This month's Gossip

As regular readers will know, the AudlemOnline webteam write an article each month for the Gossip magazines that are distributed locally and in Whitchurch and Market Drayton to help boost tourist numbers.

The article in the July issue, now being delivered to many homes in the area, says:

Audlem Transport Festival & Historic Narrow Boats Gathering

It has already been a busy summer in Audlem with the Music & Arts Festival in late-May and the Party on the Park on 2nd July.

Next up is the Historic Narrow Boats Gathering over the weekend of Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July and the Audlem Transport Festival on Sunday 31st July.

The Transport Festival, organised by the Audlem Special Events Team (ASET), will see the south Cheshire village packed with fascinating vehicles. Around three hundred vintage and classic cars, motor cycles, buses, commercial and agricultural vehicles will parade through the village before assembling on the playing field for closer inspection by the large crowds that turn up each year to this popular free event.

Owners of vehicles had booked all the available spaces months ago so a full parade of participants is anticipated.

All the vehicles gather at nearby Hankelow before driving to Audlem. Crowds line the village streets, and there's an informative commentary describing each vehicle as they drive past.

As well as the hundreds of wheeled attractions, there will be much to see over the weekend on the canal at Audlem Wharf with a Gathering of Historic Narrow Boats organised by Audlem Mill. An expected 31 vintage boats will be moored so it will be well worth walking down the recently refurbished canal towpath to enjoy finding out more about these fascinating boats. They will be moored from the A525 road bridge near Audlem Mill down to Lock 15.

You can also take a trip on the canal with the Audlem Lass boat service that runs from Lock 15 to Overwater Marina. This service carries about 4,000 passengers a year and raises large sums of money for the RNLI, the lifeboat charity.

A new service started last summer with the Overwater Wheelyboat, a local community charity, providing free pleasure trips to disabled children and adults so that they can enjoy seeing the wildlife and countryside and even go fishing!

The 17ft boat has been specially designed with easy access for people with mobility issues allowing easy roll on/roll off access for wheelchairs.

Rodney Cottrell, the organiser, says: "Boat trips from the marina are extremely popular but inaccessible for anyone who can't climb into a boat from the jetty. This new boat allows us to take those people on two-hour journeys along a lovely stretch of the canal offering fantastic views and no locks!"

Other events coming up this summer include the Garden Party on 16th July raising funds for Donna Louise Children's Hospice at Buerton House; the Audlem Beer Festival over the late August Bank Holiday weekend followed by the RNLI Festival at Overwater Marina on 3rd and 4th September.

You can always check out what's happening locally on AudlemOnline which carries news every day of the year.

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.