Six majestic ships will soon be sailing into the Docks to mark the start of the biggest waterfront extravaganza the city has seen.

The Gloucester Tall Ships and Adventure Festival is back for 2019 with an exciting line-up from superhero-style Jet Suits and a 1,000ft zip wire to swashbuckling pirate shows and wakeboarding.

Tickets have been sold for the event from as far away as Australia as 200,000 visitors are expected over the three-days from Saturday May 25 to Monday May 27.

This year's festival will see the return of the Matthew, Vilma, and La Malouine as well as new additions the Brian Boru, TS Royalist and the Grayhound.

La Malouine is coming back to Gloucester Docks after its first visit to the festival in 2017.

The ship is based in Dumfries in Scotland and Captain Roy Kerr uses the ship to offer sailing opportunities to people who would otherwise never get the chance to experience it.

Captain Kerr said he was delighted to be returning to the event.

"It is the first big trip of the year, and we have just finished doing the re-rigging before setting off on Friday," he said.

"It really is an amazing festival with a great atmosphere, and it is well worth coming back. We thoroughly enjoyed it and were so impressed with the reception we received in the city."

The ships are expected to arrive at Sharpness on Thursday May 23 before travelling into Gloucester.

Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the tall ships as they arrive into the city will be able to see several of them sail into the Docks basin on Friday May 24.

They are due to leave Monk Meadow Dock at around 11am. You can track the locations of the vessels by visiting marinetraffic.com

Tickets for the festival are £10 and under-12s get in free when accompanying a ticket holder.

The pass is valid for all three days and includes entry to the National Waterways Museum and also the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum.

For advance tickets for general admission and the zip wire visit gloucestertallships.co.uk