Ship ahoy! Historic lightship opens to public after repairs

The Spurn Lightship, berthed in Hull Marina, closed for essential maintenance in 2009 but is now ready to receive visitors after staff and volunteers spent the last fortnight giving her a spruce-up.

The stairs have been repaired and other maintenance work carried out, while the vessel has been thoroughly cleaned.

The ship, which was built in Goole in 1927, formed part of a network of lightships, buoys and lighthouses that guided shipping into the estuary.

Visitors can see how the crew of seven spent a month on station, coping with bad weather and isolation. Both the crew’s and master’s cabins are available for inspection, along with the stores where a display of original equipment can be seen.

The lightship was decommissioned in 1975 and restored by Hull Council eight years later.

Since being moored on the marina in 1987, the vessel has become a local landmark visible to traffic in Castle Street.

The lightship is open from 10am to 4pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 1.30pm to 4pm on Sundays.