Appledore Slipway and the steps at Instow Quay sit 655 metres apart across the mouth of the Torridge, and the boat between them keeps no clock. It follows the tide, which is why the operator publishes a fresh sheet of sailing windows every month instead of a timetable. The 2026 season closes on Saturday 24 October; after that there is no boat until the operator announces its 2027 dates, and none had been published by 13 October 2026.
2026 season, 1 April to Saturday 24 October. October 2026 sheet read on 22 September, 7 October and again, unchanged, on 13 October 2026; there is no November sheet, because the season ends on the 24th, and no 2027 dates had been published by 13 October 2026. Appledore & Instow Ferry — monthly timetable sheets · 2026-10-13
Appledore sits on the western shore of the Torridge just above the point where it joins the Taw and both rivers push out over Bideford Bar into Bideford Bay. Instow faces it across the water, a village of sand and moored yachts with the South West Coast Path running along its front. At low water the estuary between them drains to banks and one narrow channel; a few hours later there is enough depth for a small boat to lie alongside a flight of stone steps. The ferry exists in that gap, and only in that gap. Of the English ferries we cover, this is the one the tide governs most completely.
It is run as a not-for-profit company by volunteers, with two nearly identical boats — Sheila M, in service since April 2019, and Tessa M, since April 2023. Both are Fibramar Pescador 780 hulls built in Portugal and fitted out by craftsmen at Instow over a winter, both driven by a 60 HP Yamaha four-stroke, and both licensed to carry twelve passengers plus two crew. Several of the skippers hold Powerboat Instructor qualifications and teach RYA courses at the local yacht club.
The same licence bounds the season: the ferry may work between 1 April and 31 October and no longer. In 2026 it opened on 1 April, and the operator has fixed the last day of the season as Saturday 24 October.
Every fare is a single, in either direction. No tickets are issued, so there is nothing to buy as a return and nothing to show on the way back — you simply pay again. Payment is by card only; the boats take no cash.
| Adult, 16 and over | £ 2 |
| Child, 1 to 15 | £ 1 |
| Under 1 | Free |
| Bicycle | £ 2 |
| Dog | Free |
| Pushchair | Free |
| Taxi run to a moored boat, per person | £ 2 |
2026 season fares, printed on the Fares page and at the foot of every monthly timetable sheet; both re-checked on 13 October 2026 Appledore & Instow Ferry — Fares · 2026-10-13
The map plots the two landings recorded by the Department for Transport: Appledore Ferry Landing on the Torridge bank and Instow Ferry Landing opposite, 655 metres apart. By road there is no short answer — the first crossing of the Torridge upstream is at Bideford, so the villages are neighbours by water and a long drive apart by land. It is the oldest argument for a ferry there is, and the same one that puts a boat across the Thames at Shepperton Lock, where the towpath has to change sides.
The Appledore landing is a working slipway rather than a pontoon, and the boat comes alongside wherever the water lets it. One quirk catches people out on this bank: the start time on the monthly sheet is when the ferry collects its crew and passengers from Instow, so when only one boat is working the first departure from Appledore usually falls 10 to 15 minutes later than the printed hour.
Everything about the service is decided on this side. The Instow steps can be reached only for a limited spell around high water, and that single physical constraint is what fixes the operating window each day — the operator says so itself when asked why the boats do not work longer hours. Skippers use depth sounders to find the narrow channel in to the steps when the water is low. The crossing also lands you in a different local authority from the one you left: Instow is in North Devon, Appledore in Torridge.
High water falls later by roughly three quarters of an hour a day, and the window moves with it. The October 2026 sheet shows the effect: 09:30–11:35 on the 16th, 12:45–15:25 on the 20th and 15:15–18:10 on the 24th. A window that suits you one week may not exist the next.
The service is card payment only and issues no tickets. That also means no returns: £2.00 as an adult, £1.00 for a child aged 1 to 15, paid again on the way back.
A bicycle costs £2.00, but each boat carries only twelve people and the skipper balances passengers, bikes and buggies. If several turn up at once, somebody waits. E-bikes and e-scooters are refused outright.
Neither landing is step-free. A folding wheelchair is carried only if its user can manage the steps, which are steep and unevenly cut, and then board a boat that moves underfoot; the operator openly advises against the trip where balance or mobility is poor.
In amber heat warnings the company may suspend sailings to protect skippers and volunteers working by the water. Cancellations go on the ferry status panel of its website, on Facebook and Instagram, and on the A-boards at both villages.
School groups are taken by arrangement, with life jackets fitted to every child before boarding. Party bookings are accepted too, though the crew will refuse anyone intoxicated.
Small boats mean a load balanced by judgement rather than by queue order. Buggies and bicycles are carried, but if several large buggies and a group of riders arrive together somebody is left for the next trip. Equipment on board is more serious than the size of the boats suggests: GPS wired to the VHF so a position goes out automatically in an emergency, depth sounders for the channel into Instow at low water, and a listening watch on channel 16 while the two boats work M1 and M2 between themselves and the shore helpers.
Weather stops the crossing more often than anything else, and nothing replaces it when it does. Walking round means Bideford Bridge and several miles of road, which is exactly why a 655-metre hop has kept a volunteer crew busy for as long as it has. The same arithmetic keeps the Avon boat at Bantham in business further down the coast, where the way round adds nine miles.
Because of the steps at Instow. The operator's own answer is that they can reach those steps only for a limited spell either side of high water, so the boats work roughly two hours before and after it. As high water slides later through the month, so does the window: the October 2026 sheet gives 09:30 to 11:35 on the 16th and 12:45 to 15:25 four days later.
No, and the gaps run for days at a time. The October 2026 sheet, for instance, shows no service from the 9th to the 15th. After Saturday 24 October the boats stop for the winter, and the sheet marks the 25th to the 31st as No Service.
No. The ferry issues no tickets at all, so returns cannot be sold. You pay £2.00 as an adult, or £1.00 for a child aged 1 to 15, each time you cross — and only by card, because the boats take no cash.
No. Electric bikes and e-scooters have been refused since 1 May 2024, on the grounds that a battery fire in a confined space next to the fuel and the life raft is not a risk the board is prepared to carry. Tricycles, tandems and bikes with trailers are out as well. An ordinary bicycle costs £2.00 and travels subject to space.
Not quite. The published start is the moment the ferry collects its crew and passengers at Instow. When only one boat is working, the first departure from the Appledore side is usually 10 to 15 minutes after that printed time.
The operator is blunt about this. Wheelchairs are carried only when they fold, and only when their user can manage the steps unaided — steep, unevenly cut, and ending at a boat that shifts as you board — whether at Instow Quay or the Appledore slip. Its own advice, stated without euphemism, is not to attempt the crossing at all where mobility or balance are limited.
Torridge District Council, acting for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Both boats are inspected yearly for seaworthiness and required safety kit, and skippers are licensed annually and examined on local waters knowledge by the Harbour Master.
Heat does. During amber heat warnings the company may suspend operations to protect skippers and volunteers working by the water. Cancellations appear on the ferry status panel of its own site, on Facebook and Instagram, and on the A-boards at both villages.