The 130 seat Solent Express is indeed a state of the art new hovercraft but these machines have been around for a long time now. They've been used across the Solent to the Isle of Wight since 1962 and have carried over 20 million passengers.
Apparently Fife Council have a study which thinks it's a daft idea. I hope it isn't, but what it might need is a south side landing closer to the centre of Edinburgh. Having said that I've no idea if there is one.
DURATION: Mon 16-Sat 28 July (not Sun 22)
ROUTE: Kirkcaldy Esplanade to Portobello Promenade
FREQUENCY: Hourly in each direction, 7:10am (8am Sat) to 6pm from Kirkcaldy, 7:35am (8:30am Sat) to 6:30pm from Portobello
CROSSING TIME: 20min
COST: £9.50 return peak, £4.50 off-peak (incl connecting bus to Waverley Bridge or Ocean Terminal)
5 comments:
These look like fun to ride.
When my Dad is staying with us next week I'm going to take him and another friend on it. I'll report back with photos!
We're leaving for Oregon tomorrow at four a.m. Wish we could take the hovercraft.
This is a shameless plug for Portobello, but with the number 26 bus running every 5 minutes from the top of King's Road (where the craft will land), you can get into Princes St in about 15-20 minutes. Leith or Granton would probably take as long if not longer, and would likely cost more if Forth Ports decided they wanted their pound of flesh.
Good plug Richard. As I said I shall try it on Monday week.
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