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The charity making life better by water

Good weather boosts Crick Boat Show attendance

Warm weather over the bank holiday weekend helped draw record numbers of people to the 2017 Crick Boat Show, which took place at Crick Marina near Daventry in Northamptonshire, 27-29 May.

Crick Boat Show

The event, which was organised by Waterways World in partnership with us and Crick Marina, saw 300 exhibitors gather by the Grand Union Canal Leicester Line for three days of trading and family entertainment.

Peter Johns, Publisher of Waterways World & Show Director, says: "With terrific weather over the weekend it looks as though we may have had record attendance this year. We are still analysing the figures but Sunday was particularly glorious and the crowds flocked in, and as with Saturday we had to call our overflow car park into action. Even the bit of rain on the Monday did not seem to dampen spirits with a good crowd continuing to enjoy the Show.

“Exhibitors reported very healthy levels of business, with boat builders securing good orders for boats and all other businesses were delighted with the visitor numbers.

“Over 1,000 enjoyed free boat trips along the Grand Union Canal and more than 2,000 attended the free seminars on boat ownership.

“There was a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the show which is a showcase for the boating industry as well as an opportunity for the inland boating world to come together to meet old friends and make new ones. We were entertained to two terrific nights of high quality music from T-Rextasy and Fleetwood Bac. Now we need to think how to top that in 2018!"

As well as the latest products and services from the canal boat world, the Show offered visitors free boat trips, boat handling sessions, dozens of boats on the marina to look round, live music, a real ale marquee, children's entertainment, and a large variety of food and drink stalls.

Matthew Symonds, our Strategy & Engagement Manager for boating, added:

"We are delighted that so many people visited this year's Crick Boat Show, which offered a fantastic day out by the Grand Union Canal Leicester Line in the Northamptonshire countryside.

"Over 6,000 visited the Canal & River Trust Marquee over the weekend to find out more about the work of the Canal & River Trust to care for our 2,200-mile network of inland waterways, take part in children's activities, renew their boat licence and hear our Victorian slipway engineer impersonator describing what life was like for the working boat people."

Next year's show dates will be 26-28 May 2018. For more information visit www.crickboatshow.com or call 01283 742950.

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Last Edited: 01 June 2017

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