The 2022 Crick Boat Show, to be held across the Bank Holiday Weekend celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (3 – 5 June) at Crick Marina, near Daventry in Northamptonshire, is the UK’s biggest inland waterways festival and offers a fantastic day out by the water for all the family. The event will also feature a special Trade & Preview Day on 2 June.
The annual event, organised by Waterways World in partnership with the Canal & River Trust and Crick Waterside & Marina, is expected to attract more than 26,000 visitors.
As well as being the canal world’s biggest marketplace, showcasing the inland waterways industry with nearly 250 exhibitors, Crick Boat Show offers a fantastic day out with dozens of boats to view, free boat trips, free advice seminars on boat ownership, live music, children’s activities, a real ale marquee, and a large variety of food and drink stalls.
Top 10 things to do at this year’s show:
1. Enjoy a boat trip – visitors to Crick can take a free boat trip along the Grand Union Canal aboard canal boats run by volunteers from the LNBP Community Boating. The half-hour trips run every 10 minutes from 10.10am each day of the show. Visitors can book their free trip at the Trip Boats Marquee on the Quayside when they arrive at the show.
2. Listen to live music – 15 live bands will be performing throughout the Show in the Wheatsheaf Bar Marquee, with David Bowie tribute band ‘Absolute Bowie’ headlining on the Friday evening (3 June), and Amy Winehouse tribute act ‘Amy – A Tribute’ performing on the Saturday night (4 June). Evening entertainment, which is included in the price of the same day ticket to the show, runs from 7.30pm to 11.30pm on Thursday 2, Friday 3 June and Saturday 4 June.
3. Climb aboard the latest luxury boats – today’s canal boats are equipped with all mod cons, and around 30 boats will be on display at Crick, showcasing all the latest lifestyle extras, space-saving ideas and technological developments – from king-sized beds, baths and drinks fridges, to LED lighting, underfloor heating and solar panels.
4. Check out some second hand boats – a range of used narrowboats will be on display from some of the leading second-hand brokerage companies, catering for a wide range of tastes and budgets.
5. Go for some retail therapy – with over 250 exhibitors from across the canal world, as well as dozens of new boats to look round, Crick offers shoppers the very latest in boating products and services, as well as crafts, gifts, clothing, jewellery and hats.
6. Listen to some waterway stories – Women on the Water will be performing pop up storytelling and songs about canal history at various locations across the show. Their pop ups won’t be scheduled, but they will start each day’s live entertainment in the Wheatsheaf Bar Marquee, at 12.30pm on Friday (3 June) and Saturday (4 June), and 12 noon on the Sunday (5 June).
7. Enjoy exclusive access on Trade & Preview Day – visitors to the show’s Trade & Preview Day on Thursday 2 June, sponsored by Lee Sanitation, can book a boat tour online in advance. Tickets are priced at £25 each and are only available in advance. Availability is limited to 1,000 tickets. Trade & Preview Day visitors will receive a gift bag, hot drink and access to the VIP marquee.
8. Get expert advice on boating – the show’s free boat ownership seminar programme features advice from Waterways World’s Technical Editor Mark Langley for both new and experienced boaters. Seminars include advice on buying a new or second hand boat, living afloat, boat maintenance and how boaters can reduce their impact on the environment. And new for 2022, a series of masterclasses will be presented by industry experts on a range of topics, including electric and hybrid propulsion, mobile broadband, boat painting and new narrowboat design.
9. Vote for your favourite boat – visitors to the show can vote for their favourite boat and the result will be announced mid-afternoon on Sunday 5 June. Sponsored by Haven-Knox Johnston, there are two categories to vote for: Favourite Narrowboat; and Favourite Widebeam. Everyone who votes is entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Marks & Spencer voucher and Waterways World subscription. The winning exhibitors receives a trophy and a bottle of champagne.
10. Share your love of the waterways with the Canal & River Trust – as part of the waterways and wellbeing charity’s tenth anniversary celebrations, the Trust is asking people to share their love of boating by taking a friend or family member who’s not been boating before, out on the water. ‘Wish you were here’ postcodes will be given out in the Canal & River Trust Marquee at Crick, asking boaters to share their photos and messages about what they and their friends and families enjoy about spending time afloat.
For more information and to book tickets, camping pitches and moorings, visit www.crickboatshow.com or call 01283 742970, Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm.
