Steamship Shieldhall are delighted to announce Shieldhall's 2025 sailing programme, celebrating 70 years afloat!
Volunteers were given a recent boost ahead of the anniversary with the awarding of ‘The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.’ The ‘flags will be flying’ on Shieldhall’s opening cruise of the season on 24 May, and again on a special celebratory weekend when Shieldhall’s trips will pass by the depots she visited when in the service of Southern Water (Sat 12 July) and an extended trip out to the Nab Tower (Sun 13 July).
Also new for 2025 will be an extended trip west of the Needles (Sun 15 June, Father’s Day) and a special ‘Liner’s Day’ with an enthusiast’s exhibition on board and an opportunity to cruise past 5 cruise ships expected in the Port of Southampton (Sat 30 August). In addition to her own 70th birthday celebrations, other notable anniversaries will be marked by sailings, including an 85th Dunkirk / 80th VE & VJ Day cruise to Portsmouth Harbour on Sun 25 May; a trip celebrating steam to mark Rail200 (Sat 23 August) and a ‘Jane All at Sea’ cruise, again into Portsmouth, which will highlight Jane Austen’s nautical connections, linking with the Jane Austen 250 themed year.
One of the beauties of steam propulsion is that Shieldhall does not tend to vibrate or roll, and as such makes a great viewing platform, perfect for photography. For 2025, Shieldhall will steam to the Solent to watch the spectacle of the Round the Island Race on Saturday 7 June and the Fastnet Race on Saturday 26 July, which will mark 100 years of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC).
Musical highlights of the 2025 programme include the Selsey Shantymen performing on board on Sunday 8 June and Southampton’s own ‘Salty Sea Dogs’ on Sunday 27 July. The wonderful samba rock of Tuto Tribe will grace Shieldhall’s main deck on Friday 13 June, whilst ‘Songs of the Sea’ will be performed in their own inimitable fashion by ‘Jim Splice and the Main Brace’ on Saturday 28 June.
Shieldhall Chairman Martin Phipps noted: ‘We are delighted to launch our 2025 sailing programme, full of returning favourite excursions, but with a number of new trips, including the marking of significant anniversary events; festivals and special occasions. In addition to our cruises we will be marking our 70th anniversary by staging a number of free, alongside visit days, where guests can find out more about Shieldhall and what is involved in taking a heritage steamship out to sea. We will also be hosting Heritage Adventure Training Days for Youth Groups, and running one and two-day ‘Steam Experience’ courses for enthusiasts.’
‘Our volunteers put in over 25,000 hours annually of voluntary commitment, and we like to think that Shieldhall has never looked better, ahead of her 70th birthday. We are justly proud of Shieldhall’s rating as ‘No 1 Thing to Do in Southampton’ on TripAdvisor, and can’t wait to start welcoming guests back on board!’
Check out our special Early Bird offers and exciting programme of sailings, open days, courses and experiences via the link below.
https://ss-shieldhall.co.uk/bookings/category/public-sail
Zone South East