Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Floating Garden Festival helps to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice with a little help from friends.

The Floating Garden Festival was one of the highlights of the Cheshire’s Year of Gardens ’08 programme. The Festival helped to highlight and promote the beautiful inland waterways of Cheshire. Four florally decorated heritage boats departed from Audlem, Bollington, Trafford and Ellesmere Port and various events were held enroute as the boats made their way to Middlewich for the annual Folk and Boat Festival. The British Waterways heritage boat Lindsay left Bollington and floated along the canal through Congleton and Rode Heath.

Congleton Tourism Officer Phillippa Brown said, “I would like to say a big thank you to all the local societies and groups that donated many of the floral displays on ‘Lindsay’. These were Rode Heath Methodist Church, The Church of the Good Shepherd (Scholar Green), the Rode Heath Village Hall committee, Rode Heath Cubs & Scouts, The Macclesfield and East Cheshire branch of the British Cactus and Succulent Society, Poynton Home Gardeners Club, Alsager Gardens Association, Brereton Playgroup, Theresa Hunt of Odd Rode Parish Council and Harding Consultants. These displays really helped the boat to look spectacular and helped Lindsay win the ‘Best Dressed Boat’ title. A special thank you also goes to Dane Coppice Crafts who created an Alice in Wonderland and Rabbit sculpture out of willow, which looked fantastic and really helped to make the display special. All these donated tubs and baskets were auctioned off on the last day of the Folk and Boat Festival and managed to raise £320.20 for East Cheshire Hospice, which is fantastic!”.

Cheshire Floating Garden Festival - Lindsay

Feast your eyes on these photographs from Lindsay's journey from Bollington to Middlewich.

The diary of 'Prince William'!

The crew of 'Prince William' have sent us a video diary of the first half of their trip as part of the Floating Garden Festival.  Read about their journey and see some pictures Download floating_garden_diary_3_2.docx

'Lindsay' sets sail from Bollington

Here are some pictures of 'Lindsay' receiving a colourful send-off from Bollington earlier this week.  She is now at Middlewich, joining the rest of the Floating Garden Festival boats at the Folk and Boat Festival until this Sunday, 15th June. 

'Lindsay' now on her way to Middlewich

  The British Waterways heritage boat 'Lindsay' was launched in spectacular style from Bollington on Sunday as part of Bollington's Floral Weekend. A fun packed weekend with open gardens, morris dancers, brass bands, a children's pet show, plant sale, bouncy castle and much more. Lindsay was waved off in style at 3pm on Sunday to Rod Stewarts 'Sailing'.

'Lindsay' then stopped of at the Queens Head Hotel in Congleton for an evening of entertainment with local folk band 'Lost in the Mist'. Many people went down to take a look at the beautifully decorated boat and to sample the many real ales that the Queens Head has to offer.

'Lindsay' is currently on her way to Rode Heath and will arrive today (Wednesday 11th June) at 2pm to be greeted by local school children. This will begin an afternoon/evening of entertainment with the local school band, Rode Hall Silver Band, the Church Choir and much more. The boat will moor up outside the Broughton Arms pub and the entertainment will commence on Rode Heath Rise.

She will then head towards Middlewich to join the other 3 boats at Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival for a weekend full of music and boating activities (13th - 15th June)

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All aboard at Audlem

The newly-trained boat horse 'Bilbo Baggins' towed 'Saturn' from Audlem to Nantwich as the stunning conclusion to a weekend of activities at Audlem Wharf to launch the Floating Garden Festival.  Over the weekend there were displays by rag-rug makers, canal artists, 'The Crofters' folk music and 'Daystar Theatre Company', who live aboard their boat at Audlem.

Councillor Brian Silvester, Mayor of Crewe and Nantwich, gave a speech as Saturn descended the first lock out of the wharf and then Bilbo Baggins took the strain of the boat and cargo of local produce.  Bilbo's previous job was to be ridden by knights jousting in recreations of battles!

Here are some photographs of the launch

Shad is launched at Ellesmere Port

The working boat 'Shad' was blessed by the Cannon of Chester Cathedral, as The Ellesmere Port to Middlewich leg of Cheshire's Floating Garden Festival was launched in style at Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, watched by local school children.

