How strange to have two villages called Purton, separated by the wide expanse of the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney. To travel between the two is not easy, either via Gloucester or across the M48 Severn Bridge!
On the east bank of the Severn is the 16 mile Gloucester & Sharpness Canal which is elevated as it travels alongside the river at Purton. Soon after the opening in 1827 engineers voiced concern about possible bank erosion of the canal here from the powerful spring tides of the Severn.
It was during 1909 that redundant vessels were placed on the bank of the river, both to prevent erosion of the banks and protect the canal. Since that year many types of vessels have been placed here, trows, concrete barges, schooners, steel dumb barges, etc., all slowly filling with silt to ensure they don’t move.
With over eighty vessels lying here it is claimed to be the largest collection of its type in the UK.
