Bristol Ferry to trial a new night-time service during Bristol Light Festival

Bristol Community Ferryboats Ltd (BCFB) will be trialling a new night-time service to celebrate the launch of this year's Bristol Light Festival.

The iconic ferry company is a proud supporter of the city and its popular attractions and traditions and is ideally-placed to help showcase the dazzling artworks which will illuminate central Bristol and the harbourside.

This year's Bristol Improvement District (BID) Bristol Light Festival kicks off on January 31st and runs until February 9th.

Our special timetable features departures from the city centre at 6pm and 7pm for each of the 10 days of the festival with an additional service leaving at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

The service promises spectacular views of the two artworks best observed from the water, but also offers a unique, hop on, hop off, fun way to discover the other stunning installations and fringe events.

Passengers are also able to pre-book a circular tour starting at the city centre to take advantage of the service which heads to the eastern end of the harbour, with stops at Castle Park, Welsh Back, Redcliff Back, Bathurst Basin, Amphitheatre before returning to the centre's Cascade Steps.

Roisin Tobin-Brooke, co-director of Bristol Community Ferry Boats, said:
'This is one of our favourite events of the year. The opportunity to show off the harbourside at night, with some beautiful light play from the reflections off the water, is always a fun contrast to our daily summertime services.
'Add to that the magic of the Bristol Light Festival and you have a never-to-be-forgotten experience for young and old alike.
'We were delighted by the demand for our night-time services last year and wanted to enhance our offering to encourage the public to use water transport as a leisurely way of exploring the city.
'We are excited to trial an extension of our standard route to celebrate the festival and to reinforce our commitment to providing sustainable and viable transport for the future.'

Bristol Ferry’s iconic yellow boats have been serving Bristol’s waterways since 1977 – and are soon to have an additional boat, donated by Rivershack CIC, join the fleet. Trips & Events to Beeses, Harbour History Tours and Thirsty Thursday trips can all be browsed and booked through their website www.bristolferry.com. Whether as valued customer, becoming a member or joining our team as new crew for the 2025 season - now open for applications, there are many ways to get involved.