Flotillas of the finest eamples of historic boats will grace Northwich riverside over this weekend. There will be grand daily parades with live expert commentary as the fleet winds its way through the town accompanied by brass bands and traditional folk music.
The boats exhibited cover the whole spectrum of inland waterways craft. Vintage canal narrow boats, motors, butties, Dukers and ex working boats many of which return home to the place they were built, Yarwoods of Northwich.
Shropshire Union Fly Boat - Saturn
At over 100 years old, she is the last horsedrawn Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Carrying Co. fly-boat in the world. Originally built to travel non-stop, day and night, carrying perishable goods. Saturn will be joined by her stablemate Jupiter.
Built in 1912, an iron tunnel tug. She worked on the Tardebigge and Shortwood canal tunnels towing horse-drawn boats. Worcester's 1930 big Bolinder engine, will be running at regular intervals, serenading festival goers with that distinctive Bolinder beat.
Historic Narrow Boat Club - Yarwoods Flotilla
Narrow boats - Swallow, Skylark, Stork, Dove, Warbler, Python, Thea, Shad, Cactus, Alder, Clover and Lindsay will be returning to the place they were built. These motor boats, built between 1925 and 1960 at Yarwoods of Northwich, will be parading on the river at regular intervals.
In addition we will have from further afield Australia & Kangaroo, also Buckdon,
Cassiopea, Dehli, Delphinius, Elizabeth, Empress, Fazerley, Marquis, Parfield, Sarah Abbot & Iris Abbot (the Dukers), Plover, two wooden boats Southam & Sweden, plus Tench,
Victory & Widgeon.
The navy's in town. HMS Charger (P292) an Archer class RN patrol vessel will be visiting Northwich. Commissioned in 1988, she has four crew plus a Commanding Officer, and sails with a Training Officer and a complement of students. She is attached to the Liverpool University Royal Naval Unit.
Sustainable Waterways Transport – Barons Quay
The roads are already over-stretched with traffic, clogged with cars, lorries and trucks. Much of this traffic could be taken by water as part of an integrated sustainable transport policy. During the festival Barons Quay will be visited by the magnificent grain barge 'James Jackson Grundy' loaded with 200 tons of Canadian wheat ultimately bound for baking into bread at Roberts Bakery in Northwich. The James Jackson Grundy, a former ICI Weaver Packet, built in Northwich in 1947. She retired from commercial service in the late 1970s and served for a time as a sea cadet training vessel in the town. She is operational once again on the river from which she "retired" more than 30 years ago.
Boats attending are subject to last minute changes.
