NATION’S FAVOURITE BLOOMING BOATS ANNOUNCED

31 August 2017

NATION’S FAVOURITE BLOOMING BOATS ANNOUNCED

Across the country thousands of votes have been cast for the nation’s favourite flower-filled boats in the Canal & River Trust’s inaugural Boats in Bloom awards, and the winners have been decided.

From a strong shortlist chosen from boats and gardens nominated by waterway lovers, the public voted for their favourite in six different categories. The winners are:

Most flower-filled boat: ‘Imojean’ in Blisworth Marina, Northampton
Most edible boat: ‘Lucky 13’ in Watford
Most inventive use of space: ‘Dreamcatcher’, travelling in London
Best wildlife friendly garden: ‘Trespassers Watch’ in Cosgrove Marina, Milton Keynes
Best towpath business in bloom: ‘Herbacious’ (The Herb Boat), travelling in the south east
Best towpath garden: ‘Meg Merrilies’ in Hockley Port, Birmingham

Photos of the winners can be seen on the Trust’s website here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/features/boats-in-bloom/the-boats-in-bloom-shortlist

The competition was organised by the Canal & River Trust, the charity that works with local communities to look after the waterways for people to enjoy.

Matthew Symonds, boating manager at the Canal & River Trust, said: “If you walk along any towpath you’ll be likely to find a beautiful boat festooned with flowers, bringing a little bit of extra joy to the waterways. We wanted to say thank you to these gardeners with our Boats in Bloom awards. It’s been fantastic to see how blossoming boats have captured the public’s imagination, and hopefully provided some inspiration too!

“The waterways are a wonderful place to come and relax and at the Canal & River Trust we work hard to keep them open for people to enjoy. If you’ve caught the canal bug there are plenty of opportunities to get involved, from adopting a local stretch of waterway to getting involved in some of our local volunteering groups – visit our website to find out more. You could find yourself creating your own towpath garden!

“The canals wouldn’t be such entrancing places without the little – and larger – efforts the people who love them make. Boats in Bloom is celebrating the green-fingered boaters and waterside gardeners who help to bring them to life – thank you to everyone who has raised a smile with their planting.”

The charity’s lock keepers and other staff and volunteers, who look after 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales, have also been presenting colourful certificates to anyone whose boat or waterside planting is putting a smile on the faces of passers-by.

Volunteering opportunities are available on the Trust’s website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer

Twitter: #boatsinbloom

ENDS

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