# Skippool Creek Boat Graveyard, Fleetwood – June 2012



## The Lone Ranger (Jun 17, 2012)

*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 venue I had seen had been visited before. 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.






Image 8 – Again the main cluster of derelict boats.






Image 9 – Steel and timbre 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


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## UE-OMJ (Jun 17, 2012)

I liked seeing those pics - such a shame to see them rotting there though.


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## krela (Jun 17, 2012)

Nicely photographed. It reminds me of the Purton Hulks which make for a nice walk too.


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## The Lone Ranger (Jun 17, 2012)

Cheers both of you; I enjoyed the wander even though it finished in horizontal rain


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## muppet (Jun 17, 2012)

something sad about seeing old boats left like this thanks for sharing


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## flyboys90 (Jun 17, 2012)

What an amazing collection! a graveyard,thanks for sharing.


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## fleydog (Jun 17, 2012)

Fabulous pictures. Thank you.


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## Ninja Kitten (Jun 17, 2012)

i really like these photos..love to see them too.


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## Winch It In (Jun 18, 2012)

Nice one, good to see something different, great set of pic's.


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## night crawler (Jun 18, 2012)

Looked through these last night thought what great place to visit though I must admit that mud looks a bit sticky.


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## nelly (Jun 23, 2012)

Very nice, real decay


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## jezamon (Jul 20, 2012)

very cool, thanks. I thought that one looked like a skeleton too


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## kehumff (Jul 21, 2012)

Nice Report, Very different good job


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## The Lone Ranger (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks all for the great comments, it was somewhere different and well woth a mooch when stuck in Fleetwood!


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## sonyes (Jul 21, 2012)

Nice report, and excellent pics! Thanks


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## whitelaw (Aug 26, 2012)

Thing about all these boats is that at some point they were bought, loved, cared for, lived on and then, one day, they were moored and their owner just never went back. They became forgotten.

I sometimes wonder about vessels like this. You see, as a pilot, I am firmly convinced there is more to an aircraft than the sum of its parts. Believe me, when they become airborne, they take on an entity all their own. Same with boats. You know a "happy aircraft" and boats are the same. 

I wonder, if that last time they were moored up, they waited patiently, faithfully for their owners to return. When they didn't, they must have felt like an unwanted old dog tied up in barn, and wondered what they did wrong.


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## UE-OMJ (Aug 26, 2012)

Whitelaw, I agree with you 100% on that. I feel spot on the same way.


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## Wakey Lad (Aug 26, 2012)

What an amazing place! Great report


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## Miss.Anthrope (Aug 26, 2012)

Really like these pictures, 
theres something eerie about boat graveyards.


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## Judderman62 (Aug 27, 2012)

the one you have identified as MV good hope isn't MV Good Hope - there's quite a bit more of her left and she's in a different part of the creek


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