Tucked away at the bottom of a grassy slope in the corner of a rural Nottinghamshire village, a rickety wooden vessel takes people back and forth across the water.

For years, people haven’t even realised it’s there.

But Normanton-on-Soar’s historic hand-pulled chain ferry is believed to be the last of its kind in the UK.

“We know there were similar ones years ago in Newark and Castle Donington and Wilford,” explains the chair of the village parish council, Dave Smith.

@stuckinthemiddleem It takes people across the Soar to the pub 😍🍻 #ferry #notts #hiddengemsuk #riversoar #fyp ♬ original sound – stuckinthemiddle

“But we’ve researched it and can’t find evidence of any others now. There are other hand-pulled ones, but they’re on a cable, not a chain.”

On a warm Friday afternoon, I meet ferryman Stuart Sleight, who spends most of his summer weekends down here by the water.

He offers me a trip across the river.

“There’s nothing better”, he tells me as we bob along, chain in his hand. “You can sit down here on a Saturday afternoon and you swear you could be in the Norfolk Broads.”

He’s right. It’s serenely quiet and the surroundings are beautiful.

Records show that the historic ferry dates back to at least 1770 – but estimates are that it could have been in operation as early as the 1200s.

It works by an operator pulling the chain, which is connected to both shores, to turn a cog on the side of the boat and propel it along.

The boat once served as a way for fishermen and visitors to Loughborough’s markets to cross the river and over the years, became a novelty for locals of the village, which has a population of just 400.

Newspaper cuttings from 1977 tell the story of how the ferry was “always busy” in the 1920s, when it cost just one penny to cross.

Fifty years later the price had risen to 10p but demand had dwindled, with “scarcely 50 people a year” wanting to cross, according to the article.

At that time the ferryman was a Mr Ian Hamilton.

He lived in the nearby Ferry House, where the rules of the lease stated that he had to provide the ferry service.

In 1981, the parish council took over.

But by the mid-2000s the ferry had largely fallen out of usage.

The boat was washed up on the shore and left to rust, and the vegetation on the river’s edge was left to grow wild.

Stuart took over in around 2008 and saw an opportunity.

In 2017, he built a new cabin overlooking the river which now serves as the headquarters for volunteers – a huge group of around 40, who are specially trained and take it in turns to ferry passengers across.

Now, it’s a growing attraction – and a shortcut for those who want to get from Leicestershire, on the south side of the river, to the Plough Inn pub on the Nottinghamshire side.

“Late afternoons get really busy,” says Stuart, as we begin our short crossing back to the other side. “People go to the pub, have a meal and a few beers and get the ferry back.”

As we drift along, a paddleboarder heading downstream passes peacefully in front of us.

Behind her, the medieval 12th century St James’ parish church stands magnificently above the village.

The ferry crossing also forms part of local circular walking routes popular with hikers, through fields between Normanton, Loughborough and nearby villages like Hathern and Sutton Bonington.

“How many people we get can vary,” says Stuart. “It all depends on the weather – how hot it is. We do about 3,000 people every season, or just over. I think the most we’ve ever had was about 140 people in one day.”

Running on Saturdays and Sundays from the beginning of April to the end of September, it costs a modest £1 per person to cross the river – and 50p for bikes and dogs.

“I don’t think it’s extortionate,” says Stuart. “I think it’s quite reasonable.”

In this economy, to experience the last ferry of its kind in the country?

I’d suggest it’s a bargain.

By Joseph Connolly (Local Democracy Reporter)