Event celebrates Burnley's canal heritage
7:30pm Monday 10th September 2012 in News
Bishop of Burnley the Rt Rev John Goddard takes a ride on a narrow boat
AN introduction to Burnley’s waterside heritage may become a permanent fixture after hundreds flocked to the borough’s inaugural canal festival.
The banks of the Leeds Liverpool Canal went through a time warp as enthusiasts recreated the golden age of the waterway through Burnley.
More than two dozen canalboats were moored along the Straight Mile to Slater Terrace which, alongside Sandygate Mill, were opened up as part of the four-day Heritage Open Days scheme.
The Canalside Community Association, which recently opened its own rope garden at the top of Lindsay Street, also held an open day themed around the craft.
Folk duo Tim Walker and Liam Robinson kept crowds on the towpath and inside the mill canal-themed film shorts by the late Sam Hanna were shown.
And the Leeds Liverpool Canal Society brought along their historic shortboat The Kennet, for visitors, to inspect.
Coun John Harbour, leisure and culture cabinet member, who went on a tour of Sandygate Mill with conservationists, said: “The turnout has been fantastic. It just goes to show what we have got in the middle of Burnley.”
The event, arranged by the borough council and Canal and Rivers Trust, was rounded off with a torchlit canalboat procession on Saturday and a fireworks display.
