Canal Festival showcases waterside fun for all the family

Horseboating at the 2013 Rochdale Canal Festival

The annual 2013 Rochdale Canal Week launches this weekend (27 July – 4 August) with a host of family events taking place along much of the thirty-two mile length of the Rochdale Canal, part of the year-round 2013 Canal Festival, South Pennine Ring. 

From Manchester to Mytholmroyd there will be fun cultural events for all the family to enjoy. And best of all each and every one of them is free.

Highlights of the festival – set up to promote the heritage of the historic canal and encourage visitors – include Horseboating and Poetry Trips in Hebden Bridge (July 29 and 30), A Poetry Workshop with Andrew McMillan (August 3), A Horseboating Trip in Todmorden (31 July), The Ancoats Canal Festival (July 27), Grassroots Oldham Canal Festival (July 27), Todmorden’s Lantern Making Workshops and canalside Parade (July 29 – 31) and canoeing for the over 8’s at Wrigley Head.

To book a free place on a fascinating horseboating trip or creative poetry workshop, email Claire.teague@canalrivertrust.org.uk, some places are still available. 

The Rochdale Canal Week has been running successfully for many years and is now part of a bigger initiative providing a fantastic programme of events across the whole South Pennine Ring. It attracts thousands of families to the canal-side over its eight-day period. Other lively events include bat walks, flower walks, heritage talks, canoeing, angling, cycling, family friendly events and opportunities to learn about nature and heritage.