IWA National Festival facts for kids
The IWA National Festival & Boat Show run by the Inland Waterways Association is one of the key annual events on the United Kingdom's inland waterways. Generally referred to as the "National" it serves several functions:
- As a publicity vehicle for the IWA and inland waterways in general
- To raise funds for the IWA
- As a social gathering for boaters from around the country
- As a campaigning event
The four functions of the event are to some extent conflicting and in recent years the campaigning aspect has been somewhat separated by the creation of an annual "Campaign Cruise".
Arguably it is as a gathering of like minded people that the National has been most influential. The festival brings together people from all over the country who do not meet in numbers except on the festival site. The original decisions to form both the Waterway Recovery Group and the National Association of Boat Owners both arose out of informal discussions held at the National.
IWA National Festival sites
The statistics below are mainly taken from the IWA website but are incomplete. Some of these were called rallies rather than festivals and not all were national events.
The final column shows the overall membership of the IWA in the year in question.
| Year | National Rally Location | Waterway | # Boats | # Visitors | Membership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Market Harborough | Grand Union Canal (Leicester Branch) | 120 | 50,000+ | 800 | |
| 1951 | (no festival) | 1,300+ | ||||
| 1952 | Brecon | Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal | ||||
| 1953 | Macclesfield | Macclesfield Canal | ||||
| 1954 | ||||||
| 1955 | Skipton | Leeds and Liverpool Canal | ||||
| 1956 | Lincoln | Fossdyke Navigation | 100+ | 2,000 | ||
| 1957 | Coventry | Coventry Canal | ||||
| 1958 | ||||||
| 1959 | Chester | Shropshire Union Canal | ||||
| 1960 | Stoke on Trent | Trent and Mersey Canal | ||||
| 1961 | Aylesbury | Grand Union Canal | ||||
| 1962 | Stourbridge | Stourbridge Canal | ||||
| 1963 | Little Venice | Grand Union Canal, Paddington Branch | ||||
| 1964 | Stratford-upon-Avon | Upper Avon | ||||
| 1965 | Blackburn | Leeds and Liverpool Canal | ||||
| 1966 | Marple | Peak Forest Canal | 250 | |||
| 1967 | Leicester | Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section | 350 | 5,000 | ||
| 1968 | Liverpool | Leeds and Liverpool Canal | 170 | |||
| 1969 | Birmingham | Birmingham Canal Navigations | ||||
| 1970 | Guildford | River Wey | 380 | 50,000 | ||
| 1971 | Northampton | River Nene | 7,000 | |||
| 1972 | Lymm | Bridgewater Canal | 500 | 9,500 | ||
| 1973 | Ely | Great Ouse, Old West River | 255 | 30,000 | ||
| 1974 | Nottingham | River Trent | 600 | 12,000 | ||
| 1975 | York | River Ouse | ||||
| 1976 | Peterborough | River Nene | 142 | 33,000 | ||
| 1977 | Reading | River Thames | 370 | |||
| 1978 | Titford Pools | Titford Canal | 15,000 | |||
| 1979 | Northwich | River Weaver | 622 | 30,000 | 17,728 | |
| 1980 | Lea Valley | River Lee | 500 | 25,000 | 19,274 | |
| 1981 | Leeds | Aire and Calder Navigation | 410 | 18,838 | ||
| 1982 | Titford Pools | Titford Canal | 500 | 40,000 | ||
| 1983 | Wigan | Leeds and Liverpool Canal | 428 | 50,000 | ||
| 1984 | Hawkesbury | Coventry Canal | 661 | |||
| 1985 | Milton Keynes | Grand Union Canal | 514 | 30,000 | ||
| 1986 | Brentford | Grand Union Canal, Main Line | 450 | |||
| 1987 | Hawkesbury | Coventry Canal | 530 | 50,000 | ||
| 1988 | Castlefield | Bridgewater Canal | ||||
| 1989 | Waltham Abbey | River Lee | 525 | 50,000 | 22,000 | |
| 1990 | Gloucester | Gloucester and Sharpness Canal | 22,268 | |||
| 1991 | Windmill End | Dudley Canal Line No. 2 | 768 | 385,000 | ||
| 1992 | Wakefield | Aire and Calder Navigation, Wakefield section | ||||
| 1993 | Peterborough | River Nene | 487 | 78,000 | 19,167 | |
| 1994 | Waltham Abbey | River Lee | 17,730 | |||
| 1995 | Chester | Shropshire Union Canal Main Line | ||||
| 1996 | Windmill End | Dudley Canal Line No. 2 | 17,501 | |||
| 1997 | Henley | River Thames | 558 | 27,500 | ||
| 1998 | Salford Quays | Manchester Ship Canal | ||||
| 1999 | Worcester | River Severn | 16,869 | |||
| 2000 | Waltham Abbey | River Lee | 16,739 | |||
| 2001 | Milton Keynes | Grand Union Canal | 347 | 25,000 | ||
| 2002 | Huddersfield | Huddersfield Broad Canal | 191 | 17,544 | ||
| 2003 | Beale Park | River Thames | 567 | 32,000 | ||
| 2004 | Burton on Trent | Trent and Mersey Canal | 24,000 | |||
| 2005 | Preston Brook | Bridgewater Canal | 17,242 | |||
| 2006 | Beale Park | River Thames | 600 | 28,000 | ||
| 2007 | St Ives | Great Ouse | ||||
| 2008 | Autherley Junction | Shropshire Union Canal | 300 | |||
| 2009 | Red Hill | River Soar | ||||
| 2010 | Beale Park | River Thames | ||||
| 2011 | Burton on Trent | Trent and Mersey Canal | 360 | 25,000 | ||
| 2013 | Watford | Grand Union Canal |
