Thousands expected at Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Festival

Ironbridge will be a hubbub of activities and bustle on Saturday for the heritage day, which is a joint venture between Telford & Wrekin Council and Ironbridge Gorge Museum and will last from noon to 5pm.

The town will be closed to traffic from the Dale End roundabout to the roundabout at the bottom of Madeley Hill and The Wharfage will be transformed into one big street market.

Event manager Traci Dix-Williams said: "The focus of the market is local produce and locally-sourced crafts. There will also be street entertainers, like the Ironmen and Severn Gilders Morris Dancers and Woody, the one man band, who is always a firm favourite.

"The focus this year is also strongly on heritage, and there will be heritage demonstrators in The Square. We have traditional crafts, pole-lathing, carving wooden walking sticks, and visitors will be able to have a go at making iron on a stick. That's a chemical experiment resulting in tiny fragments of iron on the end of a wooden stick, which is reminiscent of Ironbridge's proud heritage as an iron-making centre.

"There will be displays of local archaeology finds and demonstrations of penny farthing riding as well as a chance to meet 'Billy', the Blists Hill steam driven road roller.

"At the Merrythought Craft Village there will be hands-on art activities, including a small exhibition of paintings of The Gorge.

"They can also add to a 2D sculpture of the Iron Bridge in plasticine and, for a small fee, have a go at spin painting."

As part of the increased emphasis on heritage, there will be two free talks in the Museum of the Gorge auditorium during the day – one by industrial heritage officer Ian Bapty, and the second by Professor Mike Robinson of the Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage, as well as a heritage trail organised by the Ironbridge traders.

There is a guided walk which starts at 10am from the Toll House, Ironbridge, which explores the bridges of the Ironbridge Gorge. It lasts two and a half hours and takes in the Coalport area, and will be followed in the afternoon, from 2.30pm, by the second part of the walk which explores bridges in Buildwas.

There is also a detailed guided walk exploring the heritage of the Iron Bridge itself.

"This is very much how we have changed the focus this year. While it will still be a great community celebration, we are really keen that we help people understand the vital importance of heritage to this area and the special status we have as a World Heritage Site, alongside such monuments as the Pyramids, Taj Mahal, and the Great Wall of China."

Unlike previous years, there will be no fireworks to round off proceedings.

With large crowds expected, parking is an issue.

Visitors are being urged to use the free Ironbridge park and ride service, which will be in operation at Jiggers Bank – for satnav purposes the postcode is TF4 3QE.