Historic working boat horse-drawn through Audlem

This week's Market Drayton Advertiser (available at Williams' newsagents at 35p) carries a front page picture of Queenie, the horse that pulled the 10 ton working boat called Gifford, which stopped off at Audlem on its journey southwards. The horse and the 72 foot historic narrowboat, which was on loan from the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, were travelling to Oldbury where the boat will go on display to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the closure of the Oldbury Boatyard where Gifford was built 80 years ago.

Gifford was always horesdrawn until around the 1950's when it was fitted with a motor but it returned to horsepower for this special trip arranged by the Boat Musem Society and the Shropshire Union Canal Society. Queenie was looked after through the trip by her owner Sue Day. She said: "We wanted to do this to celebrate the horsedrawn working boat and try to preserve it's long history."

The return journey to Ellesmere Port will be well worth looking out for if you missed the southbound leg.

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