Vistitors can watch hands-on shipwrightry at Buckler’s Hard when the Shipwright School returns to the maritime village on the banks of the Beaulieu River for the late May bank holiday weekend.
People can now enter Buckler’s Hard for free and explore the historic village which featured in the new BBC and Disney FX adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
From Sunday 28th May to Thursday 1st June, see maritime archaeology students will bring to life ancient shipbuilding techniques which would have been used at Buckler’s Hard when ships for Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar were built there.
The University of Southampton students will shape oak timbers from the Beaulieu Estate, working with the tools of 18th century shipbuilders, discovering the challenges they faced and how to overcome them.
In the Shipwrights Workshop visitors can see the recently opened HMS Agamemnon – Navigating the Legend exhibition, which shows how nations are working together to preserve the world’s only surviving wreck of a ship built at Buckler’s Hard. There is a film of the story, model of the 64-gun ship and artefacts from Nelson’s favourite vessel, affectionately known as ‘Eggs and Bacon’ by her crew.
A parking charge contributes to the upkeep of the historic village.