Skippool Creek Boat Graveyard, Fleetwood – June 2012
History
Not too much history on these boats, there are 15 to 20 steel and timber boats in various states of disrepair; essentially all that’s left are the hulls rotting and twisting into the silts of the mud flats. One of the timber vessels was the MV Good Hope.
Skippool itself was once a bustling port where ships from Russia and Barbados would unload their cargoes of wine, rum, sugar and tobacco. By the mid 1700's the volume of shipping activity at Skippool and Wardleys is believed to have exceeded the Port of Liverpool.
A number of businesses were situated alongside the river, including Silcocks Bone Mill and Tomlinsons Animal Feeds Warehouse. There was also a small shop that sold tea and sugar to the boatmen.
During this time Skippool was a popular site for cock fighting, smuggling and press gangs, and the Ale Houses were infamous for their strong ale, contraband, spirits and drunken mariners.
The demise of Skippool as a busy port came with the arrival of the railway to Fleetwood in 1840, and the building of new harbours which were more suitable for large ships.
My Visit
Being stuck in Fleetwood for a week this was another venue I had seen; there’s a report on 28DL as well as a few on other sites. It’s probably just about an explore, with the odd hazard of soft deep mud to contend with! This was more a mooch with the camera, but well worth a visit if stuck in Fleetwood.
As usual on finding the mud, rusty sharp edges and rotten timber I realised I had my best clothes on again; another set trashed in just a few hours!
This took a bit of finding over a couple of evenings; I could see them, but couldn’t find a way to getting to them. A new housing estate had shut off paths and access from either end was either fenced or involved a very long walk. I liked these boats as you could clamber around what was left, not much these days. I was intending using my big stopper and getting some long exposure images, but there was a very strong wind and half way through the heavens opened.
Having looked through many images while trying to find some history the boats have gone downhill a lot recently; plus there may be another section of the boat graveyard towards the country park which has some rotting boardwalks as well.
Report
Image 1 – This was the first boat I managed to get to after passing through the new housing development.
Image 2 – The main cluster of abandoned boats.
Image 3 – The remains of a timber hull nearly being enveloped by the mud flats.
Image 4 – One of the steel hulls in the main cluster.
Image 5 – This is what remains of MV Good Hope.
Image 6 – Stitched panorama from aboard one of the steel boats.
Image 7 – The main cluster of boats.
View attachment 452160
Image 8 – Again the main cluster of derelict boats.
Image 9 – Steel and timber wrecks.
Image 10 – More of the wrecked boats.
Image 11 – Thrown a B&W image in, I think it looks like the bones of a dead animal.
Image 12 – Another cluster of boats towards Fleetwood, the heavens had just opened on me at this point.
Image 13 – Different view of the same cluster of boats.
Image 14 – A lone row boat marooned on the mud flats.
Image 15 – One of the larger of the timer boats, unfortunately it has substantial fire damage.
Image 16 – Lone boat on the mud flats.
Image 17 – And the same boat from the other side.
Image 18 – And finally a solitary boat close to Fleetwood Docks.
Well that’s it; I did enjoy this mooch, once I found it. It may not be a hard core explore, but a very enjoyable few hours were spent looking over each boat.
Cheers
TLR
History
Not too much history on these boats, there are 15 to 20 steel and timber boats in various states of disrepair; essentially all that’s left are the hulls rotting and twisting into the silts of the mud flats. One of the timber vessels was the MV Good Hope.
Skippool itself was once a bustling port where ships from Russia and Barbados would unload their cargoes of wine, rum, sugar and tobacco. By the mid 1700's the volume of shipping activity at Skippool and Wardleys is believed to have exceeded the Port of Liverpool.
A number of businesses were situated alongside the river, including Silcocks Bone Mill and Tomlinsons Animal Feeds Warehouse. There was also a small shop that sold tea and sugar to the boatmen.
During this time Skippool was a popular site for cock fighting, smuggling and press gangs, and the Ale Houses were infamous for their strong ale, contraband, spirits and drunken mariners.
The demise of Skippool as a busy port came with the arrival of the railway to Fleetwood in 1840, and the building of new harbours which were more suitable for large ships.
My Visit
Being stuck in Fleetwood for a week this was another venue I had seen; there’s a report on 28DL as well as a few on other sites. It’s probably just about an explore, with the odd hazard of soft deep mud to contend with! This was more a mooch with the camera, but well worth a visit if stuck in Fleetwood.
As usual on finding the mud, rusty sharp edges and rotten timber I realised I had my best clothes on again; another set trashed in just a few hours!
This took a bit of finding over a couple of evenings; I could see them, but couldn’t find a way to getting to them. A new housing estate had shut off paths and access from either end was either fenced or involved a very long walk. I liked these boats as you could clamber around what was left, not much these days. I was intending using my big stopper and getting some long exposure images, but there was a very strong wind and half way through the heavens opened.
Having looked through many images while trying to find some history the boats have gone downhill a lot recently; plus there may be another section of the boat graveyard towards the country park which has some rotting boardwalks as well.
Report
Image 1 – This was the first boat I managed to get to after passing through the new housing development.
Image 2 – The main cluster of abandoned boats.
Image 3 – The remains of a timber hull nearly being enveloped by the mud flats.
Image 4 – One of the steel hulls in the main cluster.
Image 5 – This is what remains of MV Good Hope.
Image 6 – Stitched panorama from aboard one of the steel boats.
Image 7 – The main cluster of boats.
View attachment 452160
Image 8 – Again the main cluster of derelict boats.
Image 9 – Steel and timber wrecks.
Image 10 – More of the wrecked boats.
Image 11 – Thrown a B&W image in, I think it looks like the bones of a dead animal.
Image 12 – Another cluster of boats towards Fleetwood, the heavens had just opened on me at this point.
Image 13 – Different view of the same cluster of boats.
Image 14 – A lone row boat marooned on the mud flats.
Image 15 – One of the larger of the timer boats, unfortunately it has substantial fire damage.
Image 16 – Lone boat on the mud flats.
Image 17 – And the same boat from the other side.
Image 18 – And finally a solitary boat close to Fleetwood Docks.
Well that’s it; I did enjoy this mooch, once I found it. It may not be a hard core explore, but a very enjoyable few hours were spent looking over each boat.
Cheers
TLR
