This is a beautiful walk which begins in the carpark just by the church in Purton.
Allow 2 hours there and back for although it isn’t very far, pausing to look at the hulks will take time….!
Walk across the lock and turn left along the Gloucester and Sharpness canal tow path.
Soon you will arrive at the start of the Purton Hulks. There are about 80 vessels along the riverbank, beached here on purpose in the 1950s to shore up the bank of the river Severn which is only 50 meters from the canal. Boats include steel barges, Severn trows and concrete ships.
There was a riverbank collapse in 1909 and concerns increased that the river Severn would breach its banks and destroy the canal.
Most of the boats have markers by them. Some are much more visible than others.
When the canal opened in 1827, it was the biggest in England, a true ship canal. It enabled large ships to reach Gloucester and therefore on to the midlands by missing out a particularly treacherous stretch of the Severn.
Sharpness docks and canal were busy right into the 1960s. The docks are still active now,
though there is now little commercial traffic on the canal itself.
Walking on you will travel through a wondrous surf wave of reeds and then back up to the tow path.
Make sure you are back on it by the time you reach the remains of the bridge that once spanned the river.
The Severn Railway Bridge was built in the 1870s to carry coal from the Forest of Dean to Sharpness Docks. In 1960, two river barges hit one of the piers on the bridge, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the river. It was decided after another collision the following year, that it would be uneconomical to repair and so it was demolished between 1967 and 1970, with few traces now remaining.
Sharpness Docks are situated where the canal meets the Severn. From one spot you can view the docks and the sandbanks, with flocks of geese and ducks flying high overhead.
It is truly a very beautiful spot.
From here you can walk on through Sharpness to the dockers club if its open or to the Lammastide Inn, Old Brookend, Berkeley, Tel:01453 811337. There is also a small shop in the marina (no cafe) to get directions.
Alternatively walk back to Purton and drive to one of the many pubs in Berkeley.
Have a look in Purton Church before you leave.
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