How ferry crossings work in the UK
British ferry crossings are mostly small, local and old. Many predate the roads around them, and several are still the only practical way across.
Ownership is mixed. Some crossings belong to a county or district council, some to a harbour authority or a set of harbour commissioners, some to a family firm that has held the franchise for generations, and the Scottish island network is largely run under public contract. Each publishes its own timetable, and the format varies from a printed seasonal card to a booking application.
Fares are usually quoted as single and return, with separate lines for a foot passenger, a car and driver, additional passengers carried in the vehicle, bicycles and dogs. Where a crossing is described as turn-up-and-go, buying a ticket does not reserve a place on a particular sailing.
Tides shape the timetable more than anything else on this list. On several crossings the landing point itself moves with the tide, the last sailing shifts through the season, and a published table is a guide rather than a guarantee. Where that is the case, this site shows the sailings as examples and says so, instead of driving a countdown from times that will not hold.
Weather does the rest. Exposed crossings cancel at short notice, and the operator's notices page is the only reliable place to find out. Timetables here are shown in 24-hour format, which is how British operators publish them, and labelled BST or GMT according to the date.