Public Art: Shipwreck Memorial on Cleveleys Promenade

Installed in June 2012, the Shipwreck Memorial is on Cleveleys promenade. It marks all the ships which have fallen in our waters over the years.

Find it at the southernmost end of Cleveleys promenade opposite Kingsway. It also marks the boundary of the town of Cleveleys (which is in Wyre) with Anchorsholme and the neighbouring borough of Blackpool.

You’ll also notice the design of the stepped sea defence design of Cleveleys changes here, where it meets the smooth revetment design of the new sea wall at Anchorsholme.

Take a closer look at it in this video –

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More about the Shipwreck Memorial on Cleveleys Promenade

The Memorial is a huge piece of iron, laser cut with the names of the lost vessels. It stands as a landmark, tall against the sky, supported by two huge solid pieces of timber.

The piece is made from weathering steel, often referred to by the tradename COR-TEN (or corten) steel. It’s a steel alloy that form a stable external layer of rust that eliminates the need for painting. Chosen for it’s durability and resistance to weathering, the finish mirrors the rusting process on all sunken ships. Now, several years later it wears a coat of genuine oxidisation (rust) after its exposure to the salty sea air. The next two photos show it being installed.

The Shipwreck Memorial lists the vessels which have sunk or run aground off the shores of the Fylde Coast, between 1643 and 2008. Carry on reading and we’ve transcribed the names of the ships for you to read.

Cleveleys Mythic Coast

It also marks the start of the Mythic Coastline public art trail along the coastline at Cleveleys. The story of the Sea Swallow comes to life through pieces of public art in a trail around the Wyre coastline to Fleetwood.

• More about the other pieces of artwork. Including the Sea Swallow, the giant ogres paddle, the Ogre and Mary’s Shell.

More about the Shipwrecks

High in the sky in the top left corner, the first listing on the Shipwreck Memorial is an unidentified vessel, wrecked near Fleetwood in 1643. It ran aground after Royalists set it on fire during the Civil War. It’s hard to imagine a time when distant history was actually happening, here on the coastline that we’re all so familiar with.

On each side of the memorial is a plaque, listing all of the shipwrecks. Find out more about each one below – when they ran into trouble, and where they were going. It’s in two parts – 1643 to 1873 and 1874 to 2008.

Links to the Slave Trade?

The list of sunken vessels makes for sobering reading. Not only is there a huge ship graveyard just offshore, but it looks like some of them were involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Vessels had been making trips to Barbados and Demerara before getting into difficulty and sinking.

Relatively few slaves were actually brought to Liverpool and Lancaster but the ‘triangular trade’ as it was known, made huge profits for the cities.

Ships left British ports, including Liverpool and Lancaster, bound for West Africa. They were filled with goods that had been manufactured here. Things like pots and pans, guns, alcohol and textiles. When they reached Africa, the goods were exchanged for slaves. The slaves were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas and Caribbean in a journey that took six to eight weeks. Many of them died in the horrible, overcrowded conditions. Arriving in the Americas, the slaves were sold to buy sugar, coffee, tobacco, rice and cotton which came back to UK ports. All of those commodities were produced by the enslaved Africans.

Many years of campaigning took place before the trade was finally outlawed in Britain in 1807.

Between 1700 and 1807 Liverpool was the British port with the most slave ship voyages between 1700 and 1807. 5,300 voyages were made. But Lancaster’s prosperity also came from the slave trade, becoming the fourth largest slave port in England.

Shipwreck Memorial Plaque One – 1643-1873

The list starts back in the mists of time, in 1643…

Shipwrecks 1643 to 1800

• UNIDENTIFIED 1643 – wrecked near Fleetwood, ran aground during the Civil War, the Royalists set her on fire*
• UNIDENTIFIED 1660 – thought to be a ‘plague’ ship, lost near Fluke Hall
• EMPLOYMENT 1702 – stranded at Bispham, Red Bank
• MARY & BETTY 1740 – lost on the Lancashire coast
• MAYFLOWER 1749 – sailing vessel, bound from Barbados, capsized in the Lune with several lives lost
• TRAVER 1775 – lost near Rossall Point
• UNIDENTIFIED 1775 – a vessel from Cork. All crew lost except 2
• JUSTITA 1777 – on a voyage from Sweden to Liverpool, lost at Blackpool with the loss of 1 life
• ORANGE TREE 1791 – lost at Lytham
• SUSANNAH 1793 – lost off Lytham in a voyage between St Petersburgh and Liverpool
• HAPPY 1797 – voyage from Oporto to Liverpool, lost at Lytham
• BROTHERS 1799 – merchantman driven ashore at Blackpool during a storm

*Resolving a 1643 Mystery…

In February 2024 we were contacted by Richard Dawson who had been doing some local research. One name, of course, came up. That of Thomas Tyldesley, a Royalist during the Civil War.

