October hours are in force: on weekdays the Hampton Ferry crosses from 07:45 to 09:30 and again from 15:00 to 18:00, with nothing in between, and at weekends from 11:00 to 18:00. On Sunday 25 October it stops at 17:00, and the boathouse has published nothing yet for November.
October timetable published on the Hampton Ferry Boathouse home page, read on 15 October 2026; no hours yet published for November 2026 onwards. Hampton Ferry Boathouse — ferry timetable · 2026-10-15
Compared with the other foot ferries along this reach of the river, the Hampton boat is the cheapest to use and the shortest to cross, but the least predictable in winter. Upstream, the Shepperton–Weybridge ferry keeps a published service through the colder months; at Hampton the boathouse lists summer, April and October hours and says nothing about November to March. Both exist to spare walkers a long detour to the nearest bridge, and both pick you up on request rather than at fixed times.
Hampton's crossing joins the village of Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, with Moulsey Hurst in East Molesey, on the Surrey bank. The landing is at the Hampton Ferry Boathouse on Thames Street, opposite St Mary's Church, about a mile upstream of Hampton Court Palace. The boat is a retired army assault craft with an outboard motor, which its owners say can carry ten people along with bicycles and pushchairs.
Fares are low: an adult pays £3.00 one way or £4.00 there and back, and anyone under 18 half that. The catch is timing. On October weekdays there are only two windows, morning and late afternoon.
Pay the ferryman, by cash or card. Under-18s pay half the adult single, a return undercuts two singles, and small children, pushchairs and dogs ride free. A bicycle costs 50p, though the page leaves unclear whether that is charged per crossing or per day.
| Adult single | £ 3 |
| Adult return | £ 4 |
| Child under 18, single | £ 1.50 |
| Child under 18, return | £ 2 |
| Bicycle | £ 0.50 |
| Small children, pushchairs, dogs | Free |
Ferry prices on the Hampton Ferry Boathouse prices page, undated, read 15 October 2026 Hampton Ferry Boathouse — prices, the ferry · 2026-10-15
The two landings registered by the Department for Transport are only about 145 metres apart, a short hop for the boathouse's outboard-driven launch. The alternative on foot is to go round by Hampton Court: the boathouse places itself a mile west of the palace, and the bridge beside the palace is the nearest place to cross. That is the trade the ferry has always offered — a short ride against a round walk of roughly two miles — and it is why the weekday hours bracket the rush hours.
The north-bank landing is at the boatyard on Thames Street, the A308, opposite St Mary's Church and the Bell. The yard sells ice creams and cold drinks and has picnic tables, but its few parking spaces are kept for people hiring boats, so arrive on foot or by bike. The same yard rents out self-drive day boats and lets moorings for boats up to 23 feet.
On the Surrey bank the boat lands on the towpath beside the open grass of Moulsey Hurst. The towpath along this bank has a choice of pubs and restaurants, and the Hurst Park residents have put up a heritage marker nearby. The boathouse gives no instructions for summoning the boat from this side, so if it is moored at Hampton, wait at the landing where the ferryman can see you.
In October there is no service on weekdays between 09:30 and 15:00. Plan a midday walk to start and end on the same bank, or go at the weekend.
The launch takes ten people with bicycles and pushchairs. Bikes pay 50p, buggies nothing.
The small yard car park is for boat-hire customers only. Thames Street is the A308 and busy.
The boathouse will sometimes run outside the published windows if asked in advance on 07572 595 091.
Another Hampton Ferry, a hand-pulled crossing of the Avon at Evesham in Worcestershire, is a different service altogether.
The boathouse traces the ferry back to the early sixteenth century — its own pages give both 1514 and 1519 — when Hampton was a village of fishermen. The Hurst opposite had a busier past than its quiet grass suggests: according to the same history, it hosted race meetings nicknamed the Cockney Derby, for which the ferry was crammed with racegoers, as well as what it calls the earliest recorded cricket match, in 1731, and a large share of the prize fights recorded between 1805 and 1824. The racecourse closed and its land was sold for housing in the mid-1960s.
Today the operators are a local partnership that won the lease of the boatyard and ferry rights from Richmond Council, dredged the landing and restarted the crossing after six months' work. They describe the weekday rush hours as the only time it carries commuters; the rest of the time it is walkers, cyclists and people heading for the pubs or for a picnic on the Hurst. Southern England has other river boats that come when you wave: the pink Hamble ferry between Hamble-le-Rice and Warsash works on the same no-timetable principle.
Monday to Friday 07:45–09:30 and 15:00–18:00; Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays 11:00–18:00. On Sunday 25 October it closes at 17:00.
The boathouse has not published any hours for November to March. Ring 07572 595 091 before planning a winter crossing.
Adults pay £3.00 (single) or £4.00 (return); under-18s £1.50 or £2.00. Bicycles are 50p; small children, pushchairs and dogs travel free. Cash and cards are both accepted.
No. This one crosses the Thames between Hampton, in south-west London, and Molesey in Surrey. The Evesham ferry is a separate hand-pulled crossing of the Avon in Worcestershire.
Yes. The launch carries bicycles and pushchairs alongside up to ten people, and a bike costs 50p.
Both are on-request Thames crossings for walkers and cyclists. Hampton's is cheaper and shorter, but Shepperton publishes a winter service while Hampton's October timetable has a weekday gap between 09:30 and 15:00 and no published hours after October.