Sea shanties galore will be on offer at the National Waterways Museum at Easter.

The fourth national Sea Shanty Festival will be taking place at the museum over the Easter weekend – Friday, April 18 to Sunday, April 20.

More than 3,000 visitors are expected to flock to the festival over the three days.

They will be able to explore the museum, listen to the shanty singers during the day and find out more about the seafaring traditions of the North West.

Coinciding with the annual boat gathering at the museum, the festival brings together nearly 100 performers in seven different venues within the museum for the packed programme of singing, concerts, boat trips, museum tours, nautical poetry, puppet-making, face painting and much more.

Julia Batters of Shanty UK says the festival is designed as a fun event for the whole family.

She said: “The UK has a long tradition of sea shanties and maritime singing and our annual festival is helping to keep this tradition alive for future generations.”

The highlight is two concerts taking place within the museum on Friday and Saturday nights featuring a number of acts from across the UK and Europe.

Entrance to the museum for the festival and the boat gathering costs £6.50 for all three days. Opening times are 10am-5pm. Tickets for the evening concerts are £10 each night and can be reserved online at

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