Monday was an unusually sunny bank holiday. I went for a wander along the Gloucester and Sharpness canal to visit the Purton Hulks.

Apparently Britain's largest ship's graveyard, between 1909 and the early 70s 81 boats were deliberately beached on the thin strip of land between the Severn and the canal to shore up the bank and fight erosion.

Over time they've filled up with silt, rotted away, and generally been reclaimed by nature.  It's quite fascinating.

Some boats - particularly the concrete barges - are still mostly intact.  Others have completely vanished, or are just a few bits of wood sticking out of the ground. Every wreck has its own little 'gravestone', thanks to the Friends of Purton society who work to preserve the site.

tags: local walking