I’m stood on a ship in the largest ship graveyard on mainland Britain. ⛴️ This is Purton Ships’ Graveyard. 🪦 These vessels were deliberately beached after a riverbank collapse in 1909, using obsolete ships to protect the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal from the Severn’s tidal erosion. Barges, trows, schooners and even concrete ships from the Second World War were towed in, flooded and left to sink into the mud. Around eighty still remain. Not a museum. Not preserved. Just industrial problem solv

I’m standing in the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain. ⛴️ This is Purton Ship Graveyard. More than 80 ships were deliberately abandoned here along the River Severn in the early 1900s. They were old and no longer seaworthy but they still had one final job. The river was eroding the banks and threatening nearby land. Instead of building defences these ships were stripped and left here to sink. As they broke apart they trapped mud and slowed the tide helping to stabilise the shoreline. Ove