After the great success of  last year’s Tall Ship festival, the Tall Ships are returning to Royal Greenwich for five days this August Bank Holiday with up to 15 Tall Ships dropping anchor for the maritime family festival. This year most of the ships will be anchored at Woolwich Arsenal Riverside from which they will be running a series of cruises to Greenwich and Tower Bridge.  This means that for the five days, if you are on the Isle of Dogs, you are likely to see a number of ships going backwards and forwards.

During the festival, two of the larger Tall Ships will be moored on Tall Ship Island in the river at Maritime Greenwich, and will be open to visitors via Thames Clipper shuttles.

Dar Mlodziezy
Santa Maria Manuela

The following 13 Tall Ships will be based at Royal Arsenal Woolwich and will be running daily cruises along the river to Greenwich and Tower Bridge.

Thalassa
Wylde Swan
Mercedes
Oosterschelde
Morgenster
Loth Lorien
JR Tolkien
Eldorado
Zephyr
Gallant
Iris
Tecla
Jantje

Festival Day – Saturday 29 August

The focus of the Festival will be in Woolwich, Tall Ships Festival Day takes place on Saturday 29 August and  features family entertainment from 10am to 10pm.

The line-up for the day includes:
Live music stage with special guests
Bandstands and sea shanties
Roving entertainers
Berkeley Summer Festival
Traditional funfair rides and nautical-themed children’s activities
Vintage vehicles
Food and licensed bars
A fireboat from the Fire Brigade
Information stalls from local and national nautical organisations
Nautical history re-enactors (musket-ball making, dockside rope and cordwaining, plus a Naval encampment and Georgian Naval crews)
Sunset picnic area
Food, bar and activities at the Firepower Museum
Local history and children’s activities at the Heritage Centre
Fireworks grand finale at 10pm on the river.

There will be  fireworks displays on the river at Maritime Greenwich each night (Thursday, Friday and Sunday) around 9.15pm.

On Saturday 29 August, the Tall Ships Festival event at Woolwich Arsenal Riverside will end with a fireworks display on the river at 10pm.

One of the highlights of the Tall Ships festival is the Parade of Sails when the ships cruise in formation  along the River Thames, followed by fireworks. The Parade of Sail will begin at Greenwich on Monday 31 August from 2pm.

The Tall ships are always a wonderful sight on the river and give us a taste of the what the Thames would have been like a couple of hundred years ago.

If you would like further information, visit the Tall Ships  website here