THE FORMER Mersey ferry MV Egremont will be travelling down to Penzance next week for a 45 day major works programme, running through to mid May.

All being well, Egremont will return home to the Kingsbridge Estuary during the last week of May. The Egremont Trust, sponsors and the Island Cruising Club are planning a welcome home party, provisionally arranged for Saturday, May 28.

Egremont spent the first part of her working life crossing the river Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey. In 1976 she arrived in Salcombe to start a new life as the base for the Island Cruising Club.

In 2012 she was transferred from the Island Cruising Club to the Egremont Trust to allow a dedicated team to focus on her upkeep.

The Egremont Trust is a registered charity with the aim of maintaining the ship MV Egremont as a facility for the advancement of the education and development of young people, as well as raising funds to utilise the facility for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.