We're in Droitwich in Worcestershire, it's the early
May bank holiday weekend and it's the Saint Richard's Canal
Festival organised by the Worcester, Birmingham and
Droitwich Canal Society. Welcome to this edition of the
Water Rd. Vines Park in Droitwich has the
canal running down one side and the River Salwarp on the other,
and for this festival, the area in between is transformed into a
lively show site. There's a big marquee and beer
tent in the middle where there's music in the afternoons and
evenings. There are stalls for charities
and traders, food trucks and an ice cream van.
There are fun fair rides. And there are boats.
The local community boat, Pamela May, too, is running boat trips,
and we'll hear from them later. And there are some historic
boats. The festival has its roots in
the restoration of the Droitwich canals.
They were abandoned in the 1930s and restored by volunteers,
reopening in 2011. The main organiser is David
Wheeler from the Worcester, Birmingham and Droitwich Canal
Society and I spoke to him in the sunshine outside the beer
tent. It all started back in 2011.
I was a director of Droitwich Canal Trust for about 18 years,
restoring the two canals. The canal from the other side of
Vines Park is called the Droitwich Junction Canal, which
which joins the Worcester Birmingham Canal down to the
Droitwich Barge Canal, which is the one behind us.
And the Barge Canal goes down to the River Severn.
And in 2011 we actually restored the canals from the Worcester,
Birmingham right the way through to the River Severn.
So we had a festival here to celebrate the opening.
Because that was quite a remarkable restoration, wasn't
it? I mean really successful.
Restoration yeah, well, we're really lucky because we actually
owned the Droitwich Waterways Trust actually owned the the
whole line of the of the canal apart from a bit on the junction
canal where one of the old locks was in somebody's garden.
So we we had to build a new lock.
But other than that, yet it was a major achievement really all
done by volunteers. How is that your?
Phone. In 2011 we had the celebration
ceremony here where we had about 120 votes turned up to celebrate
the opening because it was something special to the to the
inland waterways movement. And in 2012 I had a phone call
from the managing director, who was then the managing director
of Which Haven District Council, to say would we be interested in
organising another festival year on.
So I went to have a chat to him and realised that they had a St
Richard's festival, but it was only on the Saturday of the main
bank holiday. And I sort of looked at it and
thought, well that's a bit daft really, to have a festival just
for one day on a main bank holiday.
So I agreed that we would organise one over the three
days. And that was in 2012.
And here we are in 2026, still working our socks off to to put
a festival on. And that that's really how it's
happened. And it's slowly but surely we've
built a team of volunteers up that basically they just turn up
on the Tuesday and everything starts to assemble it.
It's good. Because it's all done by the the
Worcester, Birmingham and Droitwich Canal societies.
So I mean, it's all volunteers, isn't it?
Everything, everything that you see is is organised and run
totally by volunteers who give their time totally free of
charge. They get nothing if they're
working all day. Obviously we give them some food
vouchers so they can go and get some food.
So we do feed them. But yeah, it's, it's all done
for the benefit of the residents of Droitwe Spa and it it, it
seems to work. And tell me a bit about the
Canal Society, because that's obviously much bigger than just
the the festival, isn't it? It is.
We now own the boat called Cecilia, which we use as a
community boat where we get quite a number of groups now
where we can take them out on day trips and things like that.
And we'll probably one of the smallest in terms of membership
canal societies in the country, but we're probably one of the
biggest in terms of what we achieve and what we do.
Droitwich is a salt producing town.
It's one of the reasons the canal came here.
Vines Park contains one of the brine springs, and St Richard
gained legendary status when he got it flowing again.
Each year his Blessing of the Well is reenacted.
We remember all that we value about this community that we're
part of. I proclaim this moral blessed.
Let us proceed. In peace.
Amen. Have a wonderful weekend and God
bless you. Well, my normal identity is the
Reverend Laura Handy. So Laura, the one of the vicars
in Droitwich. But today you're playing St
Richard, really, aren't you? I am.
I've inherited a long tradition and joined in with it of the
local vicar dressing up as St Richard to re enact the events
of today. So just tell me a bit about
Saint Richard then, because he's an important person round here,
isn't he? He is indeed.
He was born and bred in Droitwich, but is most known for
being the Bishop of Chichester. Many Droitwich folks will be
more familiar with St Richard's Hospice and may not know that
that was started by folks in Droitwich who took the
inspiration from Saint Richard. So he was a local lad who grew
up and found himself working hard in on the family farm and
to try and ensure during tough times they had what they needed.
He delayed education to do that, but then found himself in a
position as a Bishop, having been ordained.
And when the salt springs had all dried up and the town was
going to be in crisis with the salt industry, people looked to
him. And rather than look away,
thankfully he helped people have the confidence and courage to
clear everything out. And then he had the privilege of
praying a blessing on the well. And when those waters flowed
again for the salt industry and for all the families who
depended on it, it gave fresh hope.
Which means salt, doesn't it? So that's why it's Droitwich.
