Ship to shore
Britain’s long seafaring history is explored at a number of maritime-themed attractions up and down the country. Carrie Drage discovers some of the sites that should be amongst a GTO’s first port of call on a group day out.
The UK has hundreds of maritime-themed attractions for groups to discover, which piece together a picture of Britain’s nautical heritage, past and present.
Maritime museums Groups can learn the history behind some of Britain’s most important ports at one of the UK’s many maritime museums.
Beginning in the capital, the National Maritime Museum is, arguably, Britain’s best-known maritime attraction. It forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site in Greenwich, together with the Queen’s House, which houses maritime-themed art, the Old Royal Naval College, the Royal Observatory Greenwich, The Fan Museum, Greenwich Park, the Wernher Collection at Rangers House and the Cutty Sark. The Museum is free to enter and guided tours can be arranged taking in the exhibits, which trace the history of seafaring, the age of passenger liners and the ecology of the oceans. It was recently announced that a new wing will be built at the Museum, in time for the 2012 London Olympics, which will feature an 800-square metre exhibition hall.
In the west country, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall is famous for housing the National Small Boat Museum, comprising more than 100 vessels. The site recently opened a new gallery area, called ‘Falmouth, First and Last’, which explores the period between 1850 and 1910 when the town was a thriving port. A more unusual section is its ‘Tidal Zone’ area with an underwater viewing gallery where you can watch marine life in Falmouth’s harbour. Entry is discounted for groups of 10 or more people.
In Hampshire, Southampton Maritime Museum traces the history of Southampton as a port and the passenger liners that sailed from here, including the Titanic. The ‘Titanic – Southampton Remembers’ exhibition displays archive film footage, interviews with survivors and artefacts recovered from the shipwreck to give visitors an insight into the voyage of the vessel.
Situated in the old Dock Offices originally belonging to the Hull Dock Company, Hull Maritime Museum, in East Yorkshire, tells the story of the city’s arctic whaling trade in the early 19th century. Admission is free.
Further west, Merseyside Maritime Museum, which is located on Liverpool’s Albert Dock, reveals the city’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, the lives of the emigrants who left Liverpool between 1830 and 1930 and the role of merchant ships during World War II. Entry to the Museum is also free.
Again offering free admission is The Dock Museum, in Cumbria, which follows the history of Barrow-in-Furness from its origins as a small fishing village to its development into a major shipbuilding port.
Moving to Wales, Holyhead Maritime Museum is housed in a former lifeboat station dating back to the 1870s. The Museum traces the town’s growth as a port, which now serves as a ship terminal for high-speed ferry services to Ireland. Group discounts may be negotiable and guided tours of the Museum and surrounding port are also available.
In Scotland, groups can take an out-of-hours guided tour of the Scottish Maritime Museum, which operates across three sites at Irvine, Dumbarton and Braehead. Its largest site at Irvine Harbour offers a chance to see a recreation of the interior of a shipyard worker’s tenement flat (circa 1920), as well as numerous vessels that are moored in the Harbour, including a World War II lifesaving barge. Many of the vessels can be boarded on a guided tour. Groups can also visit the Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank at Dumbarton, which explores the world of the Victorian ship designer or Clydebuilt Maritime Museum at Braehead, which tells the story of the River Clyde. Group rates apply.
Aberdeen Maritime Museum, meanwhile, is situated on the city’s historic street, Shiprow, in a building dating back to the 16th century. It is best known for its displays on the North Sea oil industry and Aberdeen’s shipbuilding heritage. Entry is free.
Ships & shipwrecks
Many of Britain’s ports berth ships of important historical significance and the UK’s rugged coastline has caused many a boat to run aground over the years. These aspects of our maritime heritage can be explored in more detail at attractions up and down the country.
In London, Trinity House is the headquarters of the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, which operates 10 lighthouse visitor centres in the UK including Anvil Point Lighthouse Centre in Dorset, Lizard Heritage Centre in Cornwall and St. Catherine’s Lighthouse Centre on the Isle of Wight. Guided tours are available, which take in areas such as the lighthouse engine rooms and designated exhibition spaces. Group rates vary between locations.
Moving to the west country, the Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre explores the rise and decline of the town�s china clay industry, which created a thriving port out of a little-known fishing village. The Centre also contains artefacts from more than 150 shipwrecks including cutlery, china, coins and military regalia. Admission is discounted for groups of 12 or more.
In Bristol, groups can visit the ss Great Britain, a vessel engineered by Brunel in 1843 and once laying claim to being the world’s largest ship. A choice of four audio guides are available, inclusive in the entrance price, which lead you through the ship and reveal what life was like at sea for passengers and crew alike. Alternatively, a guided tour can be arranged for an extra fee. Tickets are discounted for groups of 20 or more. GTOs get in free.
Moving eastwards to Southampton, Hampshire-based bus company, Bluestar, operates ‘Do the Docks’ tours from Mayflower Park. Groups can climb aboard an open-top bus for a one-hour guided tour of Southampton port, taking in the Western Docks where you will see City Cruise Terminal and Mayflower Cruise Terminal, as well as the Eastern Docks, which incorporates the Titanic berth and the QE2 Terminal, home of the Cunard liners Queen Elizabeth 2, which leaves the fleet in November, and Queen Mary 2. Buses are available for private hire on weekdays and GTOs have the option of creating a customised route.
