Visiting Wells Lifeboat Station

As the station has a full-time mechanic, the boathouse is usually open and manned during the week and on Saturday mornings. Visitors are welcome to come in and have a look around.

Wells boathouse is largely original. It has a modern exterior and has been extended, altered and revised over the years but much of it is the original 1895 building inside. Unlike many modern RNLI boathouses, there is no separate public area or viewing gallery as the building is barely big enough to house the boats and their supporting equipment. This makes for an interesting and different experience but it also means that visitors do need to take extra care as they move around and that small children should be closely supervised.

We have a small gift shop area for information and souvenirs but this is not normally open unless there is a public event on. However, you may well meet crew and station officers at the boathouse and most are willing to stop for a chat or answer a few questions if they're not too busy.

Schools and clubs

We're happy to accommodate visits from larger parties such as a schools or scout groups, but please contact us first to arrange this. Visits usually consist of a talk, possibly a video, a question and answer session and a walk round the facilities.

Open Evenings and Open Day

We run open evenings at the boathouse on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer holidays. Visitors usually start with a short talk by a crew member with a question and answer session and the chance for children (and a grown-up or two) to dress up in lifeboat kit. Unusually, you will then also have the chance to go aboard the Mersey lifeboat to look at its equipment. Children also have the opportunity to sit in the inshore lifeboat.

Once a year we also run an all-day open day and barbecue at the boathouse, usually with the inshore lifeboat out on the water so that you can see it operating.