IWA 'National' at Burton this year

Published: Thursday, 10 February 2022

THE Inland Waterways Association 'National' festival is to be held at Burton on the Trent & Mersey Canal this year.

August Bank Holiday

It is scheduled for the August Bank Holiday weekend, the 27th to 29th and will be open to the public from 10am to 6pm with the site closing at 5pm on the Monday.

It's location is Shobnall Fields, Shobnall Road, Burton-upon-Trent, DE14 2BB, and is recognised as the IWA's major event of the year showcasing new boats, fittings and equipment together with many stalls selling a variety of waterway related objects.

There is a variety of entertainments throughout the weekend including bars and food outlets.

The fields are very extensive, that allows plenty of space for parking next to the main attractions.

iwa MudDisaster

It is hoped that this event will be more of a success that the last 'National' held at Shobnall Fields in 2011 that was a disaster with not a single boat and much equipment being unable to access the showground owing to the field turning into a swamp and the cranes and heavy haulage being unable to get access.

This left the gantry (pictured below) constructed for new boats to remain completely empty with just a couple of new boats on the actual canal moorings.

The problem is that the many fields are not properly drained so water just sits on the top after heavy rain, that occurred in 2011, bringing the site to a virtual standstill after vehicles have driven over.

burton gantry800

As usual there is a request for volunteers for directing car park traffic, litter picking, clearing and cleaning tables, distributing programmes, donation buckets, helping with entertainments and PA, supervising WOW children’s activities, assisting with site information points and many other activities.

Before and after the event volunteers are required to help with erecting marquees and other site setup and take-down jobs.