RETURN                              CRUISING DESTINATIONS 2012

Are you thinking of possible cruising destinations in 2012?

Burnham on Sea MB&SC being located midway along the Bristol Channel provides us with many opportunities to visit new ports, on the south coast of Wales or along the Somerset/Devon/Cornish Coast. Whilst we tend to go across or down channel there are some hidden little gems up channel.

We are all aware of the strong tides and currents in the channel, and are perhaps reluctant to venture much further upstream than Cardiff or Portishead.

With the right pilotage information and settled weather you may wish to consider Lydney. Lydney sailing club is situated on the old Lydney canal. Club boats and visitor boats are contained inside two basins, and behind lock gates. The clubhouse and toilets are adjacent to the locks. The Clubhouse has a refurbished bar, and has commanding views of the channel. The canal previously served Lydney Dock, nearby, however this is no longer used by commercial traffic.

In 1980, Lydney Harbour including the lower and tidal basin and the connecting lock were classified as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the rest of the harbour area, which dates from the 1870's, is a rare and historically important example of an un spoilt 19th century harbour built for sailing ships.

Both iron and coal were exported from the Forest, often on ships built using local oak. Until Stuart times, quite large ships were constructed at Lydney, including the 306-ton, 22-gun frigate 'Forester' in 1657 and the 620-ton frigate 'Princess' in 1660. The town was the home of Sir William Wintour, Admiral of the Fleet of Queen Elizabeth I in 1588, and many of the ships to oppose the Spanish Armada were built here.

Lydney is the home of the Forest Railway.