Here are some pictures of the boat being decorated and of the launch

Saturn gets a taste of Cheshire

The former Shropshire Union flyboat 'Saturn' was loaded with Cheshire cargo today, as she is prepared for the Floating Garden Festival

Woodlands Brewery, Joseph Heler cheese and Taylors compost all provided goods for Saturn to carry to Middlewich, and Cheshire Landscape Trust provided two locally grown oak seedlings.  Saturn is also carrying floral decorations from Nantwich in Bloom.

See Saturn on show at Audlem Wharf all weekend

Floating gardens publicity on World Environment Day

In preparation for the Floating Garden Festival which has now been launched, Action Upper Weaver and colleagues from Visit Chester and Cheshire, and from Nantwich in Bloom, publicised the 'Saturn' leg of the route in Nantwich Town Square yesterday.  We even had some musical accompaniment!

This was a great theme for World Environment Day, promoting gardening as a hobby and carrying freight by water

Come to Audlem over the weekend for a packed two days of events, finishing in style on Sunday afternoon with the launch of the Southern Weaver Way, and Saturn being towed from Audlem to Nantwich by the boat horse 'Bilbo'

All aboard the floating garden

Preparations are underway for a very special garden, arriving in Chester this week. As part of ’Cheshire’s Year of Gardens 08’ a unique Cheshire Floating Garden Festival moors in Chester on June 7 and 8.

‘Shad’ (a motor narrow boat, built in 1936) will be carrying a specially created ‘Made in Cheshire Garden’ designed by artist Christine Wilcox-Baker.  ‘Gifford’ (originally built as a horsedrawn tank boat in 1926) will accompany Shad from the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port on Friday 6 June. Christine joined the crews of Shad and Gifford this week, as work started on the grand design.

Shad sails from the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port to Chester on Friday 6 June, following a blessing at 1.30pm, the boats will be moored at the Canal Basin opposite Telfords Warehouse between 10am and 4.30pm on Saturday 7 June and at Cow Lane Bridge opposite the Frog & Nightingale on Sunday 8 June.

On Saturday 7, the Boats will be welcomed by The Lord Mayor of Chester Cllr Brian Bailey at 11am.

Chester’s newest website Screenchester.co.uk will be filming throughout the day, visitors are invited to come along and share their memories of Chester and past events they have enjoyed. Visitors will also have a chance to discover the Chester Inigma art project and also meet artists from the Cheshire Artists Network. There will also be guided walking tours of the Canal Basin leaving on both days at 2pm from the floating garden. The tours can be pre-booked from the Town Hall Tourist information centre (£5 adult £4 concessions £13 Family). Shad and Gifford can be seen navigating the Northgate Locks from 4.30pm as they head for Cow Lane Bridge.

The boats continue to Great Boughton and Christleton on Monday 9 and head for Beeston on Tuesday 10. A variety of activities and school visits have been arranged during the expedition.

Cheshire’s Floating Garden Festival aims to promote one of Cheshire’s greatest assets; its inland waterways, by using four decorated heritage boats cruising throughout the County under the banner of ‘Cheshire’s Year of Gardens’.  The boats will depart from Audlem in the South (‘Saturn’ will travel with garden related cargo), Bollington in the East ‘(Lindsay’ - a decorated ‘garden’ boat), Trafford in the North East (‘Prince William’ – educational boat), and Ellesmere Port to the West of the county (‘Shad’ – a decorated ‘garden’ boat). The four decorated boats will meet in Middlewich and take star billing at the annual Folk & Boat Festival (June 13 – 15)

There will be a final chance to enjoy the floating Garden when it returns to Ellesmere port Boats in Bloom at the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port – Shad and Gifford (and blooms) will be on display on their return to the museum Friday 4 – Sunday 6 July.

You can see the whole itinerary for the boats here, although please note that the pub quiz on Wednesday 11th June is at The Olde Barbridge Inn, and not the Jolly Tar Download 080606_shad_gifford_schedule.pdf