Plenty promised for this year's IWA inland waterways festival

By mid-May, 549 boats had booked in for The Inland Waterways National Festival & Boat Show, to be held this year on the River Thames. The number includes many Thames-based river cruisers, Dutch barges and narrow boats in addition to hundreds of craft visiting from other waterways. Among the historic canal working boats, will be steam narrow boat President, looking magnificent after her recent £50,000 restoration, together with butty Kildare and wooden tug James Loader. Festival Chairman, Chris Coburn, said support is excellent and urges anyone who has not yet booked a mooring or caravan and campsite space, to do so without delay.

The Festival will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, at Beale Park, a mile upstream of Pangbourne. Apart from all the activity surrounding the visiting boats, the Boat Show will feature some 200 exhibitors displaying equipment and services and boats for sale, hire or shared ownership. IWA's Waterway Recovery Group which runs the Canal Camps for volunteer waterway restoration 'holidays' throughout the country will be demonstrating their skills and achievements (and the fun they have doing it) whilst Wild over Waterways (WOW) will be there for children to learn about and experience the delights of the UK's inland waterways. There will be a craft fair, farmers' market, , cookery demonstrations and a programme of craft courses visitors can join and experience new skills. The Inland Waterways National Festival & Boat Show 2003 is organised by The Inland Waterways Association and supported by British Waterways (Main Sponsors) and The Environment Agency.