While the life of piracy was probably an unpleasant one, full of danger and disease, this villainous vocation exists somewhere between fantasy and fact in the public mind, becoming something quite original. Parrots, peg legs, grog, and untold treasure probably weren’t as plentiful as movies would have us believe.
Yet the allure of these seabound scallywags means that even a sniff of treasure is enough to get people excited. Consider the legend of Oak Island (Nova Scotia). The History Channel somehow managed to turn a rumour of Captain Kidd’s treasure into a 13-season epic that’s still going on today.
The UK might not seem like an ideal location for booty hunting, especially given the importance of the Caribbean in pirate lore, but these ancient isles have a long history of smuggling and piracy concentrated mostly in the southwest.
Source: Pexels.
So, if you’re looking for a staycation that echoes the stories of places like Jamaica, Haiti, and the Bahamas in the 1700s, here’s a quick rundown of the country’s former pirate hubs.
A Modern Translation
The English Heritage website claims pirates are a part of modern society’s “pop culture”, with books like Treasure Island by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson creating many of the pirate myths we know today.
These salty scoundrels got a modern translation in the Sea of Thieves video game developed by Rare and the similar Skull and Bones from French creator Ubisoft. Even the shipwrecked theme got an outing in Beam Team’s Stranded Deep.
More recently, a Megaways casino based in London, Hippodrome, released 8 Golden Skulls of Holly Roger, a slot game about a female crew on the seven seas. These all represent exotic locales. A quintessential pirate emblem, the bandana-clad skull, makes an appearance, too.
Unfortunately, these tropes aren’t really what you’re likely to find at England’s pirate coves. Many locations have been reduced to their original state, i.e., empty coves and caves washed by the tide.
‘Black Bart’
The best-known place for pirate history in the UK is Cornwall. Mousehole, Falmouth, and Polperro all provided shelter to smugglers. The latter location, Polperro, now has its own museum dedicated to the trade.
The region counts pirates, including John Carter, who hid in Prussia Cove, and the Killigrew band as frequent visitors to the southwest.
Source: Pexels.
Pirate haunts seem kind of modest in the UK, at least in comparison to the Caribbean. Arguably, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age (1650 – 1726) holed up in Newport, Wales. Bartholomew Roberts, or ‘Black Bar,t’ reportedly captured more ships than all his rivals combined. Estimates place his haul of watercraft at 200.
Coasts with secret places naturally attract brigands on the run. The Yorkshire Live website reported last year on the county’s “lost Atlantis”, a lawless “boom town” that vanished beneath the waves more than half a century ago. Called by the Norse name Ravenser Odd, the site is reportedly by Spurn Point on the north bank of the Humber River.
Wherever the sea can burrow into the seaside cliffs, you’re likely to find the vestiges of piracy in the UK. The city of Bristol, Wapping in East London, and gentle Rye in East Sussex have also heard the tap of peglegs in the past.
