THIS weekend will see the Chesterfield Canal Festival at Staveley Town Basin.
It will be open this Saturday and Sunday (24th & 25th) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (S43 3XZ).
Host of attractions
There will be a host of attractions including flypasts by a Spitfire on Saturday and a Hurricane on Sunday and a dog show on both days.
Have a go at archery, axe throwing, air rifle shooting, canoeing or zorbing. Children will be able to have a go on a mini-digger.
All four of the Chesterfield Canal Trust’s tripboats will be in action; two of them have wheelchair lifts.
In addition, there will be Birds of Prey, Children’s rides, Water Walking Balls, Bumper Boats, Spinning Bumper Carz, Newfoundland Rescue Dogs, Face painting, Aerial exercise, Craft stalls, Charity stalls, lots of Food stalls and a Real Ale bar.
Plans for the restoration
The trust’s Development Manager will be holding Q&A sessions in the marquee about the plans for the restoration of the canal.
Free entertainment will include music, dance and street theatre all day, both in the big marquee and outside by the lock.
Admission will be £6, free for under 16s. There will be free parking nearby with parking for blue badge holders onsite. There are several bus routes that pass withing 200 metres. The whole site is accessible to wheelchairs.
Evening concerts
There will be separate concerts on the Friday and Saturday evenings, starting at 7.30 p.m. Friday will see the return of the ever-popular Swing Commanders, whilst Saturday will feature Chesterfield’s own WonderWhys. Tickets for both concerts are available from the Chesterfield Canal Trust website. There will be onsite parking, food stalls and a Real Ale bar.
On Monday 26th June, there will be a flotilla of all four tripboats from Staveley Basin right up the canal to Tapton and back, with stops at Hollingwood Hub and Tapton Lock, covering 10 miles and 11 locks. Again, go to the Chesterfield Canal Trust website to book.
On Tuesday 27th June, there will be a What, Where and When Restoration Walk to show how the canal’s route looks at present before the major restoration works start next year.
The trust is very grateful to Markham Vale and Derbyshire County Council for giving permission to use the site.