Charlestown Harbour

11/09/2026

We look forward to welcoming Bessie Ellen to winter with us 🤎

11/09/2026

A little bit of shipwright work at Charlestown ⚓

Our shipwright Dave has recently been giving this clinker-built longboat some much-needed attention ahead of its latest appearance on screen.

Originally built for Hornblower in the late 1990s, the boat has had quite a life in film and television since, including appearances in Poldark and Taboo. Most recently it was repaired, refitted and repainted at Charlestown for a new production filmed here at the harbour.

It’s exactly the sort of work we love seeing at Charlestown - traditional boats being repaired and kept working in a historic harbour that has been looking after vessels for more than 200 years.

There’s plenty more on the shipwright’s list this winter, including work on Anny and Ryder, and we’ll be sharing some of those projects as they progress.

He also has capacity for other projects over the winter, from smaller repairs and maintenance through to more involved refit work. If you have a vessel that could use some attention, you’re welcome to get in touch with the harbour team.

[email protected]

08/09/2026

📸 One week to go - and meet our judges!

There’s just one week left to enter Charlestown Through Your Lens, and we’re delighted to introduce some of the local people and organisations helping us choose our winners.

⚓ Charlestown Heritage
Judged by Andy from Charlestown History Group, with a beautiful framed historic map of Charlestown for the winner.

🌊 On the Water
Judged by Bruce at Charlestown Watersports, with a two-hour paddleboard session up for grabs.

🎨 Harbour Life
Judged by local artist Claire London of Artyfish, who is donating one of their fine art prints as the prize.

🌿 Wild Charlestown
Judged with the help of Cornwall Wildlife Trust – prize details coming soon.

⭐ And photographers under 18 will also be considered for our Young Photographer Award.

We’ve already had some wonderful entries, but we’d love to see many more before the deadline. Wildlife, boats, people, heritage, wild weather, quiet winter days or your favourite harbour view – show us Charlestown through your lens.

Photos can have been taken at any time of year, phone photos are absolutely welcome, and you can enter up to three.

📅 Entries close 14th September
📷 Free to enter · All ages & abilities

Selected photographs will feature in the Charlestown Harbour 2027 Calendar and postcard collection.

👉 Enter here: https://forms.gle/xWt75HfC1jXLZA537
(Link also in bio and on our website)

And if you know someone with a great Charlestown photo hiding in their camera roll, please send this their way!

07/09/2026

04/09/2026

📸 10 days left to enter Charlestown Through Your Lens!

We’re looking for photographs that capture Charlestown in all its different moods - from wildlife, heritage and life on the water to familiar harbour views and everyday moments.

You don’t need to be a professional (or have a fancy camera), and photographs can have been taken at any time of year - so this is a good excuse to dig through those camera rolls!

Selected images will feature in the Charlestown Harbour 2027 Calendar and postcard collection, with prizes for our category winners and a special award for photographers under 18.

📷 Free to enter
📷 Open to all ages and abilities
📷 Up to 3 entries per person
📷 Entries close 14th September

Find out more and enter here 👉 https://charlestownharbour.com/charlestown-through-your-lens-our-2026-photography-competition/

And please share with anyone who might have a great Charlestown shot tucked away!

We're launching a new community photography competition, open to photographers of all ages and abilities, to capture the many different sides of Charlestown Harbour.

04/09/2026

⚓ Winter berthing at Charlestown Harbour

We still have a few spaces available for vessels looking for a safe and sheltered winter berth on the south coast of Cornwall.

Our enclosed inner harbour offers the reassurance of a protected berth, with easy access alongside throughout the winter. Discounts are available for eligible classic and traditional vessels.

If you need to leave your boat for a time, we can also arrange bespoke care and maintenance in your absence, with shipwright services available on site.

Find out more and enquire:
https://charlestownharbour.com/berthing/

[email protected]

31/08/2026

Well, the first Skipper Festival certainly gave us the full Cornish experience… ☀️🌧️⛵

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Charlestown Harbour this weekend - whether you sailed in, played music, ran an activity, pitched a stall, volunteered, bought a raffle ticket, stopped for a drink or simply came down to see what was going on.

Saturday gave us a brilliant day around the harbour, with visiting boats, live music, paddleboarding, blacksmithing, stalls, trails and plenty more happening around the quays.

Sunday’s weather eventually got the better of us and meant we had to bring things to an earlier close than planned - but not before plenty of hardy souls had come down to join us!

Special thanks to all the crews who made the journey into Charlestown, and to the RNLI and Charlestown History Group for braving Sunday’s weather with us.

Thank you too to all our musicians, traders, activity providers, harbour businesses and everyone behind the scenes who helped us pull the weekend together - and to Skipper Rum for supporting our first festival.

We learned a few things, got rather wet, and had a lot of fun. Most importantly, it was rather lovely seeing the inner harbour full of boats, bunting, music and people again.

Thank you for making the first Skipper Festival part of Charlestown’s summer. ⚓️