A look ahead to the return of Gloucester Tall Ships

Gloucester Tall Ships is back for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend along with the Gloucester Shanty Festival and Pirate Walk  

Gloucester Tall Ships  

The award-winning nautical festival, Gloucester Tall Ships is back for the first time since 2019. It’s a jam-packed three-day programme of family fun and entertainment over The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend, June 3-5. The free-to-attend event attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Gloucester Quays where there will be live battle re-enactments, sand sculptures, a vintage fairground, daredevil fly boarding stunts and musicians bursting from every corner of Gloucester’s historical docks. There will also be market stalls on Llanthony Road, High Orchard Street and Orchard Square offering Gloucester's finest local food, drink, arts, and crafts from local and South West artisan makers. 

‘We’re so pleased to be bringing the Gloucester Tall Ships festival back for 2022, and to stage it over the Jubilee weekend makes it extra special,’ says Councillor Andrew Lewis, portfolio holder for Cultural Services. 

‘We’ve got a spectacular programme of events and activities that all visitors can enjoy - showcasing Gloucester’s maritime history and hosting international crews aboard tall ships from all over the world.’ 

This year’s festival will introduce a £5 Boarding Pass, giving visitors access to board the visiting ships, meet their sailing teams and see beneath the decks at the living and working quarters. For an extra £2.50 provides access to the National Waterways Museum, which tells the story of the docks, canal, and Gloucester’s intriguing waterway past. The Museum is part of the Canal & River Trust, which is responsible for Gloucester Docks’ water space and the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. The Canal & River Trust is offering boat trips and paddling on the water over the festival weekend which can be pre-booked or booked on the day. 

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Gloucester Shanty Festival and Pirate Walk  

If Dr Foster isn’t impressed by the water-based activities, he may have to walk the plank if the pirates get to hear about his grumpiness. Coinciding with the Tall Ships Festival,   

The Gloucester Shanty Festival performers will be singing on the streets of Gloucester especially decorated for the Jubilee. An impressive line-up of acclaimed acts will be performing in various venues around the city centre. Along with all the singing, pirates of all ages are welcome to join the Pirate Walk on Saturday, June 4 from Café Rene in Southgate Street at 4pm. The lively dressed-up jaunt around the city centre will help raise funds for the Severn Area Rescue Association – an inshore rescue boat and land search organisation covering the Severn Estuary and the surrounding area. 

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