The Inland Waterways Association is pleased to announce that the venue for the 2010 IWA National Trailboat Festival will be at Newport, Wales on the Monmouthshire, Brecon & Abergavenny Canal. It will run over the Spring Bank Holiday between Saturday 29 May and Monday 31 May.
The Festival is to be Hosted by the Monmouthshire, Brecon & Abergavenny Canals Trust, and is being marketed as the Welsh Waterways Festival 2010.
The organisers have the full support of Newport City Council who have financially supported the volunteers who have rebuilt the slipway at Bettws Lane and spent the last 3 months scrub bashing and clearing sections of the canal above Bettws lane Lock.
The Festival will be sited at Kimberley Park at Malpas offering over 2 miles of open water canal. On the main line there will be the Gwastad (No 34), Bettws (No 35) and Ty Ffynnon (No36) locks available to use, together with Lock no 2 (The first on the lower Crumlin Arm).
An interesting aside to this Festival is the availability of a second smaller site at Fourteen Locks (Rogerstone) offering a further ¼ mile cruise and restored lock. Boat owners who are interested will be welcome to visit this site after the main Festival is finished. Arrangements can be made for any boaters wanting to extend their week to visit other areas of the Mon & Brec.
The Trust has garnered success at generating public support for restoration in Wales. Having previously played host to the festival in 2000 and 2004, this resulted in the formation of The All Party Waterway Group at the Welsh Assembly Government and the British Waterways document for Welsh Canals “Waterways for Wales”.
The 2010 Festival marks an important milestone for the City of Newport and falls in the year that they will be playing host to the Ryder Cup. The Festival is also seen as an important vehicle with which to promote the Canal, its potential to local politicians and the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Trust plans to use two trip boats over three days for public trips.
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