Stafford Riverway Link Open Days - a great success!
Stafford Riverway Link, a non-profit making Community Interest Company, held two very successful Open Days over the May Bank Holiday, raising £4,200 to help the Project to move forward. The event, officially opened by Stafford's Town Mayor, Councillor Jenny Barron, enabled hundreds of local visitors, to see the site at first hand and the work that has been completed by the Project's volunteers.
Many of the visitors gained an insight into the Project for the first time discovering that the Link was originally created in 1816 to enable coal and salt to be transported along the River Sow and into the centre of Stafford at Greengate Bridge. Pleasure boats also used this route into the town centre. The Link was closed in 1929 and the site infilled in the 1970s.
The Open days included boat trips, kindly provided by Gt. Haywood's Anglo-Welsh Ltd, a floating market consisting of food, craft and trade boats and various stalls and refreshments provided by Titanic Brewery. Music was by The Deacons.
SRL Chair, Paul Bryan said: "We were absolutely thrilled by the number of visitors who came along over the two days. Many of them were unaware of the history behind the Link and others were amazed at the progress our volunteers have made in trying to restore part of Stafford's history. We raised over £4,000, which is a great help to us, but just as important was hearing visitors enthuse about the work that's taken place and the plans for the future. We're very grateful to them.
Our thanks also go to the trade boats, stall holders and Titanic Brewery and Anglo-Welsh for supporting us and helping to make the Open Days such a great success."