So it's, it's, it's absolutely crucial.
Yeah, absolutely. And there's so many things in
our history the the newly renovated heritage centre
captures brilliantly the the salt history.
So if anyone hasn't visited that in Saint Richard's house,
there's the link again that tells of the significance to the
population at the time and actually the community that that
grew around it that we're that we're part of today and.
The well here you've just re blessed is is the sort of living
embodiment of it. It is indeed, and it's
preserved. It's got the big, the big gates
around it now, but it's captures the history in a little
information board. But absolutely it was the place
where that town gathered. And of course the the salt
barges would would take the salt to where it needed to go.
And the the conical kind of salt container meant you knew it came
from Droitwich. Sir Richard himself got his
statue just the other side of the park.
Just a reminder, I think of that this has been always a community
that's had to work hard, that's had to work together, that the
times when working hard and together has gone well.
I mean, it has led to a future, the times when people have
pulled apart from each other. And, and perhaps in these times
in which we're living, re enacting a, in many ways a bit
of an absurd tradition of me prancing around bed dressed as a
Bishop. It's just an opportunity for us
to kind of look back and maybe go actually, even when there's
hard times, pulling together as a community helps us find our
way. So now I'm on board Bramble,
which is one of the historic boats here, and with Eliza I'm.
A volunteer with Stanford Forward.
So just tell me a bit about the history of the boat then.
OK, well, we're sitting inside the cabin of working boat
Bramble, and she was built for Fellows Morton and Clayton in
1934. Fellows Morton and Clayton was a
carrier and they carried mainly coal and steel bars between
Birmingham and London, sort of going up and down the Grand
Union Canal. And at that time people lived in
the cabin. So Emma and Albert Russon were
the captain and his wife the best mate, and they lived on the
boat, but they also had a booty boat that they towed behind
Bramble. So you've got the cabin set up
as it would have been. I mean, there's not much room in
here. Is there no absolutely when you
think a family would live in this space?
So we've got a bed. It's a very small bed actually.
I don't need volunteer to do this.
If you were tall, it's supposed to be a double bed for the
captain and his wife. And then they have, they've got
the other boat as well or they did have.
So they would have two cabins. So the mate there wasn't mate
went with them. He probably was in the other
one. But in here we've got everything
in the cupboard. So everything there's a, there's
a sort of saying that says everything in its place and a
place for everything. And it really is true, isn't it?
On a narrow boat. This is tiny.
So when you pull the cupboard door off your little food
cupboard, the table comes down. That makes you table.
It's always in the way. If you try and eat in here, when
the boat's moving and you try and put the table down, it's a
nuisance because people are trying to squeeze past it.
There's a door to the engine room just on that side.
There's a little window out to the engine room that you can
pull across, but you have to put the bed up every day.
And then next to you there's this stove, which we haven't got
on today. But if you want hot water, you
want to cook anything, you've got to light the stove and it's
really warm. So tell me about the boat today
then, what's it? Because it's based in Stourport.
Isn't it? Yes, it is.
Yeah. So it was restored by a man
called Richard Brindley back in about 2002 and then eventually
it came to Starport Forward. So it was owned by what used to
be British Waterways. They sold it to Starport Forward
for a pound. But I think Star put Forward
probably didn't realise the amount of work is that's
involved in restoring A historic boat.
So we work with a boat builder, a really good historic boat
builder called Martin Brooks. He restored the engine for us.
He and Joe Hollingshead and all boatmen got the stove and the
engine going again and amazing. It was awesome.
Seized up and they filled it full of oil and then drained the
oil out and it worked. Incredible.
So we've had quite a lot done to it over the last few years.
So probably in the last 10 years we've been doing a lot more work
to make it more accessible and we've been able to come to
Droitwich, which is fabulous. And the hold, of course is a is
a big open space. What do you use that for?
Well today we've got it as a boat cinema, so people can come
and see historic films. So we've got a few films that
we've allowed to show, which is great.
And we've got a film about the Unlocking the Severn project in
Diggless as well, which is all about the fish swimming up the
River Severn. So that's great.
But we also use it for we do Santa's grotto on the boat at
Christmas. We do lots of boat trips because
we were a registered trip boat, so we can only take 12 people at
a time and it's a very rustic experience because you've got no
toilets, you've got no facilities.
But we stop at a pub so it's all lovely.
So with Gareth on your stall and you're a painter, you do the
roses. That's it yes, I've been doing
it for a few years now just a hobby really.
The painting itself. I tried to study historic
painters such as like the Bronston painters and also the
painters from like the northern style of Roses from like the
pottery. So just try to keep my painting
as traditional as we can. Because they look really simple,
the roses, the canal roses, don't they?
But they're more complicated than they.
That's right. I mean from a quick glance at
the roses, it doesn't look a lot to them.
The trick is there is a lot of layers which you build up.
But obviously years ago when the boats were actually working, the
idea was to put the flowers on as quick as you can, make them
look pretty and get the boats moving because obviously whilst
they were all sat up they were earning no money.
