Canal festival returns to the Black Country this weekend
An annual community event which celebrates canals in the Black Country is returning to the region on Saturday.
The Bradley Canal Festival 2023 will take place at the Canal & River Trust Workshops on Bradley Lane in Bilston from 10am until 4pm.
It is being organised by Bradley Canal Restoration Society in partnership with Canal & River Trust.
Following the first festival last year, several organisations are collaborating again to bring this event to the local community.
Darren Clift, Bradley Canal Restoration Society Trustee, said of the festival: "It’s an exciting opportunity for visitors to explore local heritage and enjoy unique experiences in the beautiful green and blue spaces that our canal networks have to offer.
"Bilston has a wide socio-demographic and diverse community, and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy this free event."
The workshops on Bradley Lane are one of only two in the country that make the colossal oak lock gates for the whole of the canal system.
Visitors of the festival will be able to go on tours of the workshops, guided by experts who can answer questions about how these lock gates are made.
There will also be boat trips to enjoy the idyllic stretch of canal and bell boats for people who’d like to paddle themselves for an hour of wellbeing with nature.
Children can entertain themselves on the swing boats and adults can pay a visit to the beer tent with canal side seating to relax and soak up the atmosphere.
A number of stalls offering food, drink and goods will be at the festival, as well as an array of local charities and organisations promoting their work.
Bradley Canal Restoration Society is a charity set up to work towards the restoration of an infilled mile of canal in the heart of the Black Country.
The infilled stretch contains nine lock chambers, seven of which are buried just below the surface of a pathway and in places sticking out of the ground.
The heritage lottery semi-restored the bottom two locks around 20 years ago which are culverted to allow the flow of water.
