1968 Campaign for Liverpool IWA’s 1968 National Rally of Boats was staged at the western end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to highlight the fact that the waterway from Aintree to Liverpool Docks and the Mersey had been left out of the British Waterways list of ‘cruiseways’ which were going to be kept open. This could only mean one thing – permanent closure – and in fact British Waterways had already removed this part of the Leeds & Liverpool from their waterways maps.
93 year old Mr Stuart Burton who cruised 300 miles in his boat Brindley from the river Thames. Later in the year Mr Burton cruised down to the Wellingborough River Festival, on the river Nene. Clearly boating was and still is a great way of keeping fit. A Steam Rally on the site included traction engines, wagons and a fairground organ while processions of the vehicles trundled from the Rally site to publicise the event elsewhere in the city. A boat Tug of War took place (sadly not allowed in 2016) in the centre of the canal which must have been quite a spectacle. The struggle was between a wide beam Leeds & Liverpool short boat, Edith against the combined power of narrow beam tugs James Loader & Sharpness. Organisers commented at the time that “Never has a threatened waterway been closed to navigation following an IWA National Rally taking place in the area” and thankfully IWA’s magic worked again with the Leeds & Liverpool living to see a more vibrant future.
1968 Rally towpath
170 Craft attended from all over the country and made an amazing spectacle which was unique in that densely developed part of Liverpool’s dockland. Alongside the working boats were several large sea going vessels as well as the much smaller leisure craft of the time. One of the longest journeys to the Rally was completed by four double canoes which had travelled 945 miles from Hildesheim, Germany, including 55 sea miles across the channel! This crossing under escort lasted 81.5 hours while the whole journey took them 33 days. Another amazing visitor was
#EldonianFestival
1968 Rally Tug of War Contest between wide-beam Leeds and Liverpool Canal short boat Edith against narrow beam tugs James Loader and Sharpness
18