Severe weather conditions at the weekend provided the perfect opportunity for the old King Harry Ferry to enjoy one last glory run, when she broke her moorings and drifted for more than a mile to St Mawes.

For 32 years the car ferry had performed the crossing between Trelissick and the Roseland, but was replaced by a newer model in May last year.

However, early on Sunday morning - apparently determined to make one last nostalgia trip - the ferry went absent without leave from her current home, the Northern Arm Wharf at Falmouth Docks, and carried out the journey one more time.

It is not known exactly what time the ferry first started drifting, but staff at Pendennis Worldclass Superyachts, which is responsible for the ferry, were first alerted to the situation at around 8.15am yesterday.

Mike Carr, commercial director at the company, said: "I think it was just unlucky that the wind swung around and was blowing in the particular direction that it was. It's just one of those things unfortunately."

He estimated that the ferry would not have left the dock much earlier, due to the tidal conditions and how far she had got.

Staff at Pendennis worked closely with A&P, the company that runs Falmouth Dockyard, to organise a tug to retrieve the ferry, which by this point had reached the edge of St Mawes. The rescue began at 10am and within a couple of hours the ferry had been towed back across the Carrick Roads and was moored safe and sound back on the wharf.

"The response from everybody involved was fantastic and couldn't have been better. We successfully recovered the boat and she was just nudging up on the edge. We're just very pleased to have recovered her and that there's no damage," said Mr Carr.

He added that her moorings were being checked but that the weather and tide were being put down as the cause of her escape.

Mr Carr said that his company were currently involved in a "couple of potential business opportunities" involving the ferry and confirmed that they were "quite close" to agreeing a deal, but he did not wish to give any more details at the present time.