When I visited Gloucester I was surprised to find a dock so far inland let alone a lightship!
Visiting Gloucester was one of those 'follow your nose' days for me as I had a day to kill after attending a friend's wedding at the nearby Elmore Court. I'd popped into one of the many restaurants in the docks the night before the wedding and quickly fell in love with the bustling lively scene downtown. There and then I decided to drop in before heading back to my home in Scotland after the wedding. I soon bumped into a guy called Tony at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum. Tony, a volunteer at the museum and around the town centre, had drifted into Gloucester on a canal boat a few years ago with his wife and decided to stay. As he showed me around the docks and introduced me to his many friends in the area, I soon learnt that drifting into Gloucester on a canal boat was as common as was the decision to stay after you arrived. Whether restoring ancient ships for display as a museum, to realize the dream of sailing round the world, or to host one of the quirkiest places to stay in the country, I quickly came to understand there were many reasons why people tend to stay here.
The historic inland port of Gloucester Docks was established in the late 19th century to accommodate growing trade in the city. Gloucester was a key industrial hub in the network of rivers and canals that connected many of the cities of England and linked up to the sea enabling international trade.
In 2009, Gloucester Quays was officially opened by Gok Wan. Gloucester Quays is a large pedestrian shopping area hosting many bars and restaurants and all your favourite brand names in shopping. In the foreground to the National Waterways Museum a bustling market sells everything from local fudge to locally produced rum and beer. A little further along the banks of the docks stands the Gloucester Brewery where you can drink locally produced beer either at the bar/restaurant or from the shop to take away.
Queen Elizabeth 1 granted Gloucester the status of a Customs Port in 1580. The Customs House in Gloucester Docks was completed in 1845 it was needed in order to have somewhere able to conduct the number of business transactions required at the time. Today the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum occupies the building. The two images on the left below were provided by Tony and Zita and published with permission.
The Glorious Gloucesters, the fighting men of Gloucester have taken their part in the long military history of Great Britain. The only unit in the British Army to wear badges on the front and rear of their head dress, this to commemorate the Battle of Alexandria during the Napoleonic Wars. On 21st March 1801, French Cavalry broke through British lines and attacked the Gloucester's rear. Heavily engaged already to their front, the order, "Rear Rank 28th, Right About Face." was given and the regiment, standing in two ranks fighting back-to-back, successfully repelled the French attack. You can read all about this battle and see images clothes and medals from this and the countless campaigns the regiments were involved in at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum located at the head of the docks.
Whilst I was touring the museum, another great battle in which the Gloucesters had been involved was being played out in real time over 3 days in a room on the top floor. This event marked the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Imjin River. During the Korean War soldiers of the Gloucester Regiment held out against an onslaught of Chinese sweeping across the Imjin River in an attempt to break the allied lines and re-take Seoul. Vastly outnumbered and under heavy assault the 'Glorious Gloucesters' as they came to be known, held out on hilltops for 3 days directing air strikes and artillery fire down on the Chinese. Famous War Gamer and blogger Charles The Modeller, built a scale reconstruction of the battlefield in the top floor of the museum and played out the battle in real time to 6mm Wargame Rules. You can find out all about Charles and his exploits by following his blog All Hell Let Loose. Outside on the dockyards local people tended to their boats. Tony was kind enough to introduce me to a few of them so they could tell me their story.
First, I met Reg. He and his partner Randie have been restoring a sailing boat called Josefine, a 50ft former Danish Fishing Boat, in Gloucester Docks for the past 2 years. Close to fully restored, Josefine will soon be sailing out of the docks for the open sea. Reg said that their first voyage would take them round the Western Isles of Scotland. After that, they plan to sail right across the Atlantic and through the Northwest Passage. To me Reg's story is truly inspirational. People with a spirit of adventure chasing their ultimate dreams. You can follow this story on the Sailingwood Channel on YouTube.
We were then welcomed aboard the Kathleen and May, a three masted top sail schooner built in 1900 for service in the Irish Sea. Originally named the Lizzie May after the original ship builder's two daughters, the ship was renamed the Kathleen and May in 1908 after the new owners 2 daughters. Kathleen and May recently opened to the public to mark her 123rd birthday. She is being lovingly restored with plans to open as a museum ship. You can read all about the Kathleen and May and her history here.
We also met someone by the name of Jack who owns a couple of small boats available to hire for those who want to take to the water but perhaps not sail round the world. You can hire a self-drive electric boat to cruise round the docks for up to 3 hours right from the dockside in the middle of Gloucester Docks. To find out more and to hire a boat, just click on Gloucester Boat Hire.
With dozens of places to choose from in and around the docks for accommodation, by far the quirkiest I came across was the LV14 Sula, a Lightship restored and berthed at the dockside offering perhaps the most unique accommodation you are likely to find anywhere! Sula offers 2 cabins, a King and a Double with an open lounge, Kitchenette diner and private sundeck. I met her owners, Colin and Vivienne and their dogs. Colin gave me the tour including a climb right into the Light Tower itself. By far the most unique view of the day was looking at Gloucester Docks completely upside down as I peered through the lens next to Sula's 1,000W light. You can find out all about LV14 Sula by visiting her website at Sula Lightship – The uk's only stay-aboard historic lightship
Sula's light was most recently switched on, lighting up Gloucester Docks when lights across the country were illuminated to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. The 2 images below were provided courtesy of Paul Nicholls Photography and published with permission.
The final stop of the day was a visit to the National Waterways Museum. The museum occupies what was the Llanthony Warehouse, a former grain house in the heart of the bustling Gloucester Docks and now a Grade II listed building. The museum holds exhibits which chart the history of the docks, canals and communities that have thrived here for over 200 years and continue to do so. As well as the many exhibits which bring the area's history to life, there are also interactive activities for children and a cafe. You can find out more about the museum here.
Having bid a fond farewell to Tony and thanking him so much for hosting me on my day around the docks, I stopped off in the Gloucester Brewery to buy some beer to take home. I had stopped here by chance to get some dinner the night before a wedding and returned to kill some time on a slow day. What I found was a vibrant bustling city centre on the hub of the nation's waterways where friendly down to earth people had come to know their dreams and works so hard to achieve them.
I can highly recommend a visit to Gloucester and a great time to do this would be in August when the next Gloucester Goes Retro festival rolls into the city. Click here to find out all you need to know about the event.