Gloucester Tall Ships
Tall Ships Ahoy for 27 - 29 May 2017!
The Historic Gloucester Docks will be shown in all their splendour over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend as they play host to the award-winning Gloucester Tall Ships festival and are chock full of fabulous activities for all the family to enjoy.
As well as marvelling at the awe-inspiring tall ships, you’ll be able to spy pirates sword fighting, catch a sea shanty or two, try your hand at a variety of fun games, and visit fantastic food and drink and craft stalls, plus lots, lots more.
Whether it is your maiden trip or you are a regular festival goer, we are sure there will be plenty to keep you entertained!
Ships
The last Gloucester Tall Ships Festival in 2015 saw some truly magnificent vessels:
- Earl of Pembroke
- Atyla
- Morgenster
- Keewaydin
- Vilma
- Johanna Lucretia
Entertainment
Kids of all ages will have lots to keep them entertained throughout the festival. They will absolutely love the awe-inspiring tall ships and the captivating stories from captain and crew about their adventures at sea.
Keep a lookout for the popular Captain Jack and his pirate pals as they treat kids to some dramatic duels and swashbuckling shows throughout the festival.
Need some food and drink? There will be stalls galore serving up all manner of scrumptious delights for young taste buds.
The Gloucester Shanty Festival will provide young inquisitive minds with a look at folk and maritime traditions. And for those youngsters who fancy a spot of singing and dancing, local bands will be playing on the live music stage!
Living History
Adventures from the high seas and bygone days from the Victorian period will be brought to life at the Gloucester Tall Ships festival.
Prepare to be wowed by the swordplay and stunts of the loveable rogue Captain Jack and his buccaneering brethren in the not-to-be-missed shows running several times each day in Mariner’s Square. Captain Jack loves nothing more than getting the whole crowd involved – young and old – so who knows, you may even become part of the fun and frolics!
Keep a lookout for more drama out on the water as two of the magnificent tall ships recreate a pirate battle. With cutlasses and muskets at the ready, pirates aboard the Vilma and the Keewaydin will bring thrills and spills to Gloucester Docks for a feast of brilliant family entertainment.
As one of the best preserved Victorian inland ports in the country, it couldn’t be more fitting to have wonderful characters from that famous era parading around in their old-fashioned but distinctive garb during the festival.
Portrayed brilliantly by the Seven Dials Rapscallions, watch out for Dickensian street urchins, pickpockets, thieves and washerwomen, plus the upstanding ‘Peelers’ – Britain’s first police officers – to guarantee they all keep the peace!