Ships Log - July 2026

5 Gigs, 2 Ships and a Dance

July proved that a good sea song can find a home almost anywhere: at a bustling beer festival, beside an old harbour, in the middle of a birthday celebration, on a village fete field or back in the familiar surroundings of our local pub.

Our month began on 2 July with a voyage across the county line for the opening evening of the Porlock Beer and Music Festival. Held at the Ship Inn—better known locally as the Top Ship—the festival brought together four days of live music, food and local beer. We followed singer-songwriter Ollie Armitage before closing the first evening with two hours of shanties and maritime songs.

It was a fitting venue. The Top Ship claims a history stretching back to at least the 15th century and has long been associated with travellers making the demanding journey between Porlock and Lynmouth. Its history also contains tales of smugglers, secret tunnels and a clandestine meeting involving a corrupt revenue officer in 1682. Whether every old inn story should be taken entirely at face value is another matter, but it is difficult to imagine a better setting for songs of sailors, contraband and life along the coast. The Ship Inn’s history

Two days later, on 4 July, we exchanged the bustle of a public festival for something more personal: helping Ray Floyd celebrate his 80th birthday. Private performances have a character all their own. We may sing many of the same songs, but sharing them among someone’s family and friends gives the music a particular warmth. We were delighted to play our part in such a special occasion—and wish Ray many happy returns.

Our fifth engagement of the month, missing from our original reckoning, took us to Carhampton Village Fete on 11 July. Despite scorching weather, the fete attracted an excellent crowd and raised more than £3,800—the highest total in its 60-year history. Alongside the Crew, the afternoon featured the Minehead Samba Band, Famished Folk, handbell ringers and an impressive display of vintage motorcycles and tractors. It was traditional village life at its best: music, stalls, old machinery and a community coming together in the sunshine. West Somerset Free Press report

There was another memorable evening on 16 July, although this one was not part of the five formal engagements. Borderline Morris came to Lynmouth for an evening of dancing and singing outside the Ancient Mariner. The sticks, bells and vigorous dancing brought plenty of life to the harbour—and, before long, a few members of the Crew were persuaded to join in. It was a wonderfully informal meeting of two living folk traditions, shared not on a stage but in the open air, among friends and passers-by. It was a particularly warm evening that had both the dancers and ourselves wilting in the heat!

On 25 July we returned to Porlock, this time travelling down to the harbour at Porlock Weir. The Bottom Ship stands close to the old stone quay, where vessels once carried coal, limestone, timber and local produce between Exmoor and South Wales. Today the harbour shelters a quieter collection of boats, but it remains one of those places where the maritime past never feels very far away.

We performed two sets outside the inn, looking across a harbour that has served the coast for centuries. There was a fine turnout, plenty of singing from the audience and the relaxed summer atmosphere that makes an evening beside the water linger in the memory. Thank you to everyone who joined the choruses—and to the Bottom Ship for making a wandering North Devon crew feel so welcome in Somerset.

Our final engagement brought us safely back to Lynmouth on Thursday 30 July for our regular last-Thursday session at the Ancient Mariner. After several journeys into Somerset, there was something reassuring about finishing the month on home ground, surrounded by familiar faces and voices. These pub evenings remain an important part of who we are: informal, inclusive and rooted in the simple tradition of people gathering together to sing.

Five performances, two historic Ship Inns, one birthday, a village fete and an unexpected turn on the Morris-dancing floor made July an exceptionally full month. Wherever we find ourselves—on a festival stage, beside an ancient harbour or outside our local pub—the purpose remains the same: keeping the songs and stories of the Exmoor coast alive.