elyaquafest.org.uk

If you missed March’s St Georges Fayre in April this year there are still five more festivals you could include in your narrowboat holiday itinerary this summer. Our narrowboat hire base is located in the town of March, nestled in the Fens on the Middle Level Waterways, close to the River Ouse and River Nene, and this summer is busy with a variety of events.

1) March Fest

March Summer Festival is a free event and in 2017 it will be held from 9^th to 11^th June. There will be music and activities appealing to all ages and tastes and an open air stage set up in West End Park for the weekend. The live music includes pop, dance, jazz, brass and folk, plus there’ll be a funfair and plenty of food stalls.

Last year hundreds of people gathered at West End Park to enjoy the music, parade of walkers, classic vehicles and floats and a variety of stalls and amusements. There is a gallery of photographs of the event, courtesy of Anthony Hylton, at The March Summer Festival website. Fox Boats run boat trips at the event.

2) Cambridgeshire Yoga and Vegan Festival

Cambridgeshire’s first-ever Yoga and Vegan Festival will be held at The Paradise Centre, Newnham Street, in Ely this year. There will be more than 40 yoga and meditation sessions, a variety of vegan food and stalls, plus many free talks included in the entrance price. It will take place on Sunday 11th June from 9.15am-5pm, with a £5 entry fee, and children go free. It seems like the perfect complement to a calming narrowboat cruise. March to Ely is approximately an 18 hour return trip by boat.

3) Ely’s Aquafest

Aquafest, on Sunday 2^nd July 2017 is a family event covering three premier sites along Ely’s riverside, Lavender Green, Jubilee Gardens and the Maltings Green. There will be a fun fair, beer tent, burger bar and stalls. Two arenas provide varied entertainment, and there is music, dancing, demonstrations and audience participation. A highlight of the event is the Annual Raft Race on the River Ouse, with numerous decorated rafts. For more information visit Aquafest.

4) Ely Folk Festival

This intimate and friendly little folk and roots festival takes place over the weekend of 7^th to 9^th July. There are on-site camping facilities, a real ale bar, lots of kids’ activities, Morris dancing displays, ceilidhs, workshops and music sessions. The folk scene is popular among live-aboard boaters, so why not become one of them just for this weekend, and arrive on your own narrowboat home? Check out Ely Folk Festival.

5) Strawberry Fayre

On Saturday 3^rd June 2017 Midsummer Common will once more become a festival of vitality, music and colour. The day begins with a parade that goes around the city centre, and then returns to Midsummer Common for the start of the fair at midday. There will be over a dozen stages, marquees and areas of entertainment, continuing all day until the festival finale at 10.30pm.

Strawberry Fair website

Arriving by Narrowboat

To get to Cambridge from March you’ll pass through the Middle Levels, and up the Ely section of the Great Ouse. When in Cambridge your cruise will actually take you through Midsummer Common and onwards to Jesus Green and the public moorings near the limit of the navigation.

So, why not time your narrowboat holiday this year to coincide with one of these festivals? Check our bookings page now and see if your boat of choice is available for the dates you want.

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The post 5 Festivals you can go to by Narrowboat This Summer appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

Our recent fundraiser was a tombola, there were some great prizes to be won, which were donated by the staff and customers. The tombola raised £222 for the charity.

We had a very successful day of boat trips on the 7^th June, where we ran trips from the marina to the west of March, through town past the March Festival and then to the Twenty Foot and back to the marina. We ran the trips from ten in the morning throughout the day, and raised £320. We are very grateful to all the wonderful people who turned up to support the event.

Then on the 31^st August, a team of our staff, Tracey & Gary Baxter, Pam Wright, Nicola Baxter, Emily Syred and Alan Stimpson did a sponsored cycle ride around Rutland Water, which was also a great success (and a lot of fun!) and £285 was raised during that event.

Other events this year have included book sales, trips at St George’s Fayre, and our staff giving talks about the marina to groups and organisations.

We will post our final total raised for the British Heart Foundation at the end of the year, and we are currently open to suggestions for which charity we should support next year. Please email your suggestions to reception@foxboats.co.uk

The post Charity of the Year appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.