Part 7 – Portfolio #10.1, Graveyards for Boats and Ships. Purton Hulks

On Thursday 9th February I visited Purton Ships’ Graveyard for the first time. This is a collection of some 86 deliberately beached vessels; done to protect the Sheerness canal. Magical place, particularly at sunset. If you know of any other sites of abandoned boats etc in the UK let me know, I feel a road trip coming on

"Following the intentional beaching of a small fleet of semi-redundant timber lighters in the winter of 1909, to strengthen the nearby eroding canal bank, the Purton Ships’ Graveyard now number some 96 vessels to born. Today it represents the largest collection of maritime artefacts on the foreshore of mainland Britain". (Friends of Purton).

"Most were beached in the 1950s and are now in a state of considerable decay. The site forms the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain. A riverbank collapse in 1909 led to concerns that the barrier between the river and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal would be breached. Old vessels were run aground and soon filled with water and silt to create a tidal erosion barrier. The vessels included steel barges, Severn trows and concrete ships. The boats came from throughout the British Isles and were built in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th". Wikipedia

Been dabbling with Premiere and here is a short taster for the Purton trip (90% photos). All images and music by me (I am playing the double bass):