We're inviting people to help keep traditional canal crafts and rural skills alive as part of the event taking place on Sunday 25 August.
What to expect
On the day people will be able to have a go at ropemaking and miniature bookbinding as well as watching experts make rag rugs, quilts and traditional patchwork. There will also be the chance to make a lace plate, try your hand at painting the iconic “roses and castles” folk art of the inland waterways, and find out what a ‘whittler’ is.
The event, which will take place between 11am and 3pm, will be happening on the green outside The Canal Museum in Stoke Bruerne, which was the country’s first museum dedicated to the history of the nation’s canals.
Keeping canals alive
Andrea Willette, our museum duty manager, said: “At the Canal & River Trust we work every day to keep our historic canals alive and part of that is celebrating the traditions and historic canal skills that bring so much colour and life.
“This event will bring those traditions to a new audience, and we’re delighted to be working with some amazing community crafters to share these unique skills. Set in the glorious backdrop of beautiful Stoke Bruerne, it promises to be a really fun day for everyone.”
Housed in a historic corn mill the museum is full of interactive displays and collections bringing to life what it was like to live and work on Britain's canals. Visitors to the museum can also take a stroll along the towpath to historic Blisworth Tunnel, explore a woodland walk, or watch the colourful narrowboats go by in the canal-side café.