Richard found a book called ‘Lancashire at War’ and discovered that in 1643 a shipwreck occurred at the mouth of the river Wyre. His father sent him a link to the visit Cleveleys website and this page – and an unnamed ship of 1643. ‘Lancashire at War’ gives the name of the ship as the Santa Ana and the crew were taken to Rossall Hall, now Rossall School. That’s one unidentified vessel resolved!

1801 to 1820

• DOLPHIN 1801 – stranded and lost at Blackpool
• TYSON 1801 – voyage from Demerara to Lancaster, driven ashore at Lytham
• UNIDENTIFIED 1802 – lost off Blackpool, 3 out of 18 saved
• VEDRA 1808 – Malta to Liverpool, driven ashore at Lytham
• LAVINIA 1809 – inbound from New Jersey to Liverpool, wrecked at Lytham
• ANNA CATHARINA 1810 – near Blackpool, crew saved
• AVIS 1811 – inbound to Liverpool, wrecked near Lytham
• UNIDENTIFIED 1812 – lost off South Shore, the ship’s cat is the only survivor
• MARY HALL 1813 – on voyage to Liverpool, lost at Lytham
• WILLIAM LEECE 1814 – stranded near Blackpool
• FRIENDS 1814 – Pernau to Liverpool, lost near Lytham
• LONDON 1817 – sloop on voyage from London to Liverpool, lost off Lytham
• NEW LIBERTY 1819 – Ulverston to Liverpool, wrecked 2 miles SE off Fleetwood at Pilling

Shipwrecks 1821 to 1830

• NELLY & JANE 1822 – drove on shore at Lytham but will be ‘got off again without much damage’.
• DUNCAN 1823 – Whitehaven to Duddon, lost going into the Wyre, all the crew drowned
• JESSIE 1823 – outbound from Lancaster, wrecked at Blackpool
• FANNY 1824 – wooden sloop wrecked at Blackpool
• UNIDENTIFIED 1824 – brig, lost off Lytham
• COMMERCE 1825 – wooden vessel Master Pritchard was upset in attempting to enter the Ribble
• NANCY 1827 – Sailing from Richebucto to Lancaster, lost in the Lune
• WILLIAM 1827 – driven ashore at Heysham Point during a gale
• FRIENDSHIP 1828 – lost at Blackpool with all crew
• LORD ORIEL 1830 – on voyage from Drogheda to Preston, upset on the Ribble banks, crew saved
• ELIZA JEAN 1830 – struck on the Ribble banks, crew and some materials saved. The cargo, apples and potatoes scattered for miles on the beach

1831 to 1840

• COMMERCE 1831 – inbound from St John to Liverpool, lost on the Ribble Banks
• UNIDENTIFIED 1831 – lost near Wyre Water
• PERU 1831 – driven on shore at Lytham, crew saved. About 250 bales of cotten also saved
• HOWICK 1832 – Newry to Glasgow, struck on the Ribble bank
• HAPPY RETURN 1833 – wrecked at Blackpool
• ALERT 1833 – lost off Blackpool in a storm, along with 12 other vessels on the coast
• INDUSTRIE 1833 – Liverpool, lost with one crewman, off St Annes
• HOPE 1833 – on voyage from Liverpool to Miramichi, lost at South Shore
• BARBARA 1833 – lost at Blackpool
• UNIDENTIFIED 1833 – lost at Blackpool
• MARTHA 1833 – outbound to Lerwick from Liverpool, lost off Blackpool
• PRINCE LEOPOLD 1833 – Isle of Man, materials saved
• SEVERN 1833 – on voyage to Fort William from Lancaster, wrecked near St Annes head
• HETTY CLIFTON 1834 – Dundalk to Preston, lost to the south of Blackpool
• UNIDENTIFIED 1834 – A schooner is driven up opposite Poulton ‘No boat can go off to her, as it blows a hurricane on shore’
• ANNA 1836 – Flint to Ulverston. Lost near Blackpool
• CHARLOTTE 1836 – Bound for Newry ‘got upan an anchor and sunk’
• ELIZA 1837 – Sailing between Dublin and Workington struck on the outer banks of the River Ribble
• UNIDENTIFIED 1837 – A large vessel, lost with all hands on Pilling sands
• ROYAL OAK 1837 – Inbound to Liverpool from Carrickfergus, lost at Blackpool
• FAVOURITE 1839 – Bound for Genoa, lost on Crusader Bank
• CRUSADER 1839 – Liverpool to Bombay, lost on Crusader Bank
• ANN PALEY 1839 – Lost off Cleveleys on a voyage to Lisbon
• FAME 1839 – Lost at Blackpool
• MARGARET NILEAR 1840 – Lost on Salthouse Bank

