SEA Shanties, pirates and plaques were all part of the celebrations at Minehead’s Harbour Festival last week.

The festivities began on Friday (July 11), when plaques commemorating the town’s rich maritime history were unveiled.

Bridgwater artist Sue Webber was commissioned to design and sculpt the seven clay plaques for the Harbour Wall. Each one depicts a period in the town’s history.

Sue said: “This has been a great project to work on and it was great to collaborate with Storywell, Umber Music who generated the stories and songs, and work with maritime historian John Gilman.

“It has been a delight to be part of this public art commission.”

Cllr Justine Baker, prospective parliamentary candidate for West Somerset added: “The effort that has gone into these plaques is amazing, it not only celebrates the long maritime history of Minehead Harbour but also reflects on Minehead as a town.”

 The celebrations continued on Saturday (July 12) when the Pirates of Piran entertained visitors with a pirate band, workshops and tales of the town’s history.

The tall ship Irene of Bridgwater made a return to the second Harbour Festival with sailing trips around the coast.

Fun carried on late into the evening as the RNLI held an open day alongside the festival.

Spectators were treated to a lifeboat launch and then a barbecue and performance from the Darktown Strutters.

The Heritage Plaques project is part of the Minehead Vision Plan.

You can see Sue’s journey of the plaques at www.facebook.com/busybeeillustrations