Gloucester Docks Trading Co

Historic Gloucester Docks is a truely vibrant place for the whole family to visit, with plenty of shops, bars & restaurants to be found, as well as Museums, the Mariners Chapel and a myriad of other historical places of interest, including The National Waterways Museum. Many of these can be located within the renovated former Victorian warehouses which have been fully restored to their former glory.
Both the Docks and the Canal have become a huge tourist attraction with plenty going on in the way of entertainment and leisure. Every year a lively water festival is held here with a vintage vehicle rally, morris dancing and a spectacular firework display being just a few of the exciting events visitors can look forward to.
Located at the side of Victoria dock at the Merchants Quay you will find a wealth of colourful shops, bars and café’s to suit everyone, with over 40 tempting shops to explore. At Kimberley Warehouse there is a bar and restaurant. Craft fairs are held here, often with demonstrations.
Close to the entrance to the lock, amid authentic Victorian surroundings you will find the Gloucester Antique Centre with well over 100 antique shops selling everything from fine art, silver & porcelain, to fine furniture and other collectables.
If you don’t want to do shopping, there is plenty of other interesting things to see and do on this historical site.
For example, you could go on one of the walking tours around the docks which start from the Mariners Chapel. Or see the fantastic boat exhibitions of narrowboats, river barges, a steam powered dredger, river and canal boats of yester-​year.
Take in the colourful activities on the busy canal lock and see the swing bridge and a lifting bridge over the canal.
Also, just across from the docks is the Old Customs House which houses the Soldiers of Gloucester Museum and holds 300 years of Gloucestershire’s regimental history.
A fun-​packed day and an enriching experience can be guaranteed for all, and you will be glad you came!

A lovely place to go and have a walk around. At the moment there is still alot of development work going on but don’t let that put you off from seeing various canal boats, going around the Waterways museum or stopping off for a cup of tea at the various cafes/​pubs. The docks also hold various festivals throughout the year including the Tall Ship festival and they recently held a Pirates weekend which I can thoroughly recommend for any age. The docks is also a starting point for various evening cruises or for quick trips up the sharpness canal which is a great way to take in the surrounding area.

Gloucester Docks are booming with a huge amount of development going on and many exiting projects already close to finishing. Having already undegone sweeping changes, this interesting area is already full of shops and places to eat. There is something for everyone from the very young to the elderly with history by the barge full. Canal trips are an established feature and you’ll soon be able to park and boat into town !