HUNDREDS of people enjoyed the blistering early summer heat in Moira over the weekend to celebrate the 10th birthday of the village’s popular canal festival.
The annual festival saw dozens of boats and steam engines from across the country congregating at Moira Furnace.
One of the highlights of the popular festival included the very first tightrope walk over the Ashby Canal.
James MacPherson, from theatre group Artizani, left the gathered crowd on tenterhooks as he attempted the daring stunt, only ending in the water after a spectacular dive from the rope on his second attempt after encouragement from locals.
He told the Mail: “It was great fun. I was a bit nervous before but that’s the fun of it. You have to take that 10 or 15 seconds to shut everything out and focus. It was a nice way to publicise what we do.” Geoff Pursglove, organiser of the event, said the stunt was ‘really impressive’ and was absolutely delighted with the weather and the turnout for the festival’s 10th year.
He said: “The weather, the turnout – I’ve never seen it like that before. It took a lot of organising and we are already planning for next year.
“We can’t always organise the weather but it has been fantastic this year.” The grounds of the furnace were home to more than 100 soldiers of the Sealed Knot re-enactment society as they fought in the fictional Battle for Ashby Woulds.
Morris on Moira dancers were also a feature of the festival, as well as more than 80 other Morris dancers showing off their skills.
All proceeds from the festival go towards the restoration of the Ashby Canal.
Councillor Nigel Smith, leader of North West Leicestershire District Council, who was at the event on Saturday with wife Alison, said the canal needed promoting more.
“It was absolutely fantastic”, he said, “I’ve always said this canal is an asset to North West Leicestershire and we need to promote it a lot more.”
