Bristol Channel Shipping Remembered

In its heyday the Bristol Channel was a thriving estuary where ships of all descriptions were to be seen, ranging from elegant passenger and cargo liners to the utilitarian tugs and dredgers, each one fufilling its own essential function in pursuit of the continuing flow of commerce. The post-war years, however, brought about a slow but steady decline, which accelerated during the 1960s and has left the Channel a shadow of its former self. During this period ships themselves were changing and the variety of vessels seen in the Channel was also changing. Steam was rapidly being replaced by diesel, container vessels were slowly taking over from the general cargo ship and larger specialised vessels were rapidly coming in to service. Bristol Channel Shipping Remembered is a nostalgic tour of the Bristol Channel, from Bristol down to its westerly limits and then eastwards along the coast of South Wales to Newport, and shows us some of these once familiar scenes that have become little more than just memories of this great waterway.