UK Ferry Crossings, Scottish Isles & River Ferries

The main vehicular artery to the Isle of Mull and onwards to the sacred Isle of Iona. Sail through the Firth of Lorn past Dunollie Castle and Duart Castle.

The year-round link between Lancashire and the Isle of Man. It is essential for the island and very busy during the Isle of Man TT, when vehicle space sells out months ahead.

Wightlink’s main car ferry across the Solent, from Portsmouth Gunwharf to Fishbourne near Ryde. It is the most direct vehicle route from London and the M27 to the east of the Isle of Wight.

Red Funnel’s car ferry down Southampton Water to East Cowes, home of Cowes Week sailing and Osborne House. The Red Jet high-speed catamaran runs separately for foot passengers to West Cowes in about 28 minutes.

The overnight lifeline from mainland Scotland to Shetland. Some sailings call at Kirkwall in Orkney. With cabins, pods and a restaurant, it is the main way to take a car to Shetland.

The classic ferry to Orkney across the Pentland Firth, passing the Old Man of Hoy sea stack on the way into Stromness. It is the main car route to Orkney from the far north of the Scottish mainland (NC500).

The quickest sea route from the UK mainland to Jersey, sailing from Poole on the Dorset coast. DFDS runs the crossing, which takes about 4 hours 30 minutes and carries cars and foot passengers.

The high-speed summer ferry from Dorset to St Peter Port, Guernsey’s harbour capital. Outside the peak season, Guernsey is served by conventional sailings from Portsmouth.

The year-round conventional ferry from Portsmouth to Jersey, run by DFDS since 2025. At about 9 hours it is slower than the fast ferry from Poole, but carries cars and caravans and has a pet lounge and pet cabins.

Two ways to cross from Portsmouth to Ryde on foot: Hovertravel’s hovercraft from Southsea seafront, the last scheduled passenger hovercraft service in the world, in under 10 minutes, or Wightlink’s FastCat from Portsmouth Harbour station to Ryde Pier Head in 22 minutes.

The quiet western Solent crossing from the New Forest town of Lymington to Yarmouth. It is the best car ferry for the Needles, Freshwater and the West Wight.

The main ferry to the Outer Hebrides, crossing The Minch from the Wester Ross fishing village of Ullapool to Stornoway, the largest town on Lewis and Harris.

The ferry from the north of Skye to Harris, known for its white-sand beaches such as Luskentyre. It is the natural link for a Skye and Outer Hebrides road trip.

The short crossing to Skye from Mallaig, the end of the West Highland Line and the Jacobite steam-train route. It is an alternative to driving over the Skye Bridge, especially for rail travellers.

The ferry to Islay, the whisky island, home to Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg and many more distilleries. Sailings alternate between Port Ellen in the south and Port Askaig, which is also the jumping-off point for Jura.

The Clyde crossing to the Isle of Bute from Wemyss Bay, whose Victorian station connects directly to the pier. It is an easy car-free day trip from Glasgow to Rothesay and Mount Stuart.

The conventional ferry link from Portsmouth to St Peter Port, and the Guernsey route to take with a large car, caravan or van. It is slower than the Poole fast ferry but less affected by rough weather.

The city-centre route to the Isle of Man, sailing from Liverpool’s new ferry terminal on the Mersey to Douglas. The fast craft Manannan makes it the quickest way to the island by sea, especially for TT and summer visitors.

The Steam Packet’s Northern Ireland route, which moved from Belfast to Larne in April 2026. Sailings are timed for a day or short break on the Isle of Man from County Antrim.

The main ferry to the Isle of Arran, crossing the Firth of Clyde from Ardrossan’s rail-connected harbour to Brodick, the island’s principal village. It is the quickest route to Arran from Glasgow by train.

CalMac’s second route to Arran, from Troon in South Ayrshire to Brodick. It runs alongside Ardrossan–Brodick and took over all Arran sailings while Ardrossan harbour closed for upgrade works in autumn 2026.

A summer turn-up-and-go link across Kilbrannan Sound between the Kintyre peninsula and Lochranza in the north of Arran, handy for island-hopping between Arran, Kintyre and Islay without returning to the Ayrshire coast.

A five-minute hop across the narrow Kyles of Bute linking the north end of Bute with the Cowal peninsula — the back door to Bute for drivers coming from Argyll rather than from Glasgow via Wemyss Bay.

Two operators cross the Firth of Clyde between Inverclyde and Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula: CalMac’s foot-passenger ferry links Gourock station with Dunoon town pier, while Western Ferries’ car ferries run from McInroy’s Point to Hunter’s Quay a short way up the coast.

A small foot-passenger ferry across the mouth of the Gare Loch from Gourock to the Victorian pier at Kilcreggan on the Rosneath peninsula — far quicker than the long road round by Helensburgh.

A ten-minute shuttle from the seaside town of Largs to Great Cumbrae, famous for the flat 10-mile cycle round the island and the town of Millport.

An hourly car ferry across Loch Fyne between the Kintyre fishing village of Tarbert and Portavadie on Cowal, cutting out a long drive round the head of the loch.

A 20-minute crossing from the west coast of Kintyre to Gigha, the community-owned island known for Achamore Gardens and white-sand bays.

The ferry from Oban to remote Colonsay, a small Hebridean island of beaches and machair; on Wednesdays and Saturdays the same ship continues south to Islay and Kennacraig, making Colonsay a stepping stone between Mull and Islay.

