With music icon Bob Dylan currently touring in the UK, the volunteers of the Severn Princess Preservation Trust proudly reflect on the fact that this music legend once travelled across the River Severn on the ferry - 58 years ago.

MV Severn Princess is the only remaining ferry that transported passengers and vehicles across the River Severn, prior to the first Severn Bridge being completed in 1966.

Dylan travelled the crossing from Aust to Beachley during his 1966 World Tour which stretched from February to May 1966.

It was notable as the first tour where Dylan employed an electric band backing him (rather than the expected acoustic).

This was following him "going electric" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in the US.

The tour became known as the “Judas Tour,” when he was famously called “Judas” during a concert on 17 May 1966 in Manchester.

Having started the Tour in America, Dylan played in Australia and Scandinavia before performing in the UK.

He played the Bristol Beacon (then Colston Hall) on the night of May 10, 1966.

Having also been booed for playing electric guitar, Dylan travelled from Bristol via the Severn Princess to his next gig at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff on May 11, 1966.

Photographer Barry Feinstein (who had famously shot the cover of Dylan's album The Times They Are a-Changin’) accompanied Dylan on the UK leg of the tour.

Whilst waiting for the Severn Princess at the Aust Pier, Feinstein shot the now famous photograph of Dylan waiting for the ferry, with the nearly completed Severn Bridge in the background.

One of these photographs became the cover for the film and soundtrack to “No Direction Home,” a Martin Scorsese picture; still available to purchase today.

Along with the Severn King and Queen, the ferries transported many famous people during their working time.

Dylan finishes his current tour at the Royal Albert Hall in London 14 November 2024- the very same venue as the UK leg of a tour in 1966.

MV Severn Princess is now listed on the Historic Ships Register as a vessel of national importance and currently resides on the riverbank in Chepstow, looked after by the registered charity, the Severn Princess Preservation Trust.