WOOLSTHORPE RALLIES
1994 The rally was organised by John Bayliss and the IWA as a National Trailboat Rally. Trailboats are short narrowboats suitable for towing. This was to celebrate the restoration of locks 16, 17, and 18, and the removal of the railway embankment. Casthorpe Road and Casthorpe Bridle Bridges had also been rebuilt to full navigable height. Denton Slipway had also been rebuilt by volunteers under the supervision of John Bayliss. Many Wilderness Trail Boats attended and it proved to be another successful event. 2007 - IWA National Trailboat Festival organised by the Grantham Canal Partnership and Grantham Canal Society to take place over the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend. John Brydon chaired the committee and one of the first decisions was to name the event ‘Grantham on Water’. The fact that we were forbidden to charge admission, because we were deemed to be ‘blocking’ a public Right of Way, didn’t deter us and we managed to attract some two dozen Trailboats from all over the country. Some of these were moored above Lock 18 but others stretched all the way to Lock 15 and made a very colourful sight. We launched, and later slipped them, all through Denton slipway and erected temporary landing stages near the A1 and above Lock 18. School visits were arranged to show how locks work, general canal construction and an introduction to angling from local fishermen. There were marquees containing craft and trade stands, excellent local food and displays by fellow charities together with a miniature railway and demonstrations by the Grantham-based Royal Logistics Corps. We arranged a ‘Park & Ride’ bus service of ex-London Transport ‘Routemasters’ from a car park below Belvoir Castle, offered boat trips between Lock 18, Denton and the A1 and arranged for Morris Dancers at the ‘Dirty Duck’ pub. Over 800 visitors were carried by trip boats including Union Canal Society’s small craft ‘Roseann’ (which they towed from Central Scotland), Blisworth Tunnel Boats’ day boat and an electrically-powered GRP trip-boat, more used to life as a Spalding Water Taxi. The Committee raised awareness of the Grantham Canal within the East Midlands and showed the local population what they were missing by not having a restored waterway. The event attracted in excess of 4,000 visitors but, if it hadn’t rained heavily over 2 of the 3 days, there would have been many more .
 IWA National Trailboat Festival  IWA National Trailboat Festival
2020
 IWA National Trailboat Festival  IWA National Trailboat Festival Towed from central Scotland IWA National Trailboat Festival