We welcomed our youngest group of visitors last week, with 16 Reception children from Monkleigh Primary School spending the afternoon on board. The class split their visit to Bideford between the Burton Art Gallery and the ship, with 8 children on the ship at a time. As part of their studies on transport and history, […]
This week is ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ (9 th -15 th May 2022) and as part of this national campaign, National Historic Ships UK are raising awareness around the positive impact that historic vessels can have on wellbeing and mental health. To recognise this week, our enthusiastic volunteers have been sharing their experiences of volunteering […]
Last month our chairman, John Puddy, shared a detailed presentation about our Steamship Freshspring project alongside other project presenters at a presentation ceremony held by Northam Town Council. The presentation gave insight not only into the very important history behind SS Freshspring, being registered with National Historic Ships as the only surviving vessel of her […]
We were delighted to have over 40 visitors join us on the Easter Bank holiday weekend. This was our opening weekend of the year and we were lucky to be greeted by sunshine, birdsong and the joy that Spring has finally arrived! Visitors enjoyed looking around the ship and learning all about her history, with […]
We are looking forward to welcoming you (the public) back onboard from Saturday 16th April (Easter weekend) from 11am until 4pm, and every Saturday thereafter throughout the season. To mark the Easter celebrations, we will be hosting an Easter challenge onboard for children with a small (edible) prize upon completion. The ladies from Bideford Women’s Institute came […]
Over the course of a week in March, 250 Year 8 students from Bideford College spent a day on the SS Freshspring moored alongside Bideford Quay as part of their ‘Enrichment Week’. Students walked down to Victoria Park from the college and split their day between activities in the park and onboard the ship. The […]
Steamship Freshspring (at Bideford Quay) opens to the public again in April. As such, we have a new paid, part-time role for a ‘Ship Engagement Officer’ to join the team and help us provide excellent customer service welcoming visitors on board every Saturday throughout the summer season. This new member of staff will support our […]
January has been a busy month for TeamFreshspring, as we repaint and repair the ship ready for opening to visitors in April 2022. We wanted to share some of the ‘behind the scenes’ snippets with you, here are some of our highlights from last month: The work onboard has even interested the local wildlife or […]
Today is #HeritageTreasuresDay and is a social media moment set up by the National Lottery Fund to celebrate the fantastic heritage projects that they have championed over the years. Please follow this link https://fb.watch/atpZecePVM/
Happy New Year! We are pleased to have started the year with a talk at the Women’s Institute in Bideford. Our chair, John Puddy, shared the history of our renowned Freshspring and how our team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to restore and preserve her. The group were delighted to hear how our ship is […]
So that’s a wrap! What a tremendous year it has been on board SS Freshspring. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all our visitors, volunteers, patrons and members for supporting us to preserve and restore our steamship. If we look back over the last 12 months we have: welcomed over 2,000+ visitors […]
Please see the Freshspring 2022 Calendar, which is in celebration of the 75th anniversary, at a cost (each) £6 inc pp. All proceeds will go towards the preservation of SS Freshspring and we thank you for your support. Please place your order by emailing membership@ssfreshspring.co.uk and indicating:Quantity:Payment(£):Please pay by BACS or Bank transfer to:CAF Bank […]
Representatives of the Trust attended a Marine event last week at Petroc College, Barnstaple, which covered many aspects of maritime activity, renewable energy opportunities in the SW, and the environment focusing on The North Devon Biosphere. Tom Hart, Yard Manager, Harland and Wolff (Appledore), provided an excellent presentation highlighting the history and future potential of […]
We are pleased to share this year’s Freshspring Christmas Cards. We love this year’s design as it manages to capture our steamship in all her glory. If you haven’t managed to visit us, we will be open again to the public from April 2022. Packs of 10 Freshspring Christmas Cards are available for £10 (posted […]
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our last event of the year, Sea Shanties and Seafood (31st October 2021). This special, ticketed event was planned in conjunction with our friends over at The Burton who celebrate their 70th anniversary this year, with the theme centred around ‘Food is Art’. We were pleased to […]
This weekend (Saturday 16th October 2021) will mark SS Freshspring’s 5th year berthed at Bideford Quay, North Devon. It is safe to say that during this time the ship has undergone an amazing amount of work including a new mast created from a tree, a restored wheelhouse and boat deck, painting, maintenance repairs and most […]
We are pleased to share our 2021 dry-dock survey report undertaken whilst in dry-dock at the Appledore shipyard earlier this year. The purpose of this report was to ascertain the general structural condition of Freshspring and to report on work undertaken. “The structural condition on lower parts of the hull is very good and provided […]
We’re looking forward to welcoming you back onboard and TeamFreshspring has been working hard to prepare her for visitors. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 and every Saturday until October. Our opening hours are 𝟏𝟏𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝟒𝐩𝐦. As part of this year’s Easter celebrations, […]
Our charity constantly strives to promote careers in maritime and engineering throughout its activities and at shows, school career fairs and events. We attended a careers event at the Park Community School www.theparkschool.org.uk/ in Barnstaple last week. The event was a great success and we, alongside Harland and Wolff, spoke with many a student about […]
Following a visit from a local family last year, our chairman, John Puddy, arranged for a STEM kit to be used for their home education project over the Christmas break. These kits offer guided step-by-step activities for a range of ages. “Our boys had a great time with the series of 6 well-planned lessons with […]