Ship Spottng venues in the UK

[ceres]

 :)Hello,
I am a new kid on the block and my main interests are R/C Model ships and Ship Spotting.

I am probably not in the right area so perhaps the controller can re-direct it if necessary.

When I go on holiday I like to arrange it around or in an area that I can watch shipping. Living close to the Humber we are blessed with alsorts but it is deifficult to locate other venues where you can watch without causing any problems.

Since I wish to visit the Felixstowe area, does anyone know where I might view Container shipping etc.
Many thanks,
ceres.

[simonwp]

Felixstowe is one of the few ports with an official viewing area. It is at Landguard Point, accessed, funnily enough, along Viewpoint Road. There is parking, and a snack bar, but no toilets. Everything moving in and out of Felixstowe, Harwich, Ipswich and Mistley passes right in front of you, the only problem for photography is the sun, which can be a problem in the afternoons. Oh and the seagulls, which also like to have their photographs taken!!!

If you haven't a car, there is an hourly bus service which originates in Ipswich, but passes through the town by the Railway Station, and, in season, a foot ferry from Harwich.

[Riverman2903]

Hello Ceres,

I like your idea about a directory of good locations, as you say other hobbies of ours such as aircraft, train and even lorry spotting have similar directories.

But back to your main question! I would recommend the Thames at Gravesend, if you do a search for photographs by Ken Smith (or search by location) you will get a good idea of possibilities and if you have a family or other half then there are 'distractions' for them close by with a few good pubs/cafes and shops etc so you can concentrate on the important things! A word of warning though, check for tides and shipping movements on the PLA website as the river can be quiet at times, although at Gravesend you can usually see something moving even if it is only a local tug.

My other suggestion in terms of activity is Dover, if you go up to the National Trust car park on the cliffs then you can get excellent views of all the ferries below you plus if visability is good and you have access to Marinetraffic or AIS then you can see general shipping movements out in the main shipping lanes. And again there are good distractions nearby for any non-ship spotters!

Hope this helps, keep us informed how you get on.

Regards

Andrew

[manzanares]

Hello Ceres,

I like your idea about a directory of good locations, as you say other hobbies of ours such as aircraft, train and even lorry spotting have similar directories.

But back to your main question! I would recommend the Thames at Gravesend, if you do a search for photographs by Ken Smith (or search by location) you will get a good idea of possibilities and if you have a family or other half then there are 'distractions' for them close by with a few good pubs/cafes and shops etc so you can concentrate on the important things! A word of warning though, check for tides and shipping movements on the PLA website as the river can be quiet at times, although at Gravesend you can usually see something moving even if it is only a local tug.

My other suggestion in terms of activity is Dover, if you go up to the National Trust car park on the cliffs then you can get excellent views of all the ferries below you plus if visability is good and you have access to Marinetraffic or AIS then you can see general shipping movements out in the main shipping lanes. And again there are good distractions nearby for any non-ship spotters!

Hope this helps, keep us informed how you get on.

Regards

Andrew

The major draw back for the cliffs at Dover is the sun which is in your face most of the day, for observing its fine but for photography is a bit frustrating. Go on the sea front, plenty of parking, and walk along Prince Of Wales pier, this will give you a much better angle for shipping though a decent long lens will be needed to make the most of it. Also more ferries are now using the Western entrance at Dover so some close up views would be on the cards as the ferries enter and leave.

[chrisg46]

Felixstowe's dock viewpoint now has a proper sit-down cafe, and smart and clean loos, you'll be glad to hear.

Over the Orwell, Shotley Marina isn't a bad spot, quite close to the large-ship end of Trinity Terminal, and there's a reasonable view of Parkestone Quay traffic, too.

[Riverman2903]

Totally agree with the point about Dover cliffs, it's a great place just to watch but not always ideal for photography. So we have Dover, Gravesend and Felixstowe as locations, anyone have up to date information on say Merseyside? Anywhere else with easy access and plenty to see, maybe that is a big ask for the UK? 

ps to myself. Leith is pretty good, views from the shopping centre car park are good and Aberdeen is excellent if you like oil/gas support vessels, always plenty to see and in terms of modern day security etc still good for viewing from public roads in and around the harbour.

[simonwp]

I put about a directory on another thread as well. Perhaps someone with the right talents could design a pro-forma along the lines of that used when uploading photographs, then individuals could add their own information without it being too much of an admin burden for the site administrators. Headings such as Port / Location, how to get there, what might be seen, facilities, watch-outs and hazards, useful web-sites etc. With a port / location search facility, it could be very useful.

[ceres]

 :
)Many thanks for all your replies to my query. Can now go ahead and arrange a visit.
Regards,
ceres.

[canberra97]

Calshot for Southampton Water or Southsea seafront for the Solent/Spithead with vessels to and from Portsmouth and Southampton.

[Tony1]

Right a subject at last i can reply too hahaha

As a very regular viewer of ships in the Solent area i recommend Southampton's mayflower park as the large container ships pass right by here as do some of the cruise ships, (some berth south of town quay) also i would suggest town quay (free bus link from rail station) where the red funnel ferries go from is also good as well as capturing things that berth on the berths south of town quay, also a good place to capture shipping is hythe pier which can be got to using the hyth ferry close to from where the red jets depart at town quay.
Another thing my mate and i do is buy a return on the car ferries from southampton to east cowes (they accept foot passengers) it takes an hour in each direction and from these you can picture tankers on fawley and and you can also time it to be on one as anything arrives up southampton water.

Although not the busiest of ports the main road from Brighton passes alongside Shoreham by Sea where smaller coastal vessels and dredgers can be seen the 700 coastliner bus passes here upto every 10 minutes from Brighton towards Worthing.

Another place i have had quite succesful spotting sesssions is the port of Aberdeen (primarliy off shore supply vessels but the Northlink ferries to kirkwall and tankers can also be seen) the best place to view arrivals and departures is by the golf course at the entrance to the harbour on the south side although its quite a walk from the rail/bus staion about 30-40 minutes.

A tip from me is use google maps street views to assist finding the best places to ship watch.

For most of the above my 18-200mm lens is good enough but sometimes a bigger lens is required.

Hope this helps you and others and good luck!!     

[Albat]

My first post.

Such a list of locations is something that I think could be really useful, especially if it has co-ordinates that can be imported into a Sat Nav or Google Maps.  The attached file, based on a download of English and Wales ports downloaded from Wiki, with viewing locations that I have been to.  Gents, please feel free to add to this list, and add any other locations that you feel should be in here.

The Liverpool docks, again from Wiki, has their co-ordinates in brackets, with a couple replaced by me when I have actually been there.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to check out the remainder, but someone local to that area could probably help.

If this is useful, and people can help, it could probably be expanded to include based tugs and other ships, and the shipping lines that regularly visit.

Just a thought.

Regards

Mike

[Alan Green]

For those travelling any distance to Gravesend it should be noted that there are large wind turbines on the opposite bank in Tilbury docks which will affect photos taken from The Shore - unless manipulating with Photoshop, etc.