The only car ferry to Coll, a low-lying island of dark skies and empty beaches, sailing up the Sound of Mull from Oban before continuing on to Tiree.

The ferry to Tiree, the sunniest and windiest of the Hebrides and a magnet for windsurfers, running out of Oban via Coll to the pier at Gott Bay.

The long sea crossing from Oban to Barra, arriving under Kisimul Castle in Castlebay — the southern gateway to the Outer Hebrides and the start of the island chain north to Lewis.

The car ferry from Oban to Lismore, a long, fertile island in Loch Linnhe with views to Mull and Morvern, landing at Achnacroish midway along the island.

A five-minute crossing from Gallanach, just south of Oban, to Kerrera — a quiet walking island with the clifftop ruin of Gylen Castle.

The short crossing from the tip of the Ross of Mull to Iona, home of Iona Abbey and the cradle of Scottish Christianity; most visitors cross as foot passengers on a day trip from Oban.

Links Tobermory’s colourful harbour on Mull with Kilchoan on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula, the most westerly point of the British mainland — a useful short cut north towards Mallaig and Skye.

The short Sound of Mull crossing from Morvern to Fishnish, used by drivers coming from Fort William via the Corran ferry as an alternative to the Oban–Craignure route.

The Small Isles ferry from Mallaig to Eigg, the community-owned island crowned by the An Sgùrr ridge and powered by its own renewable grid — the most visited of the four Small Isles.

The ferry to Muck, the smallest of the Small Isles — a single farming community of around 40 people with views to Rùm and Eigg — sailing from the West Highland Line railhead at Mallaig.

The ferry to Rùm, the largest of the Small Isles, a National Nature Reserve of rugged Cuillin peaks, red deer and the Edwardian Kinloch Castle.

The furthest of the Small Isles from Mallaig, Canna is a National Trust for Scotland island with a sheltered harbour and seabird cliffs; the ferry reaches it via Rùm.

A 25-minute crossing from Sconser on Skye to Raasay, the long island opposite Portree known for Dun Caan, Calum’s Road and the Isle of Raasay Distillery.

Crosses the Little Minch from Uig in north Skye to Lochmaddy, the main port of North Uist and the start of the causeway-linked Uists, Benbecula and Eriskay.

Weaves through the reefs of the Sound of Harris between Leverburgh in south Harris and Berneray, linking Lewis and Harris with the Uists — the key hop for travellers driving the length of the Outer Hebrides.

Crosses the Sound of Barra from Eriskay — linked by causeway to South Uist — to Ardmhor on Barra, completing the island-hop from the Uists to Castlebay.

The summer route from Mallaig to Lochboisdale on South Uist, giving rail travellers on the West Highland Line a direct link to the southern Outer Hebrides; in winter the service runs from Oban.

The council-run ferry across the Sound of Islay from Port Askaig to Feolin — the only car route onto Jura, the wild island of the Paps and the Jura distillery.

NorthLink’s evening sailing from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, calling at Hatston on its way to Shetland — the only direct ferry to Orkney from north-east Scotland, arriving late the same night.

The only ferry between Orkney and Shetland: NorthLink’s Aberdeen–Lerwick ship calls at Hatston late at night and arrives in Lerwick the next morning, letting travellers combine both island groups in one trip.

The shortest car-ferry crossing to Orkney, running across the Pentland Firth from Gills Bay near John o’ Groats to St Margaret’s Hope on South Ronaldsay, linked to Kirkwall by the Churchill Barriers.

Orkney Ferries’ car ferry from Kirkwall to Rapness on Westray, the “Queen o’ the Isles” with puffins at Castle o’ Burrian, Noltland Castle and a feeder boat onward to Papa Westray.

The North Isles ferry to Sanday, Orkney’s low-lying island of white beaches and Neolithic sites such as Quoyness chambered cairn, sharing its route with Stronsay and Eday.

Orkney Ferries’ route to Stronsay, landing at the old herring port of Whitehall village, with coastal walks to the Vat of Kirbister sea arch.

The car ferry across Scapa Flow to Lyness on Hoy, home of the Scapa Flow naval museum and the road to the Old Man of Hoy and Rackwick, with some sailings calling at Flotta.

A small foot-passenger boat from Stromness to Moaness on north Hoy, the closest landing for walkers heading to Rackwick and the Old Man of Hoy, calling at Graemsay on some sailings.

The short crossing to Rousay, “the Egypt of the North” for its density of Neolithic cairns such as Midhowe, from Tingwall on Orkney Mainland; some sailings continue to Egilsay and Wyre.

The Yell Sound ferry from Toft on Shetland Mainland to Ulsta on Yell — the first of two short hops on the road north to Unst and Britain’s most northerly point.

The ten-minute Bluemull Sound ferry from Yell to Unst, Britain’s most northerly inhabited island, home to Hermaness nature reserve and Muckle Flugga lighthouse.

Scillonian III’s crossing from Penzance past Land’s End to Hugh Town on St Mary’s, the main island of Scilly and the hub for launches to Tresco, St Martin’s, St Agnes and Bryher.

Red Funnel’s Red Jet, the fast foot-passenger catamaran from Southampton’s Town Quay to West Cowes on the Isle of Wight, in about 28 minutes. It is the quickest way to Cowes from Southampton Central station and runs from early morning to late evening.

Wightlink’s FastCat catamaran from Portsmouth Harbour, beside the railway station, to Ryde Pier Head on the Isle of Wight in about 22 minutes. Island Line trains run directly into the pier head.