Hundreds of people are set to celebrate the great outdoors in Dewsbury from this weekend.

The Outdoor Dewsbury Festival is aimed at showcasing the town’s countryside, parks and open spaces.

The nine-day event kicks off tomorrow and Sunday with the annual Dewsbury Canal Festival at Savile Town Wharf.

Attractions include music, a best-dressed boat competition and fairground rides.

The fun continues on Sunday with free boat trips, circus skills training, rock climbing, guided nature walks and a boat pull contest.

Outdoor Dewsbury, funded by Dewsbury Area Committee, includes a host of free family activities.

These include stand-up paddle boarding tomorrow at the Ship Inn, Mirfield, and family canoe river journeys at Sands Lane, Dewsbury, on Monday and Thursday.

Young adventurers can experience wild food foraging and friction fire-lighting sessions at Savile Town Wharf on Tuesday and there is a family bat walk from Leggers Inn, Savile Town, on Thursday.

Outdoor Dewsbury closes on Sunday August 18 with a Cycle Fest at Sands Lane.

Activities will include a decorated bike and scooter parade; an elevated wooden riding track; a bike treasure hunt and unicycle circus skills.

The canal festival on the Calder and Hebble at Savile Town Wharf in Mill Street East is now in its fifth year.

Dozens of colourful narrowboats will moor up and free trips will be provided by the Mirfield-based charity Safe Anchor Trust and the Calder Navigation Society.

The canal festival runs from 11am until late on Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sunday.

Becca Dent, project officer for the Canal and River Trust, said: “Dewsbury Canal Festival is always a great day out and I’m looking forward to seeing lots of happy faces over the course of the weekend.

“It’s a great opportunity for people living in the town to celebrate their local canal but it also attracts people from further afield and shows them what Dewsbury’s all about.

“There’s going to be lots for people to see and do and I hope it inspires them to embrace their local canal, appreciate its significance and, most importantly, to just get out and enjoy it more often.”

For full details on the events go to www.kirklees.gov.uk/outdoordewsbury