Shipwrecks 1841 to 1850

• MALCOLM 1841 – A sloop bound for Glasgow, lost at Lytham Point
• ARISTOCRAT 1843 – A brig on voyage from Montreal to Liverpool, wrecked at Blackpool beach
• JANE & LENNY 1844 – Blackpool, 1.5m north at Warbreck, ‘stranded and lost in heavy weather’
• HILLSBOROUGH 1847 – Lytham Saint Annes ‘stranded/total wreck or loss’
• FORWARD 1849 – Lytham Saint Annes, stranded/total wreck
• PORTIA 1850 – Blackpool ‘unspecified sailing vessel’

1851 to 1860

• MARY 1851 – ‘Blackpool sloop headed for Beaumaris’
• EAGLE 1852 – A flat which sank off Lytham after collision with friend ‘Goodwill’
• CLIFTON 1852 – Lifeboat on exercise, capsized at Lytham with the loss of most of her crew
• DENISON 1852 – Fully rigged ship, outbound for Antigua, lost in gale off Lytham
• HOPE 1852 – Fleetwood, ‘a Preston barque, capsized at her moorings and sank’
• COROMANDEL 1852 – A Schooner, lost on Salthouse Bank, crew saved by the Lytham Lifeboat
• SUCCESS 1853 – A schooner lost near Fleetwood in a force 9 gale
• WILLY 1853 – A flat sailing for Saltney, lost at Rossall
• ELEANOR 1853 – Fleetwood, ‘is ashore on Bernard’s Wharf, partly embedded in the sand’
• BRITISH TOKEN 1856 – Blackpool
• THOMAS 1857 – A sloop wrecked off Blackpool
• SPLENDID 1857 – A schooner, outbound from Ardrossan, lost on Bernard’s Wharf
• PRIDE 1857 – Schooner stranded at Blackpool
• MINERAL 1858 – A schooner sunk on the banks
• UNIDENTIFIED 1859 – Schooner lost at Lytham
• PILGRIM 1859 – Inbound from Douglas, lost at Blackpool
• BARBARA 1859 – A sloop wrecked on Salthouse Bank
• ANN MITCHELL 1860 – ‘stranded and lost on Bernard’s Wharf’
• ANNA DIXON 1860 – ‘stranded/total wreck or loss’
• JANE ROPER 1860 – Shell Wharf, Cleveleys, ‘stranded/total wreck or loss’
• CATHERINE 1860 – ‘her four man crew were rescued by the Fleetwood lifeboat’
• ADA 1860 – A yacht stranded on Salthouse Bank
• THERMONT 1860 – A barque lost her anchors in a WNW gale and stranded on Bernard’s Wharf

Shipwrecks 1861 to 1870

• WILLIAM HENRY 1861 – A schooner lost at South Shore
• LYRA 1861 – A steamship on route from Liverpool to Brazil ‘struck and sunk near Lune Deep’
• BRITANNIA 1861 – Wooden sloop lost near North Wharf in force 10 winds, 11 crew lost
• EUXINE 1861 – A brig stranded on Salthouse Bank in force 9 winds
• ROBERT 1862 – Smack, lost with all hands, 8m WNW of Fleetwood
• CERES 1862 – Schooner lost on Salthouse Bank
• ADA 1862 – A schooner lost near the Imperial Hotel
• PRINCESS MARIE 1863 – Lost on Pilling Sands
• BRAZIL 1863 – A barque lost on Salthouse Bank
• RUBIN 1863 – A barque inbound from the Bay of Fundy, lost on Salthouse Bank
• WATERWITCH 1863 – A fishing vessel lost on Crusader Bank
• LILLIES 1863 – A full-rigged ship, ashore at Pilling sands
• LEMNOS 1863 – A brig lost near North Pier
• NO NAME 1863 – This River Wyre ferry boat sank whilst laden with passengers, only the ferryman lost his life
• JOHN 1863 – A sloop driven onto Crusader Bank in force 11 winds
• CONTENT 1864 – A brigantine lost in the River Ribble
• BETSY 1865 – Stranded/total wreck or lost on Bernard Wharf
• FAVOURITE 1865 – A brig stranded and lost off Blackpool Pier in force 10 winds. All hands lost
• SUSAN L CAMPBELL 1867 – Stranded on Salthouse Bank
• THEODORIS 1868 – A schooner stranded on Salthouse Bank
• CHARLES BRUNEL 1869 – A barque lost near North Wharf
• SPRIGHTLY 1870 – A sloop lost on Crusader Bank in heavy seas
• ACTIVE 1870 – A fishing vessel wrecked on Crusader Bank

