Trail boat on the Lancaster canal.

Clickychick's first "outside"show of the year, Country Fest at the Westmorland County Agricultural Society show ground, Crooklands just off the M6.  I towed the caravan down passing over Shap in extremely wet weather.  Fortunately by the time we were ready to set up the awning on the caravan, there was a dry(ish) period.  Soon everything was set up ready for the show and we could relax.

In the evening I had a walk up to the Lancaster Canal which runs across the bottom of the show field.  Sadly back in the 60s when the M6 was built nobody envisaged the leisure use of canals.  As commercial carrying was virtually gone the upper reaches were cut off by the M6.  The canal at Crooklands is on the upper reaches.

So what is a boat doing there?  Well the Lancaster Canal trust, in conjunction with Canal & River trust and the Inland Waterways Association, have plans for its restoration!   The Trailboaters had arranged to have their annual festival there to mark the 200th anniversary year of the opening of the canal.  Trailboats as the name suggests can be moved on trailers and launched anywhere there is a slipway.  Another fortunate coincidence there is an existing slipway about half a mile down the canal.

The blip is of a little sailing boat, mast down using its outboard to go through the bridge and moor with all the other boats.