Herald Express October 4 1976.

Dart paddle steamer wins reprieve

COMPTON CASTLE, one of the last paddle steamers on the River Dart and now a tourist attraction at the head of Kingsbridge estuary, is to remain in South Devon after all.

Although the new owners have spent some £5,000 renovating the beautiful old steamer, Salcombe Harbour Committee has been demanding that the vessel should undergo a survey to ascertain the state of her hull.

But the owners have been unable to arrange the survey locally and it was feared that the vessel would have to be towed back to the owner's own shipyard at Poole. Because of the work and cost involved it was inevitable that she would never return to her berth at Kingsbridge.

The vessel is so much of an attraction at Kingsbridge that the Harbour Committee has now agreed not to put too much pressure on the owners but to allow them to arrange for a survey locally next year

Feb 9th 1977

Steamship up for sale

COMPTON CASTLE, the last paddle steamer to operate on the River Dart, is up for sale again. The £50,000 steamer was sold a few years ago to a Poole company who had ambitious plans to bring her back into working order to serve on the Kingsbridge & Salcombe estuary as a floating restaurant.

Now internal problems have again forced the company to sell the steamer, despite the fact that they have spent some £5,000 on renewing the decking.

Efforts will be made, however, to ensure that the steamer remains at Kingsbridge, and the firm the Compton Castle Steamboat Co. Ltd., of Poole, say they will fulfil their promise to have the vessel undergo a survey.

The Compton Castle served her life as a paddle steamer on the River Dart until 1963, and two years later was transferred to Kingsbridge, where she has served as a dual-purpose vessel. Not only has she been a popular tourist attraction, but she has been turned into a cafe, giving visitors the chance to sit out on the deck of a beautiful old steamship.