1871 to 1874… to be continued on plaque two

• EMILY 1871 – Foundered and lost whilst pleasure sailing, Ribble Estuary
• UNIDENTIFIED 1872 – A schooner lost on Salthouse Bank
• LERAN 1873 – Wrecked near Blackpool

Shipwreck Memorial Plaque Two – 1874-2008

The second plaque on the seaward side lists ships from 1874 to current day.

Shipwrecks 1874 to 1880

• ESKHAM 1874 – Out bound from Liverpool. Lost 2m west of Fleetwood in a force 10 SSW gale
• ANNIE REED 1875 – Sailing vessel stranded/total wreck off Shell Bank, Fleetwood
• WK CHAPMAN 1875 – Stranded at Rossall Point
• JANE 1877 – Steamwhip, foundered in the Ribble in force 5 winds after burning out
• ZION HILL 1877 – A schooner, inbound to Lancaster from London, stranded and lost on King’s Scar
• UTILITY 1878 – A schooner, wrecked on Pilling sands, one crewman dead
• CHARLES CHALONER 1878 – A barque inbound to Fleetwood from Quebec
• ELIZABETH ELLEN FISHER 1879 – A schooner stranded on Bernard Wharf
• THOMAS DUGDALE 1879 – A steamship caught by the tide and wrecked in the Wyre channel
• BESSIE JONES 1880 – A schooner stranded on Salthouse Bank
• ADA 1880 – A brig on a voyage between Dublin and Maryport, stranded near Cleveleys in a force 7 westerly
• FORTUNA 1880 – A brigantine lost offshore at Lytham Saint Annes in a force 7 westerly wind

Nautical Charts

Take a look at this modern nautical chart which shows how many channels and sandbanks are hidden under the sea. Mariners in the 1800’s wouldn’t have had anything anywhere near like as detailed to refer to. Nor would they have had gps or sonar systems to guide them through the dangers.

We’ve also marked some of the features where our shipwrecks came a cropper. How many have you heard of?

1881 to 1885

• VENUS 1882 – A Swedish barque, foundered off Fleetwood
• ALDEGRUNDE 1882 – A Norwegian Barque outbound from Liverpool for Nova Scotia, stranded at Rossall Point
• ARETHUSA 1882 – A barque outbound from Liverpool to Quebec, drifting before a SW force 5 wind
• ADELE GRUNDE 1883 – A Norwegian barque sailing for Halifax, driven onto North Wharf in a west for 6 wind
• MERCURY 1883 – A steamer parted her moorings in a force 6 and stranded at Blackpool
• THORNTON 1883 – A schooner stranded and lost in the Wyre in a force 9 SSW wind
• MERMAID 1883 – Inbound from Quebec, barque stranded on Salthouse Bank in a force 9 gale
• BLACKWALL 1884 – A barque inbound from St John’s to Fleetwood, lost 3m NNW Wyre Lightship in a force 6

1885 to 1890

• YAN YEAN 1886 – A steamer inbound to Fleetwood, lost on Salthouse Bank in a force 9
• SIR ROBERT PEEL 1886 – A schooner sailing from Arnside. Lost near Fleetwood in a force 6
• SWALLOW 1887 – A ketch wrecked on Pilling Sands
• TANCOOK 1887 – A Norwegian Barque lost to the East of the Screw Pile Light
• JOHN CROSBIE 1887 – A schooner stranded and lost in wind conditions S force, Lytham Saint Annes
• LITTLE TROJAN 1889 – A flat sailing for Piel, lost off Rossall in a NW force 10 wind
• SPRAY 1890 – A dandy stranded on Pilling Sands, in force 8 SSE winds
• LABORA 1890 – A Norwegian barque lost east of Wyre Lightship in force 11 NW winds
• NEW BRUNSWICK 1890 – Norwegian Barque stranded on Bernard’s Wharf in force 11 NW gale
• JEAN CAMPBELL 1890 – Brig, stranded and lost at Norbreck
• EBENEZER 1890 – Schooner stranded and lost at the mouth of the Ribble in NW force 8 gale

