Larkhaven Maritime Museum on Harbour Street is celebrating Heritage Week from Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 September 2026. Entry is free all week, with behind-the-scenes tours, family activities and a new exhibition about the people who built Larkhaven’s harbour.
What’s on
- The Harbour Builders: a new exhibition of photographs, tools and stories from the dockers, rope makers and net menders of Quayside between 1850 and 1970, many of them lent by Larkhaven families. It opens on 12 September and runs until 28 March 2027.
- Behind the scenes: 45-minute tours of the museum’s stores, where more than 30,000 objects are kept. Tours run daily at 11:00 and 14:00, with 12 places on each. Book at the front desk on the day.
- Build a boat that floats: a drop-in family workshop on both weekends, 10:00–15:00. Test your design in the museum’s water tank.
- Smugglers of the Wren Estuary: an evening talk by curator Dr Imogen Tate on Thursday 17 September at 18:30. It’s free, but please book at the front desk or by calling 01632 960 000.
Larkhaven wouldn’t exist without the harbour, and the harbour wouldn’t exist without the thousands of people who worked on it. Heritage Week is a chance to tell their stories, many of them for the first time.
Dr Imogen Tate, Curator, Larkhaven Maritime Museum
Opening times and access
- The museum is open every day of Heritage Week from 10:00 to 17:00, including Monday 14 September, when it’s usually closed.
- It’s step-free throughout, with a lift to all floors and accessible toilets.
- A British Sign Language tour runs on Saturday 19 September at 11:00.
- A quiet hour, with lower lighting and sound, runs every morning from 10:00 to 11:00.
Getting there
The museum is a short walk from the Quayside tram stop at the end of Line 1. If you’re cycling, the protected cycle lane on Harbour Street runs past the front door and there’s cycle parking outside. Plan your route on our cycling page or see trams and buses.
