Canal boats are stars of show

Hundreds of visitors flocked to a canal basin in Halesowen to enjoy a host of attractions including narrowboat rides, ferret racing and a fairground.

The two-day event hosted over the weekend by The Coombeswood Canal Trust allowed enthusiasts based at Hawne Basin to thrill the crowds with trips through Gorsty Hill tunnel. There was also the chance for visitors to try canoeing and marvel at the narrowboat Electra.

Coombeswood Canal Trust chairman Richard Woodward said the event, which ended yesterday, had been a “great success”.

“It has helped to make a lot more people aware of the canal and its history who made not known much about it before,” he said.

“People seemed to be having a great time. We took a lot of people out of trips on the narrowboat Electra, which they all enjoyed.

“The real ale bar was also very popular when the weather warmed up.”

Mr Woodward added organisers were grateful to the local businesses which allowed visitors to use their car parks over the weekend. “Everybody has been very supportive,” he added.

Trust treasurer and director Pat Walker said: “We are really pleased. We had a lot of visitors and the weather was kind to us.”

Attractions included dozens of stalls selling bric-a-brac, craftworks and boating equipment, model boats, a fairground organ and live music.

Visitors were able to sit back and relax while tucking into home-made hot and cold food.

Last year the spectacle attracted more than 2,000 people, who packed the canal basin to get a glimpse of the 103 narrowboats on display .

There was also a unique reunion of five original tugboats from a Halesowen tubeworks, which pulled open-topped joey boats through Gorsty Hill tunnel to mark the 40th anniversary of the takeover of Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd by British Steel in 1967.