Shipwrecks 1891 to 1895

• SUPERB 1891 – Ketch driven onto Bernard’s Wharf in WNW force 7 winds
• SIRENE 1892 – Norwegian Barque driven ashore at North Pier in force 10 WNW storm
• PRINCE CHARLIE 1892 – A smack lost due to collision near Wyre Light
• ABANA 1894 – A barque stranded and lost if NW force 11, 400 yards off Norbreck
• FALMOUTH 1894 – Wrecked in a storm with all hands, off Rossall Point
• FURN 1894 – Norwegian barque stranded in force 11 westerly winds, on Pilling Sands
• PETREL 1894 – This fishing smack was stranded and lost in NW force 11 near Bispham
• MINNY 1895 – Sloop, sank near the Bell Buoy, Fleetwood
• SVALEN 1895 – A Norwegian barque came ashore on Pilling Sands
• FOAM 1895 – Schooner, stranded on Bernard’s Wharf, in force 9 winds
• ERLING SKJALGSON 1895 – A force 10 NW storm blew this Norwegian barque onto North Wharf
• KITTIWAKE 1895 – A cutter blown onto North Wharf in force 9 winds
• PEARL 1895 – A 68 ton jigger flat lost at Rossall Landmark in force 10 NNW winds
• VOLUNTEER 1895 – A cutter driven ashore at Blackpool Central Pier in force 10 winds
• RESOLUTION 1895 – Smack lost near Fleetwood
• TWO SISTERS 1895 – Smack wrecked in ‘The Great Storm’ off Central Beach, Blackpool
• SARAH 1895 – A cutter, foundered in force 9 winds off Blackpool
• GENESTA 1895 – A fishing vessel wrecked at Blackpool
• MARINER 1895 – A cutter lost off Blackpool in force 10 winds
• DAISY 1895 – Smack, lost with all hands off Blackpool
• SCHOOL GIRL 1895 – Smack wrecked at Lytham in force 10 winds

1896 – 1900

• HAMLET 1896 – A Norwegian Brigg, inbound from Nova Scotia, stranded at Blackpool in light winds
• ONDINE 1897 – A smack lost near the Lower Lighthouse, Fleetwood
• HMS FOUDROYANT 1897 – Nelson’s Flagship, a 2nd rate Man O’ War, sunk at her moorings off North Pier
• UNIDENTIFIED 1897 – A salvage steamer, working on the wreck of HMS Foudroyant, wrecked at Blackpool
• ANNA 1897 – A salvage steamer, working on the wreck of HMS Foudroyant. wrecked at Blackpool in force 4 winds
• AURORA 1897 – A Brigantine, also working on the wreck of HMS Foudroyant, wrecked at Blackpool in force 6 winds
• LOUISA 1897 – A barque which sank in the infamous ‘Jubilee Gale’ off Fleetwood
• MILO 1898 – Fishing smack, sank at her moorings behind the dock jetty at Fleetwood
• LARNICA 1898 – Fully rigged ship wrecked at Pilling Sands in a moderate gale
• BLUE BELL 1898 – A schooner, inbound for Liverpool and stranded at Cleveleys in a force 7
• DIANA 1898 – A schooner rigged steam fishing liner, lost in a force 6 near Fleetwood
• MARGARETHE 1898 – Russian barque, sailing from Fleetwood, driven onto Bernard’s Wharf in a force 9 storm
• MINNIE 1898 – A ketch lost off Fleetwood after a collision
• PERU 1899 – Steamship lost in a WNW force 6, 5m offshore Lytham Saint Annes

