The Inland Waterways Association’s National Trailboat Festival 2007 is to be held on the Grantham Canal over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, Saturday/Sunday/Monday, 26th/27th/28th May
Grantham on Water is the popular title of the IWA’s National Trailboat Festival 2007 which, this year, is being hosted by the Grantham Canal Restoration Society at Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir, on the Lincolnshire / Leicestershire border. Admission is FREE and all are welcome – whether or not you know anything about canals and boating. It will be a great day out for all the family, set in lovely countryside below the imposing Belvoir Castle.
[The title ‘Trailboat’ refers to narrow boats and similar vessels, of up to 30ft in length, which can be towed on trailers by 4x4s and similar vehicles – and hence gain access to isolated sections of the inland waterway network]
Aims of the Festival:
to raise awareness of this ‘forgotten’, beautiful, rural canal – with the East Midlands public as well as the waterway fraternity …
to celebrate and secure the recent restoration of the 4½ miles from the A1 to Woolsthorpe to navigation. See Preparation for the Festival for links to the forestry and dredging work.
to encourage ‘the powers that be’ to support the re-opening of a further 5 miles through to Redmile. The resultant 9½ miles, linking a series of pretty villages with excellent pubs, will be a major addition to the national boating map and contribution to the leisure, environmental and educational facilities of Grantham, the rural Vale of Belvoir and the region
The Grantham Canal:
The 33-mile, British Waterways-owned canal was opened in the 1790s, linking Grantham with the River Trent and the national waterway network at Nottingham. Traffic declined following the opening of the Nottingham to Grantham railway in 1850 and the canal was closed to navigation in 1929. Nonetheless – and despite having some four-dozen bridges flattened in the 1950s and 60s and losing its River Trent link to road works in the 1970s – the canal remains in remarkably good condition. Its towpath – never much troubled by mechanised craft and refurbished in recent years – is one of the finest long-distance walks in the East Midlands
Restoration campaigning started in 1969 and over £6 million of improvements have been achieved in the last 15 years. The canal gained ‘Priority 2’ status in British Waterways’ own ‘Waterways 2025’ list of restoration priorities, published in 2004 and, in 2005, a full-time Regeneration Manager was appointed by the Grantham Canal Partnership. Even redevelopment of the Grantham Canal Basin and a replacement link to the River Trent are currently under Local Authority consideration
However, with the British Waterways financial cutbacks of the last few months, the climate has significantly changed. BW no longer has the money to restore further ‘remainder waterways’ and the Grantham’s efforts could again grind to a halt. That’s why it’s so important for Trailboaters, waterway friends and the public to rally round. Show that you care; celebrate what has recently been achieved and make it clear to ‘the powers that be’ that their investment is worthwhile and must be continued
Grantham on Water - the basic facts:
Where?
Based alongside The Rutland Arms (‘Dirty Duck’), Woolsthorpe Wharf, Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir, NG32 1NY [GR 843351] – approximately 5 miles west of Grantham, Lincolnshire
When?
Spring Bank Holiday Weekend, Saturday - Monday, 26 th-28 th May. 10.00am - 6.00pm each day
What?
The IWA National Trailboat Festival 2007 – a canal and community get-together, making the most of 4½ miles of restored waterway accessing the Vale of Belvoir...
Boat Trips on the historic canal
Canal boats from across the country
Rural Craft demonstrations
Theatre, Folk Songs and Jazz
Fishing Displays
Water Activities for Children
Terrier Racing & Dog Agility – well-behaved dogs welcome
Society and Trade Stalls
Birds of Prey
Clog Dancing
Face Painting & Children’s Entertainment
Real Ale
Quality Catering by local farmers and cooks
… and much, much more
How much?
Festival admission will be FREE
A modest charge will be made to cover the Park & Ride costs
How to get there?
By Car:
Best accessed from the west, by leaving the A52 at Whatton … and from the north, east and south by leaving the A1 at the A607 intersection. Follow the brown signs for ‘Belvoir Castle’ and then ‘Grantham on Water’.
