In 1970, crowds of thousands watched the ss Great Britain’s homecoming. Tugs pulled the old ship up the Avon to Bristol, passing beneath Brunel's suspension bridge.

Onlookers reached out from the harbour walls to guide the ship into her dock. Memories of these events are so potent that many Bristolians remember exactly where they were the day the ship came home.

This homecoming followed a heroic salvage operation in a desolate corner of the Falkland Islands. A determined team of divers and engineers took on the challenge of raising the abandoned ship.

Bad weather and limited equipment made the operation hazardous and unpredictable. Amazingly, it took just three weeks to raise the ship’s vast, fracturing hull from the sea floor. She was secured on a huge pontoon and made ready for her last, 7,000 mile journey across the Atlantic.

The ‘Incredible Journey’ documents the memories of people who took part in the salvage or saw the ship come home. As part of the project is a fully animated film documenting the salvage and return of the ss Great Britain in 1970 which can be viewed from 17 July 2010 at Brunel's ss Great Britain.

Click here for more What's On information