Light Trail in the Docks

The Light Trail in the Docks runs at Mariners Church on Saturday 31 October, from 5pm to 8pm. It's a free activity trail through the docks, with seven puzzle stations to work your way through. If you manage to solve all seven clues, you'll get a hot chocolate and a prize at the end.

The trail centres on Mariners Church, an Anglican chapel built for the workers of Gloucester Docks and the crews of the vessels moored there, and it's always open to the city's residents. The 16-mile canal linking Gloucester and Sharpness opened in 1827, bringing growing numbers of seamen and boatmen to the port. In 1846, a businessman took up the vision of a chapel to reach the neglected seamen and boatmen; the building was designed by local architect John Jaques, construction by William Wingate began in 1848, and it opened on 11 February 1849 with Rev James Hollins as the first chaplain. Now grade II listed, the church served many nationalities of seafarers, offering services in foreign languages, a Sunday school for the boatmen's children and religious tracts in several tongues.

In 1884, a nearby cheese warehouse was bought as a meeting hall, where the church gave reading and writing lessons and ran a coffee bar. The trail takes you around the docks, so you'll be seeing the area as it was for those who worked and lived here. Admission is free, and tickets are only required if you want a goody bag. It runs from 5pm to 8pm on Saturday 31 October, based at Mariners Church, Gloucester Docks, GL1 2EN.