THE Inland Waterways Association has announced that next year’s IWA National Trailboat Festival is to be held at Moira on the Ashby Canal.
It will be hosted and organised by the Ashby Canal Trust over the weekend of May 18-19, and will be hosted and organised by Ashby Canal Trust.
The event is the largest gathering of trailable boats in the UK and had been held annually since the first gathering in 1989 on the Lancaster Canal until the pandemic. There has been a gap of five years since the 2019 event, also on the Lancaster Canal, while it previously took place on the Ashby Canal in 2000, 2009 and 2017.
Historic Moira Furnace on the restored length of the Ashby Canal in north-west Leicestershire (DE12 6AT) will be the venue. As well as a large gathering of trailable boats on this northernmost and isolated section of canal there will be a wide range of activities and attractions.
A Beatles tribute band will include songs from the beginning of the band’s fame to the end, with costume changes over their twice daily performances. There will be a trad jazz band, Morris dancing, children’s conjuring fun and entertainment as well as train rides, a variety of stalls and demonstrations, classic cars, historic engines, boats, bar and refreshments.
The organisers hope to have a visit from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and Mother Duck will be there with her ducklings for visitors to enter a duck in the duck race along the canal. The organisers have also invited the Military Wives Choirs from Nottingham and Cottesmore.
An illuminated boat parade is due to take place on the Saturday evening. All this will revolve around the banks of the canal at the Grade II listed Moira Furnace at the heart of the National Forest.
The festival will raise money for the Ashby Canal Restoration Project which has the long-term aim of restoring the canal from its current terminus at Snarestone to Moira. This major project will ultimately reconnect Measham, Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe and Moira to the national waterways network, and provide a green gateway to the heart of the National Forest.
Proceeds from the festival will assist the further restoration of the canal and contribute to the upkeep of the canal around the site of the Moira Canal Festival, for people to enjoy throughout the year.
IWA currently has a Silver Propeller Challenge location on the Ashby at the end of the connected length in order to encourage visiting boaters to use as much of the canal as possible. We are looking forward to moving it to Moira once the isolated length is restored and reconnected.
Boat entry details from [email protected]; Trade booking enquiries to [email protected]; classic vehicle entry bookings to [email protected]; general enquiries to [email protected]
The IWA is currently inviting applications from waterways groups to host the 2025 and 2026 festivals – enquiries to [email protected]