[For Sat Nav / Multimap reference, the postcode of Belvoir Castle is NG32 1PE]
A Park & Ride shuttle service will operate all day from the Festival car park [at GR 823343] off the Belvoir - Woolsthorpe road
By Train:
The nearest principal station is Grantham (GNER & Central Trains)
By Bike:
The following map, showing the Festival site and National Cycle Network routes 15 and 64, appears by kind permission of Sustrans.
What else is there to see?
Belvoir Castle will be holding a special Spring Bank Holiday families’ weekend: ‘2 for the price of 1’ admission vouchers will be available to all visiting Grantham on Water beforehand.
Also: excellent rural walks, pretty villages and great pubs, Muston Meadows National Nature Reserve
Accommodation?
Excellent Hotels and Guest Houses available locally – some at special rates
Grantham on Water – preliminary information for Boaters:
Navigation:
2½ miles of the canal, between the top of Lock 15 and Denton, have been restored to navigation piecemeal over the last 20 or so years. Now, thanks to an EMDA grant, the 2 miles from Denton Winding Hole to the A1 is being professionally restored [see photographs on this website] – resulting in 4½ beautiful miles being available for boating, angling etc. in time for the Festival. A great deal of fallen and over-hanging timber has been removed and the ‘Harlaxton Cut’ is being dredged to 4’6” depth!
EMDA and the organisers of Grantham on Water are particularly keen on the maximum use being made of the newly-restored section, during and after the Festival
Festival Site:
The main Festival site will be at Woolsthorpe Wharf [GR 843351], utilising the strip of land on the east bank of the canal, between the waterway and NCN 15 (which runs on an old railway embankment at this point) and Locks 15 and 18
Locks 16, 17 and 18 are operational but, principally due to problems with Lock 17, their use will almost certainly have to be under the supervision of BW personnel – further details to follow
When not cruising towards Grantham, Trailboats will be moored in the ‘Half Mile Pound’, between Locks 15 and 16 and immediately alongside the land-based exhibits.
Some demonstrations will utilise the short pounds between Locks 16, 17 and 18 and a Trip Boat service will be operating, throughout the Festival, above and east of Lock 18
Exhibitor car and boat trailer parking will be provided at Woolsthopre Wharf, adjacent to the Festival site. NB: The public car park will be a ‘Park & Ride’ facility, nearer to Belvoir Castle
Camping and caravanning space will be available at the Lock 15 end of the main Festival field
Denton Slipway:
The available slipway is not at Woolsthorpe but at Denton Wharf [GR 866343] – which is off a good, minor road, running from the A52 at Sedgebrook [GR 857377] to the A607 at Denton [GR 870321]. This was an award-winning slipway when constructed in the 1990s and has seen little use since. The ramp itself is 3m wide and has a 1 in 9 slope: it will take Trailboats of <31ft in length. A locked bollard prevents unofficial use of the Slipway
Denton Wharf and Slipway, January 2007, looking north-west towards Woolsthorpe The surface width of the canal at this point is 10.5m
Denton Slipway, January 2007, looking north. The width of the concrete ramp is 3m
The security bollard requires a non-standard key, which will be held by the WRG team
Access to the Wharf is down a hard core track, with limited turning space at the end: Slipway use will therefore necessarily be managed by a dedicated WRG team and, as far as possible, be ‘by appointment’. Further details, including mobile phone numbers etc., will be provided by Dave Carnell (Chairman, IWA Lincolnshire, 01469 530138) well in advance of the Festival
NB: In addition to having to move their boats from Denton Slipway to the Half Mile Pound at Woolsthorpe (2 miles), crews will need to move their vehicles and trailers to the main Festival site – for convenience, parking space and added security. The organisers will try and give every assistance.
It follows that, to spread the workload, boaters are urged to …
‘arrive early in the week and stay as long as possible’!
A cruise along the Grantham Canal - Grantham on Water 2007
