She was launched on the Clyde in 1946, named after Walter Scott's novels, and she's still churning the water with paddle wheels today. The Waverley — the last seagoing paddle steamer anywhere — marks her 80th anniversary on 2 October 2026, and travellers can be aboard for it.
The milestone trip departs London Tower Pier on the anniversary date itself. Options range from a one-way run to Gravesend in Kent for £47 (about €55) to an £81 (€95) return that swings past the Maunsell Forts — those eerie Second World War structures standing in the Thames Estuary at Shivering Sands, Red Sands and Knock John. Onboard entertainment includes a set from jazz trio Bel Canto Vintage Sisters.
The Waverley's story is a survival tale. Built at Pointhouse Yard in Partick, Glasgow, she originally ran the Loch Goil and Loch Long route from Craigendoran and Arrochar, powered by a 2,100 horsepower steam engine. When commercial service wound down, the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society bought her for £1 in 1974, a charity was set up, and by 1975 she'd started a second life as a floating heritage attraction. More than six million passengers have sailed since.
Keeping an 80-year-old steamship afloat costs money. A £7 million Heritage Rebuild in 2003 restored her original 1940s look, and a £2.3 million appeal funded replacement boilers in 2019. She's been running trips since August 2020, and the 2026 programme is her longest season in over a decade — with calls already made in the South West, Bristol and Northern Ireland.
Aboard, you're properly looked after: there's a Dining Saloon, the Caledonia Tea Bar and the Talisman Bar, plus a souvenir shop with a quirk worth the trip alone — a Victorian postbox, so you can mail a postcard stamped with the romance of a paddle-steamer voyage.
For anyone who loves ships, steam or a bit of living history, this is a rare chance to ride a machine that shouldn't really exist anymore. Anniversary sailings tend to sell out, so booking early is the smart move.
