Purton on Severn - ships graveyard

It had been a while since I last visited the ships graveyard at Purton so as I was up early having spent half of Saturday night up watching the Perseid meteor shower a Sunday jaunt into Merrie England seemed like a good idea.

For those who don't know, the ships graveyard at Purton was created in an attempt to stop the erosion of the river bank and therefore protect the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. In essence around 80 vessels of various types have been beached on the muddy bank over the years to add strength and prevent the tides from displacing more of the natural river bank.

I find Purton to be both a sad and a joyous place. It always saddens me to see ships of and description deliberately sunk or left to rot, but at the same time the various rotting hulks at Purton offer unlimited photo opportunities for a rust freak like me.