Well before the footbridge and the Spine Road, the Cambois Ferry was the only way to cross the Wansbeck unless you fancied a trek over to Stakeford to plodge over the river with your trousers rolled up.

The ferry was a primitive rowing boat, with the boatman literally pulling a rope suspended over the mouth of the river. These shots below beautifully detail the operation.

Mr Robert Wheatley propelled this little boat from the 1870s til the early 40s, shown on both shots below. He even operated it during WWI, and became well known to members of the 1/7th Northumberland Fusiliers where they were stationed at Cambois. His ferry was in the defence area, so the unit often dropped by for a natter and a welcome. He sadly passed away in 1943 aged 82, so he was 75 in these shots - a proper grafter.

The small building next door was the waiting room, where both Mr Wheatley would drink his tea between trips and passengers would wait on a busy day. There is a property called the Wansbeck Ferry House just up the lane, where I can only imagine he lived.

The ferry shut up shop in 1941, with Mr Wheatley putting a notice up in the Blyth News. I imagine he fell ill, and retired for the next two years until he died.