A quick heads up for a fascinating event I attended by chance yesterday (Saturday, 25th August 2018) but which is running all weekend (including Bank Holiday Monday) and is a real treat for folks into narrowboats, canals and old working boats in particular.
Alvecote Gathering takes place at Alvecote Marina which lies on the Coventry Canal, between Tamworth and Polesworth – just east of Amington. This is a large canal mooring marina with a sizeable pub – the Samuel Barlow – at its heart. In the marina and on the canal itself, you’ll find a variety of historic narrowboats on show with their proud owners who will be happy to talk about their boat’s history.
There are boats selling crafts, food and canal paraphernalia, a barbecue, and food and drink are also available from the pub.
It’s all being staged by the wonderful Historic Narrowboat Club, whose fascinating website can be found here. They have this to say about the event:
Alvecote Gathering
25/08/2018 to 27/08/2018The Alvecote Gathering is usually held over the August Bank Holiday weekend every year. It is a good time to see dozens of historic narrow boats at an informal gathering and to watch some fine boat handling skills as the boats parade and then wind outside the pub.
It’s absolutely free to attend, and I spent a good couple of hours mooching around – there are some lovely boats, and the people are wonderful too.
The marina can be found at Robey’s Lane, Tamworth B78 1AS.
If you pop down, please do share what you see with the blog! Comment here, mail me on BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com or tug my sleeve on social media.
The dogs are pretty wonderful too – you can’t beat a boater hound!
RSS - Posts
Thanks for the photo of “Jack” (the long haired Jack Russell under the chair. Just for info, the event is not staged by HNBC they simply reported it on their website. Actually staged by the marina owners who put a lot of unpaid work into the event.