It's possible to tell who's painted particular roses.
Isn't it of your own style? So.
I'm quite a new painter as such, so really I suppose I have got
my own style. But yes, certainly if you look
at painters from the past you can certainly tell who did them
and and who's influenced them as well.
So everyone is usually influenced by a certain painter.
So one of the most eye-catching stands in the festival, I think
is, is the Little Bradford Model Boat Club.
And John, you're the chairman. Just tell me a bit about the
club. Well, we started the club almost
19 years ago, we constructed our own clubhouse.
Now we've got 4 facilities, we've got hot and cold running
water, we've got everything we want really.
And then you bring your boats to things like this.
I mean, there's an amazing variety of boats up on the stand
there, isn't there? Oh yes, well I've been building
since lighting, I'm doing 60 so I've done a bit, but the
members, they're all modellers as well and they're all dead
keen at the present moment. There's twenty of us in the club
and as you've seen, we do produce quite a nice display.
And you've got one of your boats out on the canal at the moment.
Tell me about that one. Oh, that there.
That's Angie. Angie's a kit boat produced by a
company called Crick, but a very, very popular boat with the
younger modellers because it's a fibreglass shell and wooden
construction. Some of the lighter kits now are
all plastic. And it's not quite, no not quite
so nice to handle plastic as. Plywood and Angie's a fishing
boat and you've just encountered some Swans.
Yes, but one lesson you do learn with boats is don't mess with
Swans. They don't like boats for some
strange reason. Excuse me.
Oh, it's all right. I just got it back.
You all right? I've lost sight and the Swans
are actually bigger than the boats, aren't they?
Well, the Swans are bigger than the boats and when they've got
youngsters they're very protective.
Another of the stands here is Rosie Philpott and you're an
artist based in Droitwich. Droitwich seems to be quite a a
painty place. It's it's all the wonky
buildings and everything, isn't it?
Yes, so my artwork is watercolours of local views and
they're all in a quirky, wonky style, so I call it wonky art.
And Droitwich High Street is just been rebranded the Wonky St
on Northern new signage as well, which was inspired by my work
apparently, so that's great. Yes, all my paintings are just a
bit different, different perspectives of the town and
local area. We should say the reason that
Droitwich is wonky is because of all the brine extraction.
Isn't it? Yes.
So that's what inspired the first painting I did about 15
years ago of the High Street called Wonky Droitwich.
And obviously, yes, the buildings are wonky because of
the subsidence due to the salt extraction.
So I exaggerated the style and people really liked it.
So I've carried it on throughout all my work.
How big an event is this festival for you then?
The pain events I do, so I do three of the local festivals in
Droitwich and I get a lot, a lot of work from here and it's a
great festival to do, It's really well supported and it's
just great to be involved in town events.
And have you painted the canal? I have.
I've got a few paintings actually.
I've done 1 based in here in Vines Park, and I've got the
community canal boats and I've also done one further up the
Eagle and Sun. That's in Hungary.
Yeah. And those paintings seem to be
popular with people. There are two swing bridges over
the canal in Vines Park, and each time the trip boat comes
along, which is many times in a day, some of their volunteers
have to swing the bridges out of the way.
First of all, there is the Pamela May 1 which was a
traditional engine. Pamela May 2 now is all electric
and it proves to be very successful.
People enjoy it along the canal stretches here that we operate
on. We because of the the number of
winding holes. Our maximum length of boat is 50
feet, so that's a bit of a restriction, but we take up to
12 passengers. That's our licence number.
So David, what sort of trips are you doing then what?
What sort of people are coming on the boat?
Well, we promote it amongst the various care homes, social
organisations and a few private parties because that helps to
defray some of our costs. We also have bridal parties.
We've taken a party down to the Church of Salwar that's normally
a 2 hour trip. Took a little longer on that
occasion but we also took a bridal party down towards
Worcester as well on one occasion.
So it's really introducing people to the waterways who who
might not otherwise know much about.
Them. Well, very much so, yes.
I think for the elderly and the more infirm groups, we've got a
lift so we can offer the trips to those who are less able or in
wheelchairs and it just gets them out of their normal sort of
four walls situation and they thoroughly enjoy it.
They just come out and have a good Nat of and we do cream tea
trips which are very popular. We do fish and chip trips which
are equally popular, but primarily we do 2 hour trips,
three hour, 5 hour and 8 hours. And the canal and your boat are
a fantastic resource for the town, aren't they?
Well, very much so. I think we're undervalued at
times, but people are getting to know us more now.
The festival here in Droit, which has traditionally ended
with a duck race with about 1500 plastic doves racing down
another soldier and. A few going round in circles.
497 lost the leader we. Have a winner.
All the adjudicators trying to get through the cow crowd to
find out 452 was the winner. 45. 2.
And the duck race brings to an end this bumper edition of the
Water Rd from the Saint Richard's Canal Festival in
Droitwich. The podcast is produced and
presented by me, Adam Porter. Don't forget, if you haven't
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