Foxton Locks to host procession of historic boats

A procession of historic boats will descend on Foxton Locks during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of a campaign to save the nation's inland waterways.

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) was set up to protect the nation's rivers and canals in 1946 and held a Festival of Boats and Arts in Market Harborough in 1950, which it says was the "tipping point of a waterways revival".

To mark 75 years since the event, the Leicestershire IWA branch has organised an event on Saturday June 7 where a flotilla of historic working boats will descend Foxton Locks from 10:00 BST.

The procession will then head to Union Wharf, which hosted the 1950 festival, before making its way back to Foxton.

The event will continue from 10:00 BST until 16:00 on Sunday June 8, when a Sunday service will be held in the event field at Foxton.

The Quorn Ukulele Orchestra will provide live music, while Alarum Productions will tell the stories of the women who worked on the waterways through story-telling theatre and there will also be live music.

Floating traders will be present at the event, while on dry land there will be activities, exhibitions and stalls.

Foxton Locks is a Grade II listed site, is set in 34 acres (14 hectares) and is home to the longest staircase flight of locks in Britain.

It attracts more than 400,000 visitors a year, according to Canal & River Trust.

Linny Beaumont, East Midlands director for Canal & River Trust, said: "There's nowhere better to watch boats than at Foxton Locks and we can't wait to welcome people to this fantastic celebration of Leicestershire's rich canal heritage."

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