About Us

As an island nation the British have always prided themselves on their seafaring expeditions. Throughout history many tales have been told of the great sea heroes, from military commanders like Admiral Lord Nelson to the swashbuckling rogues of Tudor England, like Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh and explorers like Captain Cook, Captain Scott of the Antarctic. Britain led the maritime world for many hundreds of years and only relinquished its pre-eminent position in the latter half of the 20th century. This country has perhaps the greatest maritime heritage of any in the world and has given rise to many famous shipping companies, ships, people and contributed many important technological developments over the centuries, but in the years since the end of the Second World War much of this heritage has been lost and what has remained is due to the efforts of volunteer groups and individuals and we pay tribute to their continuing dedication & hard work.

Despite this many icons of ship evolution and Britain’s maritime heritage have survived including SS Great Britain, the Royal Yacht Britannia, HMS Victory, Mary Rose, Cutty Sark, RRS Discovery, TS Turbinia, Holland I, HMS Trincomalee, HMS Warrior, HMS Belfast, HM Frigate Unicorn, HMS Wilton, PS Medway Queen, PS Ryde, PS Waverley and many more. This country is also home to world class museums including the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Dock Museum Barrow in Furness, Imperial War Museum, the National Waterfront Museum Swansea and the Merseyside Maritime Museum etc that rank among the finest in the world and of course there are many smaller but equally significant institutions across the country.

The days when almost every seaside resort had a pier served each summer by substantial fleets of excursion vessels, often paddle steamers are long gone. However it is pleasing to note that a tremendous number and variety of sea, lake and river trips are still available around the coasts of the British Isles and inland including such notable gems as PS Kingswear Castle, SS Sir Walter Scott, the former railway steamers of Lake Windermere, the Ullswater steamers, the elegant Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water, the historic fleet of Salters Steamers on the River Thames, MV Balmoral, the Mersey Ferries and of course the famous PS Waverley.

This Maritime Britain website was launched in 2006 by Alex Naughton as part of the Transport Britain group of websites after it discovered to our surprise that there was no national website to promote and raise awareness about Britain’s maritime attractions. As a result we aim, via our Maritime Britain website, to help promote and raise people’s awareness about this country’s great maritime history and heritage and the very diverse collection of ships, museums and other maritime attractions that still survives spread right across the United Kingdom. Therefore this website, because it is the only national website in the UK that performs this important role, fulfils a unique and important niche in the maritime heritage world. However please note that we are not an organisation and the website is produced on an entirely independent and voluntary basis. So get out there discover, explore, cherish, celebrate and enjoy our maritime heritage and help conserve & enhance it for future generations.