Shipwrecks 1901 to 1910

• DEVONSHIRE LASS 1903 – A force 9 storm broke this smack from her moorings and drove her onto Bernard’s Wharf
• MIDIAN 1903 – A ketch blown ashore at Ulverston in a force 6 WNW wind
• LIV 1903 – Norwegian barque driven onto Pilling Sands in a force 10 wind
• MAUD 1903 – This smack was sunk after breaking free from her moorings in a force 10 wind
• WREN 1904 – A trawler which broke her moorings in a force 9 and stranded at Lytham
• SECRET 1904 – City of Manchester collided with this smack off Fleetwood
• NELLIE 1906 – Fishing vessel which foundered off St Anne’s in a snow squall
• OLD HUNTER 1906 – A schooner, stranded and lost with her cargo at Cleveleys
• KLARA 1906 – A Norwegian barque lost offshore from the Mount Hotel in Fleetwood in a force 7
• HILDA 1909 – A flat, stranded near Wyre Light
• ELIZABETH ANN 1910 – A ketch run down by SS Duke of Cornwall at Wyre Light
• KELBURN 1910 – A steel barque which drove ashore in a gale

1911 to 1920

• ROSALEEN 1911 – Lost off St Anne’s, 21 crew saved
• ENTERPRISE 1913 – A barge lost at the Ribble entrance
• MINNIE 1913 – A sloop, sank at her moorings in Fleetwood harbour, after a collision with SS Saltburn
• SPRAY 1916 – Fishing vessel lost on Pilling Sands
• EVANGELINE 1916 – A ketch stranded at North Wharf
• PITTAN 1917 – A Russian barquentine grounded on Pilling Sands
• MONTREAL 1918 – A steamship which collided with SS Cedric 14m W x S Lune Deeps buoy
• MARGUERITE 1919 – Steamship stranded near Wyre Lightship

Shipwrecks 1921 to 1960

• LYRA 1922 – Steamship lost between Rossall Point and Lune Deeps
• GLENCONA 1926 – Steamship caught fire off Anglesey and drifted to Rossall before sinking
• SCOMBER 1926 – A trawler which sank while fishing 3m NW Lune Deeps buoy
• COMMANDANT BULTINCK 1929 – A Belgian trawler wrecked at Rossall Point
• NOEL 1930 – A barge which carried Fleetwood’s annual firework display, swept onto Pilling Sands
• BRAGI 1940 – Icelandic trawler, lost off Wyre Light
• STELLA MARIE 1941 – Danish fishing vessel, went ashore at Kings Scar Bank, Fleetwood
• MURIELLE 1941 – A fishing trawler, homeward bound, detonated a German laid mine. She was taken in town but sunk offshore at Blackpool
• KUNISHI 1946 – Trawler, wrecked on Pilling Sands, later salvaged
• CONISBRO’ CASTLE 1958 – Fishing vessel sunk in Lune Deeps

1961 to 2008

• HAMOAZE 1967 – Fishing vessel under tow to Glasson. Blown onto Knott End sands and lost.
• CORONA 1975 – MFV stranded near Fleetwood dock
• HOLLAND XXIV 1981 – A dredger, beached at Cleveleys
• MS RIVERDANCE 2008 – A rool on-roll off ferry from Warrenpoint to Heysham, all crew airlifted to safety. Scrapped on site at Cleveleys.
• COCO LEONI 2008 – A motor cruiser ran aground opposite Lytham windmill

An Old, Local Shipwreck…

Have you heard of The Abana? One of the most well known local wrecks – and at low tide you can still see its remains on the beach. Can you find it on the memorial? It’s just to the left of the hole.

She came aground in 1894 after being hit by a force 11 south westerly gale, just 400 yards off Norbreck.

Poignantly, you’ll see her ribs on the beach at Little Bispham, behind the memorial (below). The sunken wooden hull is a reminder of an age old shipping industry that we can see from our shore.

• Read more about the Abana shipwreck

We took a walk out to the remains of the Abana on a glorious summer morning in 2020. Take a look at it here –

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Riverdance – a Modern Local Shipwreck

The wreck of the Abana is close to where the Riverdance ferry met its fate one stormy night on 31 January 2008.

Afterwards it lay on the beach as a modern wreck and overnight tourist sensation. Riverdance is the next to last ship listed at the bottom of the Shipwreck Memorial.

• Read more about the Riverdance shipwreck

And a famous ship, wrecked nearby

Another well known boat listed on the Shipwreck Memorial on Cleveleys promenade is the HMS Foudroyant.

Foudroyant was Nelson’s flagship. Done-for by a June gale it was wrecked just off North Pier in Blackpool. There’s a memorial and Blue Plaque to it just at the right hand side of North Pier.

Find out more in this video –

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