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Chesterfield Canal Festival Goes Underwater!

The latest attraction to be booked for the Chesterfield Canal Festival is a sub-aqua club. They will be diving in a lake on the opposite side of the canal from the main stalls area.

The Chesterfield Canal Festival is being held in Worksop, by Morse Lock, on 17 th and 18 th July. The Chesterfield Canal Trust, who are organising the event, expect to have around one hundred attractions. These include boat trips, canal rescues by the Fire Service, Canal Societies, canal craftspeople and boat builders. The sub-aqua team will share the lake with sailors, canoeists and anglers.

There will be a big arts input because it is part of the Bassetlaw Arts Festival, so expect a theatre group, dancers and music. There will also be a wide variety of stalls, children’s rides, a clown, food and drink plus of course a Real Ale bar provided by Trust members Brampton Brewery. The Raptor Foundation will be showing and flying birds of prey.

The idea for inviting the diving club came from a brochure for the Worksop Water Festival ’88 which was held in the same place twenty two years ago. This souvenir was unearthed by founder member Dave Fox. That Festival was to support the Chesterfield Canal Society’s Route to Rhodesia campaign. Since then eleven miles of canal and thirty six locks have been restored and the Chesterfield Canal Trust is now campaigning to Close the Gap between the five isolated miles in Derbyshire and the rest of the canal.

There is still time to book a stall for the Festival. Obviously boaters are welcome (they get free entry to the Trust’s Barn Dance on the Saturday night). Trailboats can use the slipway at Shireoaks Marina which is only a two hour cruise away. For further information, please email festival@chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk.