WHAT? Pirates 

WHERE? National Maritime Museum, Sammy Ofer Wing, King William Walk, Greenwich SE10 9NF

WHEN? Now until 4th January 2026

WHY GO? For a swashbuckling adventure. From Long John Silver to Captain Pugwash, pirates have intrigued writers, artists and cinematographers alike and still do so today. Who has not enjoyed films like Pirates of the Caribbean with Orlando Bloom whose original costume is also on show.  

The reality of these swashbuckling adventurers, real and fiction, merge in this captivating exhibition aptly displayed in our famous maritime museum in Greenwich.

They may well have been romanticised sailing into remote Caribbean islands but in reality, pirates originated from places as diverse as North Africa, along the Indian Ocean and South China Seas and even the British Isles with many drawn to piracy from impoverished backgrounds.

Real pirates certainly didn’t all say ‘arrrr’ as documented in the first live-action Disney film of Treasure Island in 1950 with Long John Silver played by an actor with a strong Dorset accent dominating that depiction for ever more.

The golden age of piracy is recorded as being between 1680 to the 1720 and all is revealed with a little help from an intriguing manual, A General History of the Pyrates, purported to be written by a Captain Charles Johnson. There is however no official record of the man and subsequent investigation suggests it may have been written by Daniel Defoe.  Either way, it historically delves deep into numerous colourful characters and was a massive hit in its day. 

A rip roaring romp through history, legends, myths and even music, there’s an intricate replica of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, the legendary ghost ship to tantalise visitors in an exhibition that the whole family will enjoy.

IN THE KNOW A notorious female pirate chief, Zheng Yi Sao has inspired a symbolic triptych by contemporary Italian artist Livia Giorgina Carpineto who is based in London. Using a combination of traditional and digital artwork, Carpineto's allegorical Pirate Queen series is a colourful highlight.  Forget Pirates of the Caribbean, this is Pirates of the Digital age!