Audlem in Gossip magazine

Each month, the AudlemOnline team sends a 500-word article about the village to the publishers of the Whitchurch Gossip and Market Drayton Gossip magazines.

These excellent publications are widely (and freely) distributed in North Shropshire and many in Audlem see a copy, particularly of the Whitchurch magazine. Many of our readers, however, are outside their distribution area.

This month's issue features the Audlem Transport Festival on the cover.

We thought you might like to read what we said about the village this month:

Audlem looking a picture

The last weekend of July saw massive crowds in Audlem to enjoy two transport-themed events. Over the Saturday and Sunday it was the Gathering of Historic Boats on the canal while the Sunday saw the Audlem Festival of Transport with 300 vehicles parading from Hankelow through Audlem and on to the Playing Field.

There was excitement in the air too with a Griffin HT1 helicopter circling low over the village in the morning before landing for the Festival while the crowds were entertained in the afternoon with a Dakota of the RAF Memorial Flight passing back and forth over the Festival.

Forty four historic boats assembled for the Gathering organised by Peter and Christine Silvester of Audlem Mill. Many crews attended a wonderful party on the Saturday night held in the gardens of the Lock Cottage next to the Shroppie Fly pub.

The canal was a picture with boats double and even triple moored all the way from Audlem Wharf to the bottom of the locks. At times the towpath was jammed with visitors and some took the opportunity to travel on Audlem Lass out to the Overwater Marina.

It was a record turnout of historic boats, some dating back over 125 years, several carrying cargoes of coal to demonstrate how the boats were vital trading boats on the canal network, carrying bulk suppliers of coal, tar, oil, molasses and even chocolate.

The glorious sunshine added to the success of the Transport festival, organised by ASET, the Audlem Special Events team, a group of volunteers who run the Party on the Park, the Transport Festival and the annual Fireworks Display each November.

The crowds lining the streets as the 300 cars, commercial vehicles, tractors, buses, motor cycles, cycles and assorted other conveyances paraded through the village were larger than ever making it a very special weekend.

And it's volunteers who make so much happen in the village. A Festival committee looks after the annual Audlem Music & Arts Festival each May while ADAS, the Audlem District Amenities Society, and their Audlem in Bloom Group, have planted the village out to perfection.

Troughs, beds and hanging baskets galore have attracted so many comments this year and a couple of weeks ago the judges from Britain in Bloom were out looking at all the displays so fingers are crossed.

Even much of the social services locally are run by volunteers with ADCA, Audlem District Community Action, looking after the luncheon club and coffee mornings for elderly and vulnerable residents, the Carers' group, Hospital car services and more.

The next big event coming up is the Audlem Beer Festival at the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August. A wide range of beers and ciders, many local, will be on offer in the pubs while live music will feature strongly too.

Check out all that's happening in Audlem every day on AudlemOnline. There's news published every day of the year as well as daily puzzles, weather forecasts and lively comment.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.