The 91ft mule-rigged spritsail barge, Cambria, the last vessel to carry cargo under sail alone in Great Britain and Northern Europe, is on the road to full restoration.

Her oak-timbered hull has been put in a dry-dock, and covered in a marquee-style tent as six shipwrights work on her three-year, £1.4 million rebuild.

When finished she will sail around the coasts of her past, this time loaded with schoolchildren or charterers, rather than coal or wheat.

For the full story see Dick Durham’s blog.