BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE.- Windermere Jetty Museum reopened on Friday 28 May, with a new season of family-friendly activities, uncovering the hidden treasures and sunken secrets of Windermere’s most intriguing shipwrecks.

This world-class museum, embedded in the Lake District, is welcoming visitors back for the start of half term with a new and unique experience that makes the most of its outdoor spaces and reveals an immersive, interactive visitor journey inside.

WRECKED! reveals a fascinating insight into the perils of Windermere’s long-lost ships, it prompts new thinking about the human impact on the lake and surrounding landscape and embraces a spirit of adventure with a family trail covering all corners of the museum.

With new displays and narratives across its remarkable and spacious galleries, visitors do really become part of life on the lake. WRECKED! delves into the story of The Mournful Marriage, a tragic ferry accident that took place on Windermere, and draws visitors into a space of chaos, calm and the deep through an immersive installation reflecting layers of icy waters of the lake. Senses ignite through touch, colour, light and sound to reveal intriguing stories, myths and tales of the lake.

From early accidents of the first steamboats, to the amazing rescues of boats pulled from the depths of Windermere, WRECKED! shares new stories of the region’s internationally important boat collection and highlights the practice and evolution of boatbuilding over time. See Steam Launch Dolly, the world’s earliest mechanically powered boat which succumbed to the icy pull of Ullswater in 1895.

While there, visitors can take a trip on the newly conserved Motor Vessel Penelope II built in 1930, that gives you a unique opportunity to enjoy the lake onboard an exceptional historic vessel.

The WRECKED! experience has been created in collaboration with immersive theatre company The Knotted Project and designers field.studio, and concludes with a pledge to deliver an amazing community project that highlights the opportunities we all have to reduce our carbon footprint and reinforce our Green Manifesto in the community.

Rhian Harris, Chief Executive said:




“We are thrilled to reopen Windermere Jetty Museum with a brand-new family experience.

“As restrictions ease, we are confident visitors will want to appreciate the wonderful local landscape and to also support cultural attractions who have been so badly affected by the pandemic.

“WRECKED! will elevate our internationally important collection in new ways and will provide a unique Covid-safe experience to all who visit. We can’t wait to welcome visitors over the coming months and create a path to working with local communities to protect our wonderful region.”

Sophie Terrett, Collections Curator said:

“The WRECKED! experience will explore for the very first time the unusual stories of the wrecks of Windermere, and we can’t wait for visitors to enjoy delving into these hidden histories.

Many of the boats in the museum collection spent part of their lives underwater. For some, it was only a few weeks before they were brought back to the surface, but others were lost beneath the waves for decades. WRECKED! will tell the amazing true tales of these internationally important boats.”

Natalie and Simon, Co-Directors of The Knotted Project said:

"We are extremely excited to be working with Lakeland Arts on their new, interactive experience, WRECKED!

“The Knotted Project have been commissioned to create a brand-new trail and visitor experience for families so they can explore the museum in new ways and have loads of fun! We are very lucky to be collaborating with field.studio and the team at Lakeland Arts, and look forward to bringing this new experience to life for 2021.”