Liverpool's Albert Dock will be home to a small fleet of magnificent vessels this week.

Eleven Tall Ships of various sizes are sailing into the city as part of the inaugural Irish Sea Tall Ships Regatta which officially takes place from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September.

Sailing into the city will be Black Diamond of Durham, Challenge Wales, De Gallant, Johanna Lucretia, Kapitan Borchardt, Maybe, Pelican of London, Prolific, St Iv, Tecla and Tomidi.

To celebrate their arrival a series of events will take place from Friday when the crews of the Tall Ships will take to the streets in a colourful and vibrant parade at around 2pm, before being presented with the race and port prizes. The route will start outside the Echo Arena, travelling around Salthouse and Hartley Quays before returning to the arena.

Until Sunday, many of the Tall Ships will be open to the public from 11 to 5pm, although some vessels may close during lunchtimes. Across the three days there will also be maritime merriment for the whole family ranging from shanty songs, street theatre, dancing, craft workshops, story telling, community choirs and a brass band.

There will also be a fantastic display courtesy of Yakovlevs Aircraft Acrobatics, and at 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday the Russian aircrafts will perform breathtaking high-speed aerobatics. Please note, this activity is weather dependant.

On Sunday, the Tall Ships will take place in a very special goodbye with a Parade of Sail starting from 10.30am. The vessels will muster in formation around 1pm as they prepare to sail on the River Mersey.