Guests can now visit Buckler's Hard village for free

Times are changing at the historic village of Buckler's Hard and visitors can now enter for free and enjoy a picturesque stroll with stunning views of boats on the river.

A new free exhibition HMS Agamemnon – Navigating the Legend has also opened at the beautiful village on the banks of the Beaulieu River.

It tells the story of how the wreck of HMS Agamemnon, Nelson’s favourite ship and the world’s last surviving wreck of a ship built at Buckler’s Hard, is now at risk of being exposed to erosion, treasure hunters and ship worm decay.

Nations are working together to save it and as part of the project, the Uruguay Ambassador César Rodriguez Zavalla came to Buckler’s Hard to open the new exhibition alongside Naval Defence Attaché Captain Frederick Fontanot.

In the new exhibition, see a film of the story, model of the 64-gun ship and artefacts from Nelson’s favourite vessel, affectionately known as ‘Eggs and Bacon’ by her crew.

Buckler’s Hard Director, the Hon. Mary Montagu-Scott, created the exhibition as part of an international project to save the wreck of HMS Agamemnon.

HMS Agamemnon was built at Buckler’s Hard from 2,000 oaks and launched there in 1781. She fought in the Battle of Trafalgar and served the Royal Navy for nearly 30 years, before sinking without trace after being wrecked off the coast of Uruguay – then rediscovered in 1993.

Now invasive whelks from the Indo-Pacific have eaten the native mussels which covered the wreck for over 200 years. A team of maritime archaeologists, led by Prof Jon Adams at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton, has joined forces with experts from Uruguay to apply for permission to survey the wreck to see how to preserve her.

While entry to the village is now free, there is a small charge for the Buckler's Hard Museum and River Cruise, which runs until October 30.

See bucklershard.co.uk