The Inland Waterways Association's
National Waterways Festival 2007

"Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud" was the song that the WRGIES (members of the Waterway Recovery Group) and IWA volunteers sang as they struggled to get this event, at St Ives on the River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire) ready for the opening on Saturday 25th August.

We left St.Helens on Wednesday morning in lovely warm sunshine but as we drove down the M6 the clouds began to gather and by the time we reached St. Ives it was raining. On arriving at the entrance to the showground (Hemingford Meadow) we realised it had been raining there for quite some time - there was a rather large puddle just inside the gate and we had another huge area of mud and water to negotiate as we made our way to the campsite. Putting the awning on the caravan was interesting in the wind and rain, but once that was done and everything sorted out, we settled in for our stay. St. Ives is an interesting town on the banks of the River Great Ouse with a splendid packhorse bridge, some useful shops, good pubs and an open market on Fridays - visit its website: www.stives-town.info/river_great_ouse/river_menu.htm.

On Thursday morning we went to inspect the showground and find our site. At the Site office, which was situated in a sea of mud, we were told that no vehicles were allowed on site because of the state of the ground, which resembled a cross between a paddy field in some places and a ploughed field in others, with the odd dry patch here and there. We were lucky; our marquee was on a dry patch near the bar, toilets and food court. To get all our stock and display boards to the marquee, we had to bring the car along a metal road, which had been laid around two sides of the showground, unload and then carry the whole lot across the mud (good job we had some wellies with us). The rest of the day was spent setting up the display boards, laying out the sales stock and watching vehicles get bogged down in the mud and then, just for good measure it rained again.

On Friday morning we went shopping in St. Ives, got stocked up with provisions and had a look round the open market, then went back for dinner and to finish off setting up in the marquee. During the afternoon the temperature began to rise and by four o'clock the sun came out in all its glory and stayed for the duration of the festival. At night we went to the Festival Theatre to watch Kate Saffin's one woman play "The Boat of Ill Repute" which was very good.

Saturday arrived and the sun was shining brightly; would every thing be ready for the opening at 10.00am? Well, thanks to the efforts of WRGIES and IWA volunteers, the show almost opened on time, just 15mins late. Overnight the ground had been drying out slowly but there was still a lot of mud and water about especially around the entrance and this definitely put people off as they arrived. Some turned away, hopefully they came back later wearing their wellies; others came in and made the best of it.

Just before opening time Andy Screen appeared to give us assistance for the rest of the day and while he looked after the stall Cynthia and I had a chance to attend the IWA National Chairman's "At Home".

At 12.00 noon the Official Opening took place in the main arena. John Fletcher, IWA National Chairman introduced Baroness Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency who opened the Festival. Both praised the people who had worked so hard to make the festival happen and to all the other organisations that had helped to get boats to the site after all the recent floods. There were special thanks to the festival sponsors "Waterways World" and to all the local companies who had helped to make it possible. On the political side John spoke about the campaign against the DEFRA cuts and of how the new Secretary of State at DEFRA had invited IWA to talk about future waterway funding. Baroness Young said that the National Festival was an ideal opportunity for the waterway organisations to team up and work together.

On the showground there was plenty to see, in the main arena there was the Wild West Show and Falconry Display, although we never got to see either. There were the various canal society stalls where you could find out what was happening elsewhere and IWA had the usual bookstand in their marquee along with the "Cressy Lounge" where you could go for a quiet sit down and tea and biscuits. In the Premier Marquee there were sales stands of organisations selling all kinds of things to do with boating, another marquee had crafts and collectables etc and there was even one with cookery demonstrations. There were new boats on display for the public to look over, numerous stalls selling all kinds of things and a Victorian Fun Fair, right.

By mid afternoon the sun was blazing down and the ground around us was drying out nicely. Some of the stuck vehicles managed to free them selves from the mud, trading was good and a great deal of interest was shown in our display boards. It was amazing how many people came and told us that they lived or had lived in Warrington, Earlestown or had some memories of the Sankey. When the show closed we said farewell to Andy, who had only come for the day, went back to the caravan for a leisurely tea and then walked along the river bank to look at some of the 350 plus boats that had arrived over the past few days

Sunday turned out to be just as warm and sunny as Saturday. By 9.30am we were back on the showground ready to open up and rearrange the stock etc. Today neither of us got the time to venture from the stall until late afternoon because we were kept busy with customers and answering questions about the canal. We even had a visit from a lady who originated from St.Helens and a man who said he had helped to fill in the Sankey Canal when he worked for British Waterways. In the evening, as is usual at the National Festival, all the different canal society volunteers were invited to have drinks and nibbles with the National Chairman in the "Cressy Lounge" (right). This is a thank-you to us all for attending the festival but it also gives everyone a chance to chat to other society members. Sunday is also the night for the sail past of illuminated boats which we missed but were told was very good this year.

Monday, the last day of the Festival, and once again the sun was up and the temperature rising. With a few bags of fresh stock we set off for the showground for the last time, opened up the stall and changed things around a bit. This morning trading was a little slow at first due to there being a market on in St Ives but later people began to arrive and business was good. The early morning lull in customers gave me the chance to get round to visit some of the other canal societies and find out how they were doing. At 4.30 the Grand Finale took place with some of the volunteers parading round the main arena; then it was closing time and once all the public were off site we began to pack up and dismantle the stall. The ground was firm enough to allow vehicles on so it didn't take too long to get everything back to the caravan site.

At night we treated ourselves to a meal at the White Hart in town, enjoyed some wonderful home cooked food and good company. On Tuesday morning we finished off the packing and sorted out the caravan ready for our journey home. Approximately 25,000 people attended the festival over the three days, the weather had been good after a dodgy start and we had thoroughly enjoyed it, now we need to build up a supply of stock for next year's events.

Colin Greenall

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