TSS Duke of Lancaster, Graffiti Art Gallery

We recently had a day in North Wales to see the sea, eat good food and have a couple of beers. On the way back from Conwy, we took a different road back to England and caught sight of the Duke of Lancaster ship. It's been featured on the BBC a couple of years ago after being graffitied by international artists.



The owner moored her near Mostyn Docks with plans to use her as a tourist attraction. As it turned out, the local council backed him all the way until it got there. Since then, he's spent years trying to get permission to use the bloody thing and they always say no. It's a shame really as this part of Wales is struggling for money and businesses are all centred around the tourist trade. It'd make a fantastic illegal rave site with it being so out of the way...just joking...cough.

Here's a few pictures that don't do the scale of the thing justice. It was built to carry 1500 passengers and is 380 feet long.




The portrait in this one is of the original captain of the vessel:



The big draw for me was the three monkeys graffiti - it's awesome:



You can see the different artists' styles in these here:



I guess with the news coverage a few years ago, it's now got security guards there 24/7. Before then it was open to urban explorers and I'm a bit jealous that these guys from the 28dayslater site got the chance to climb aboard and check out the plush interior...







It's kinda eerie seeing this rusty old behemoth from the past against the darkening sky and knowing that the interior is all silent and waiting...

a reply to: Kandinsky

It'd make a fantastic illegal rave site with it being so out of the way...just joking...cough.

As soon i saw this, the same thing raced through my mind

Never heard of this and it's a bloody shame it's not being used as it could... if the Geordies can have "The Tuxedo Princess" or w/e it's called, why cant the Welsh have their infinitely cooler version?

Bah!

a reply to: skalla

A few of us went to this night at Lancaster Castle last year. It was a proper prison for years and now has occasional parties. 4-500 people, no toilets and a bar made of wallpaper trestles...it was excellent! It was like being on the set of Porridge and the cells were tiny...

Lancaster A-Wing

A rave on the good ship Lancaster would be somewhere near as cool.

a reply to: Kandinsky

That's way cool.. many years ago i was attached to a few soundsystems and went on many a cruise down the Severn on what i will just describe as "boat parties" where pretty much anything went. I'm too much of an "in is the new out" kinda older dude now, and the last crazy free-party style mash up i went to was in a barn on the welsh border a few years ago.

Nik Turner from Hawkwind and Sicknote played in a very eclectic night there, i lost about 6 hours too. Wewt!

a reply to: skalla

Ahhhh nostalgia