Deep waters for Tall Ships

The vibrant spectacle drew tens of thousands across the weekend for live music, immersive entertainment, vintage fairground rides, family-friendly activities, and a local food and drink market.

But the main attractions were six tall ships, including some that have featured in Hollywood blockbusters such as Napoleon and the Pirates of the Caribbean, travelled from as far Spain to come up the canal and into the docks.

The festival is a biennial celebration, celebrating the city’s rich nautical history, dating back to 1827. It’s also an important reminder of the days when Gloucester traded with the world.

Once ships arrived, they would offload wheat, barley, oats and maize into the warehouses that still line the port today and onto narrowboats and barges for onward journeys to the Midlands. Llanthony Warehouse, now home to our charity’s National Waterways Museum Gloucester, was the last great corn store to be opened in Gloucester Docks in 1873.

But the docks and ships have always depended on safe passage along the 16-mile Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, which was the widest and deepest in England when it first opened, giving sea-going ships a safe route away from a dangerous winding stretch of the River Severn.

It’s a factor that remains just as important today, as Canal & River Trust project manager, Paul Fox explains: “Preparations for the arrival of the tall ships have been ongoing for almost 2 years. Just after the 2022 Festival, we experienced one of hottest and driest summers in the UK since 1976. This led to low water levels in the River Severn and increased demand from water supply customers including Bristol Water, as the warm weather made demand even higher, just when the water levels were unusually low.

“To maintain water levels in the canal and docks, and provide drinking water for people of Bristol, we pumped much more water from the River Severn than usual. Unfortunately, this meant that an unusually high volume of silt accumulated in the docks and canal.

“Depths in the dock would usually be three to four metres, though during the autumn, we were down to less than one metre in key areas. Even flat-bottomed narrow boats were struggling. To clear the silt our charity had to spend a total of over £1.9 million on four separate dredging campaigns over the next two years, so that the docks were deep enough to welcome the tall ships back.

“It just shows the kind of costs and problems a changing climate causes on our canals. If it’s not flooding we’re dealing with, its droughts that disrupt our navigations, causing huge problems that aren’t at all easy or cheap to fix.”

The issues didn’t end there. Just before the first tall ships were due to arrive, an inspection of High Orchard Bridge over the canal found cracks at the base of a mast. This meant the bridge couldn’t safely lift to allow tall vessels through. Teams at the Canal & River Trust sprang into action, working closely with contractors Kier to complete repairs in time.

Richard Wakelen, head of asset management, from Canal & River Trust says: "We’re delighted that the bridge was fully and safely opened to welcome the ships for a fantastic festival. But urgent repairs like these come at a cost, and after investing £250,000 in repairing the bridge so the Tall Ships Festival can go ahead, our charity is facing increasing challenges to keep our canals alive.

Happily, the event was a great success with great weather, big crowds and a happy atmosphere right around the docks. The skipper of the 118-year-old ketch Irene, Ieuan Finniear, is reported to have said: “It was a long journey to get here, but seeing everyone coming down the canal was great fun and made it all worthwhile."