Celebrate Sheffield Tinsley Canal's 200th birthday at waterfront festival this weekend

Victoria Quays will be transformed into a hive of activity for the day on Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, with free family-friendly hands-on activities, live entertainment and stalls, as part of the biggest ever Sheffield Waterfront Festival. The Canal & River Trust will also be launching its Canal Street Art Trail, featuring artworks created by local community groups working in collaboration with street artists.

Visitors will be able to get a birds-eye view of the canal from a climbing wall, or stay closer to ground and explore a realistic cave network of over 100ft of squeezes, potholes and tunnels, with free activities for adults and children aged eight and over. Try your hand at paddle boarding or canoeing in a 30-minute session, or take a relaxing boat trip along the canal.

Sheffield-based Honey Bee Blues Club will be curating the live music stage from 11am and the city’s very own Greentop Circus will be inviting visitors to try their hand at circus skills.

Those interested in the canal’s history will be able to join one of a number of free interactive walks by Rusticus performance group, or jump aboard a historic bus for a free guided tour around Sheffield with South Yorkshire Transport Museum, connecting Victoria Quays to the oldest part of Sheffield, where the celebrations will continue on Exchange Street and Castlegate, with live music and DJs, local food vendors, retail stalls, live art and spoken word poetry.

On Sunday, from 11am to 2pm, Kelham Island Museum will carry on the fun, inviting children to make a bee hotel, meet the island beekeepers, and try the wildlife trail.

Jade Wilkes, community roots engagement co-ordinator at Canal & River Trust, said: “The canal was central to the city's development, playing a major role in its history, so the bicentenary is a great time for us celebrate and bring the community together at the waterfront.”