REPORT – SKIPPOOL CREEK BOAT GRAVEYARD, LANCASHIRE , FEBRUARY 2021
Short History of Skippool Creek.
For hundreds of years Skippool Creek was a major trading port, along with Wardleys Creek at the other side of the River Wyre. It was in constant use by sea going vessels from the end of the Medieval period, before the 1600’s.
Goods arrived here from all around the world. Vessels were unloaded at Skippool (Ship Pool) and traders established a presence further inland at Poulton.
Once a bustling port, ships arrived from as far away as Russia, Barbados and North America would unload their cargoes. Flax was imported from Ireland and the Baltic, timber came from across the Atlantic, sugar and tobacco from the Americas and tallow from Russia.
By the mid 1700’s the amount of shipping at Skippool and Wardleys is believed to have exceeded the Port of Liverpool.
In 1837 Skippool was described as ‘The Metropolis of the Fylde’. Evidence of all of this activity can still be seen off the coast at Anchorsholme. Look out for the ribs of the Abana, wrecked just offshore in 1887. The nearby Shipwreck Memorial documents the astonishing list of wrecks in the area.
My Visit
It was sunrise on new years eve 2020, looking forward into the next year with uncertainty around the pandemic. With a feeling of worldwide claustrophobia, I wandered around this beautiful, health and safety free, old nautical port, fantasising about escaping all the turd that 2020 brought.
Fantastic rotting and decaying boats, rich in hundreds of years of history, some still used by daring roughneck seafarers. The ground is treacherous with sink holes, bogs, mud puddles that go deep and head height wires and rusty pole. Well worth an explore, and as you can see formt he video I made, there is a ton of things to see and do there. A treat for the eyes and mind.
Go at sunrise so you can see it in all its beauty. Stunning place, go before its torn down and replaced with soulless corporate plans.
As usual, I have made a youtube video about the visit which can be seen here:
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