Underfall Yard reaches major milestone in reconstruction of historic Big Shed Bristol’s historic boatyard hits the halfway mark of the second phase of its ambitious Recovery and Reinstatement Project, launching a ‘Donate a Slate’ scheme to fund the final phase of restoration. BRISTOL, UK – The Underfall Yard Trust has officially reached the halfway point in the reconstruction of its flagship Big Shed and adjoining workshops. Following the devastating arson attack in May 2023, the restoration project is aiming for an early 2027 completion, marking a significant step in returning traditional maritime skills to the heart of Bristol’s Floating [...]

If The Bristol Crocodile helps children discover a love of books, encourages families to spend time together and inspires them to explore this wonderful city, then I feel I've achieved something truly worthwhile. - Kat Yeadon Kat Yeadon is a Bristol-based author and illustrator, and the creator of The Bristol Crocodile. The range of books and cards only began publishing this year, but has been stocked in bookstores across the city, including in the retail section of our Visitor Centre. While dropping off new stock for us, we made time to do a quick interview with one of our [...]

Ask the team and learn more about how we're bringing back the Yard! We have had a lot of comments from regulars and new visitors about the rebuild of the Big Shed and adjoining workshops, so it felt best to give you the chance to ask the people involved directly all your questions and queries. To get involved, all you have to do is ask your question in the form below. All questions are anonymous, and you can ask as many as you like! Our team will pick the best ones to answer. The answers will be [...]

19th - 20th September 2026 Have your eye-patches and hook hands at the ready! We are once again partnering with the High and Dry Shanty Crew for The Bristol Sea Shanty Shout 2026! Last year's event marked a major change for the event: Based at our boatyard, as well as SS Great Britain, with a ticket concert by our Visitor Centre in the evening, and it was a fantastic success! We can't wait to do it all over again with dozens of performances from shanty crews taking place across two days, giving all you pirate fans the best weekend [...]

It's showtime! Take part in our ticket raffle for a range of events! Buy your ticket today! From 17th March - 6th April, Underfall Yard is teaming up with a variety of music and event venues in Bristol and beyond to give you a chance to win pairs of tickets to a show of your choice in 2026 - including two tickets to We Out Here festival this August! Taking part in our ticket raffle and being in with a chance to win means you are directly donating to the Underfall Yard Trust. Tickets to live music, theatre, [...]

Read part 1 of our deep dive into Bob Broome's diary here: https://underfallyard.co.uk/2025/10/28/the-diary-of-a-bristol-diver-bob-broome/ When Bristol diver Bob Broome began work as a Port of Bristol Authority diver, the City Docks were still a working port. With the advent of container ships, this could not last, and in 1969, Bristol City Council announced plans to close them. What would this mean for the future of the Floating Harbour? Should it be filled in to make way for a road system, as one plan recommended[1], or developed for leisure use? How much of the harbour infrastructure would be preserved, and how [...]

Take part in our naming competition for Bristol's newest bridge! While building works are taking place to reinstate the workshops lost in the 2023 fire, Underfall Yard and Bristol Maritime have worked together to install a temporary floating walkway for visitors to continue their loop of our famous Floating Harbour by connecting the Victorian-era docks maintenance workshops to the celebrated Underfall Cafe. To mark the occasion of inviting the public back to walk through the boatyard in full, we are running a contest to give the walkway a name. This name will be used for the duration of [...]