ONE of the largest tug boat gatherings will take place at the Black Country Living Museum over the bank holiday weekend.

Between 10am and 5pm on May 5-7, visitors can step back in time and see the rare boats put through their paces - pulling old cargo boats in and out of the canal arm - and enjoy crafts, activities and history talks.

Tim Shields, the museum's curator of industry and transport, said: “Canals and boats are now associated with pleasure and leisure, but they once played a vital role in making the Black Country - and indeed the Midlands - what it is today.

"They were once the life-blood of Victorian Birmingham and Black Country, but fell out of use as they were replaced by trains and lorries.

"We want to offer visitors the chance to step back in time and experience this long lost way of life, and the culture and art that came with it.”

Monday (May 7), also marks the museum's annual May Day celebrations, where families can try may pole dancing and craft their own Green Man mask or May Crown.

To book tickets, visit bclm.com