Take trip down maritime memory lane with the The Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum in the Isle of Wight, a fun family day out! There is something for everyone at this thriving exhibition of maritime history; The Shipwreck Centre is located in the Isle of Wight at the wonderful Arreton Barns Craft Village so there really is something for everyone there! With gold treasures, antique equipment and thousands of exciting relics to feast your eyes on!
pirates, gold & a merman?
The Shipwreck Centre’s collection is one of the largest in the UK and is bursting with treasures of the deep sea! Marvel at the Spanish gold and silver from the hidden depths and shipwrecks from around the coastline, take a trip to the past and see the antique diving equipment that would still work today! Feast your eyes on the thousands of relics in the museum, from the exciting Pirates famous ‘Pieces of Eight’ to the strange, wonderful and life-questioning discovery of the ‘Merman’. There are also fun games for the children at the museum, (just in case a Merman isn’t enough…) the free activities include the treasure hunt and pirate trail worksheets, as well as crack the code and knotting activities, as a bonus for them all activities come with a free prizes at the end!
The collection was created by owner Martin Woodward who has been a professional diver since the 1960’s, and with decades of experience he has literally dived on hundreds of shipwrecks. Diving in and around the Isle of Wight, as well as other locations worldwide, scouring the coastlines and shipwrecks for their hidden secrets and treasures to share with us all in his wonderfully fascinating museum. He first put his collection on display in 1978 and has been adding more relics over the decades, and after 28 years in Bembridge the museum was moved to the Craft Village in 2006, surrounding itself in good company on this thriving complex.
lifeboats too!
Check out the adjoin Lifeboat Museum and see the original rescue service boats from the Bembridge Lifeboat Station, you can learn the history of the station which dates back to 1867. You can even see the famously historic Queen Victoria RNLI lifeboat from 1887, she has featured in numerous re-enactments and events worldwide since her loving restoration in 1998.
So the next time you are visiting us at Woodside Coastal Retreat, pop along and visit Martin at The Shipwreck Centre and relive the golden age of shipwrecks, pirates and treasure diving (it’s really nothing like that Paul Walker movie ‘Blue Crush’). You will learn about the many sad and tragic stories of shipwrecks, as well as about the magical and mysterious wonders of the deep blue sea.