Further along the coast in Hastings, the Shipwreck and Coastal Heritage Centre contains rudders dating from the 15th to 18th centuries, as well as exhibits exploring local shipwrecks such as the Dutch ship ‘Amsterdam’, which ran ashore in 1749 and the British warship ‘Anne’, beached in 1690. The stories behind these and other local shipwrecks are further examined in a 20-minute audio visual show, presented in a theatre auditorium. Visitors are also encouraged to discover the remains of these wrecks on the Hastings shoreline at low tide. Group rates are available.
Meanwhile, in East Yorkshire, groups will find the Spurn Lightship, a floating museum moored in Hull’s Marina. Built in 1927, the Lightship was stationed at the mouth of the Humber Estuary as a navigational aid for nearly 50 years. Onboard is an exhibition relating to the life and history of the vessel and knowledgeable guides are also on hand to explain how the crew lived and worked aboard the craft. Admission is free.
A short distance away, the Arctic Corsair is another floating museum that can be visited on a trip to Hull. Anchored in the River Hull, the ship was one of the last deep sea side winder fishing trawlers to operate out of the city. It can be boarded by appointment only and admission is free, together with a guided tour of the vessel.
Moored at the port of Leith, in Scotland, The Royal Yacht Britannia served the Royal Family for more than 40 years before it was decommisioned in 1997. Visitors to the attraction are offered an audio tour, inclusive in the price, which guides you through the ship’s five decks, taking in the State Apartments, the Crew’s Quarters and the Engine Room. Groups can also call in at the Visitor Centre, situated within the adjacent Ocean Terminal, which details the history of Britannia. Groups of 15 or more qualify for discounts.
Living history
Groups can immerse themselves in Britain’s maritime heyday in one of the UK’s many living history attractions looking at this subject, designed to recreate a bygone era through sights, smells and sounds.
Beginning in the New Forest, Buckler’s Hard is an 18th century maritime village situated on the banks of the River Beaulieu. Many British naval vessels were built in the village using local timber, most notably Nelson’s ‘Euryalus’, ‘Swiftsure’ and ‘Agamemnon’ warships, which saw action in the Battle of Trafalgar. For a discounted rate, groups can visit the Buckler’s Hard Maritime Museum with its recreated labourers’ cottage interiors showing how the villagers lived in the 18th century or, for an extra fee, take a one-hour guided ‘Heart of Oak’ themed tour, which gives you an insight into the village’s shipbuilding history.
A little further along the coast, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard offers an all-inclusive ticket for groups, which allows admission to all of its on-site attractions. On a day out, you can combine a visit to the historic warships ‘Mary Rose’, ‘HMS Victory’ and ‘HMS Warrior’ with a 45-minute Harbour Tour taking in modern British naval vessels. There is also the chance to visit Action Stations, an interactive museum exploring the science and engineering behind the Royal Navy, and the Royal Naval Museum where its walk-through audio-visual exhibit ‘Trafalgar!’ allows you to experience what it might have been like for the crew aboard the ‘HMS Victory’ during the Battle of Trafalgar.
A similar experience can be found in Kent at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, where costumed tour guides are on hand to bring the maritime history of the site to life. Attractions include the historic warships ‘HMS Gannet’, ‘HMS Cavalier’ and ‘HMS Ocelot’, as well as museum galleries such as the newly opened ‘No. 3 Slip’ featuring boats, bridge-building machinery and military vehicles. Groups might also like to participate in the recently enhanced ‘Ropery Experience’, which includes access to the quarter-mile long Ropewalk where rope is laid in preparation for the final stages of the rope-making process. Admission is discounted for groups of 20 or more and GTOs get in free.
Dedicated to the great British explorer, the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in North Yorkshire is situated within the former Whitby home of Captain John Walker where Cook was an apprentice in 1746. The Museum’s five floors offer period rooms, furnished to resemble how they might have looked during Cook’s time at the house, as well as ship models, maps, paintings and artefacts brought back from his voyages. Entry is discounted for groups of 10 or more and guided tours can be arranged.
In the north east of England, Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience is a recreation of an 18th century port complete with costumed guides to add authenticity. Admission is discounted for groups and includes an audio tour aboard ‘HMS Trincomalee’, believed to be Britain’s oldest warship afloat, and entry to the Museum of Hartlepool, which reflects on the town’s history.
Naval attractions
The British Royal Navy has a history stretching back more than 3,000 years, which can be unearthed at some of the UK’s naval attractions.
Moored in the River Thames, close to London Bridge, HMS Belfast forms part of the Imperial War Museum. A Royal Navy cruiser, which saw service in World War II and the Korean War, ‘HMS Belfast’ is now a floating naval museum offering visitors nine decks to explore including access to the captain’s bridge, engine rooms and mess decks. All tours are self-guided; however. groups can arrange a free talk about the history of the ship, which can be tailored to suit the interests of your members. Admission is discounted for groups of 10 or more.
Gosport waterfront, in Hampshire, is home to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum where highlights include a guided tour of World War II submarine ‘HMS Alliance’, lead by an ex-submariner, and the chance to view the Royal Navy’s first submarine ‘Holland I’. Group rates are available.
A short distance away, groups will find Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower, which is set in a former gunpowder and munitions depot at Priddy’s Hard. Groups can benefit from a guided tour of not only the museum galleries but also the reserve collection, which incorporates a visit to C Magazine – a Victorian explosives store – and building 309, which houses a Polaris nuclear missile. A 20 percent discount is offered for groups of 10 or more people.
Again in Gosport, the ‘Spirit of Portsmouth’, operated by Gosport Ferry, offers scenic cruises along the Hamble and Beaulieu rivers, as well as around Portsmouth Harbour where you can take in views of the vessels in dock. A 10 percent discount is available for groups of 10 or more.