Trade & Preview Day

Friday 22 May 2026

In association with

Exclusive early access to the Show

For just 1,000 pre-booked visitors, the gates to Crick Boat Show open a day early with a Trade & Preview Day before the three days on which the Show is fully open (Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May 2026). 

This exclusive day will take place on Friday 22 May 2026. Preview Day tickets are available only by booking in advance and not at the Show gate  – so book early to make sure you’re one of the 1,000.

Buy Tickets »

Trade Ticket applications (free to qualifying waterway related businesses) open in March 2025.

Why come to Crick Boat Show on Preview Day?

With no crowds, Preview Day gives you the opportunity to talk in-depth with companies offering equipment and services for inland boating and to see the boats, before everyone else.

To add to your enjoyment of the day, you will receive a free hot drink and access to the VIP marquee and can pick up a Show Gift Bag on arrival. 

The Show is open to Preview Day ticket holders from 10 am to 6pm on Friday 22 May.

All boats - boatbuilder and brokerage, all quayside and boating-related companies in the Show Village and most of the Waterways World Boating Marquee will be fully open on Friday 22 May. The Food & Craft Marquee, an area of the Show Village reserved for general traders and charities, and a the full Boating Marquee will open on Saturday 23 May.

Trade Tickets

Trade registrations are now open.

If you are a boating or waterway-related businesses, do not already receive emails about Crick Boat Show, and you wish to apply for Trade Tickets to Trade & Preview Day on Friday 23 May, please email cricktradetickets@wwonline.co.uk, giving your company name and brief information about your business.

For pre-registered Trade visitors, the Show will be open on Friday 23 May 10am – 6pm. 

All trade visitors will require formal accreditation in advance and will be issued individual name badges, which are not transferrable.

Who can apply for Trade Ticket?

Real Ale and Cider Festival - sponsored by

Following the enormous success of previous years there will once again be a Real Ale and Cider Festival in the The Crick Tavern marquee at Crick Boat Show. Sponsored by Lee Sanitation, this year you can enjoy the choice of 49 cask ales, as well as ciders, perries and gins.

This year, in a bid to reduce plastic waste and be more environmentally friendly, the bar will be running a cup return scheme for all ale and cider sales. This allows you to pay for a plastic souvenir pint cup which can be hygienically cleaned between each use. Choose to take it home or return it for a refund.

Remember - the widest range of beers and ciders will be available on Saturday and Sunday, so don't leave it too late to visit The Crick Tavern the for the greatest choice.

There will be live music in The Crick Tavern each afternoon and evening with headline tribute bands on Saturday and Sunday nights.

View Beer Menu

Crick Music Festival

Crick is proud to be Britain's biggest inland waterways festival, but the Crick experience wouldn't be complete without a full weekend of live music entertainment. Enjoy a wide selection of music performed in the Crick Tavern Marquee in the afternoon and evening. On Saturday and Sunday, the evenings build to the appearance of a headline act.

Entry to the evening entertainment is included in the price of your ticket - making a trip to Crick Boat Show incredible value for money.

Headline Acts for 2026 will be announced here soon.

Check back here for details of our Saturday and Sunday night headline music acts and full music schedule as we get closer to the show. 

Boat Handling Taster Courses

If you have been hankering to own a canal boat or try a boating holiday but are nervous about how to navigate the waterways, the Boat Handling Taster Sessions at Crick Boat Show 2026 are an ideal way to build confidence and get a feel for what’s involved. They are also useful for anyone who may want to refresh their skills after a break from boating. The Sessions are 2 hours long and take place throughout the weekend, expertly led by RYA accredited trainers, Watercraft and Narrow Boat Skills Centre.

Sessions will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The trainer will talk you through the basics of casting off, mooring up, boat etiquette, rope handling, breaking down boat jargon as well as the dreaded lock navigation! There’ll be an opportunity to take the tiller and steer the boat under the supervision of an experienced boater.

Each session can accommodate up to four people, so the whole family can enjoy the waterways together (children must be aged 12 and over). Bookings of fewer than four people will share the session with others booked on to the session.

Places are extremely limited, so advance booking is recommended to avoid disappointment. Sessions are £45 per person and take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

Bookings will open in February 2026.

Boat Handling Taster Sessions are provided by RYA accredited Training Centres Watercraft and Narrowboat Skills Centre

Seminars

Boat Ownership Seminars

Whether you're just considering getting afloat, a novice or a seasoned boater, there is a seemingly endless amount to be learned about boat ownership and boating. Mark Langley, Technical Editor of Waterways World, hosts a series of Seminars to support both new and experienced boaters.

Seminars will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday;

Seminars are designed to cover the most pertinent questions to consider when

• buying a new or second hand boat
• designing a new boat or refitting an older one
• designing, improving and maintaining electrical systems for best performance
• reducing your impact on the environment with green boating
• living afloat
• maintaining your boat - its engine and services; upgrades and safety

All talks are followed by an open question and answer session.

For more information on these talks click on the button below.

Boat Ownership Seminars »

See Seminar timetable »

Guarantee your front row seats at the Seminars

The seminars at Crick Boat Show are completely free to attend. However, as the seminars can get very busy you can guarantee a seat near the front of the Seminar Theatre by reserving a place at the Show Information Point for a nominal fee of £1. Bookings can be made ONLY ON THE DAY of the seminar, and are on a first-come, first-served basis and close 20 minutes before the Seminar starts.

Favourite Boat in Show - sponsored by

The Favourite Boat in Show award is a tradition of Crick Boat Show. The competition is sponsored by insurance company Haven Knox-Johnston. 

The winner is determined by a public vote that takes place during the show at the Haven Knox-Johnston marquee on the Quayside and an expert judging panel. Only completed boats are eligible for consideration.

2025 Winner

1st place: Norton Canes  – Vampirate

Runner up:  Braidbar Boats  – Daisy, No. 213

3rd place: Ovation Boats - Breaking Bad

See list of past winners »

Masterclasses

Come to a Masterclass to learn from the experts...

Running throughout the weekend of Crick, Masterclass talks gives those considering a boat purchase or current boat owners looking to upgrade their boat’s fitments the advice and confidence they need to make the right decisions. The Masterclasses are led by exhibitors, providing expertise in their field. Each talk is no longer than 20 minutes with time for Q&A’s after.

Nearer to the time of the show you will find information about the Masterclasses taking place at the 2026 Show below.

Historic Boats

Sponsored by Norton Canes

Each year a number of historic boats make the journey to be part of Crick Boat Show and in 2025 we had a total of nine historic boats joining us:

The boats on display are owned by members of the Historic Narrow Boat Club, which works to preserve the working heritage of UK canals from the boats themselves to details of the waterways on which they travel. We are grateful to them for their support in making it possible to bring so many boats.

Lamprey

Built in 1934 by W. J. Yarwood and Sons of Northwich for Birmingham-based carrier Fellows Morton and Clayton, Lamprey was one of a batch of boats powered by 9hp Bolinders and named after fish. Lamprey was one of very few motorboats to carry a forecabin, but this was removed in 1953 when the boat was purchased by the British Transport Commission (Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, North West Division Fleet). 

Lamprey was later hired to Willow Wren Transport Services and Anderton Canal Carrying Company and continued to be used as a carrying boat, before being abandoned in the early 1970s. In 1979 she was sold into private ownership and was restored at Ellesmere Port by Ian Kemp.

Lamprey came into its current ownership in 2012 and has since been undergoing further restoration and was awarded the HNBC’s Hemelryk Award in 2020.

Sandbach

First seen at the 2022 Show, Sandbach makes a welcome return to Crick this year.

Sandbach was built in 1946 for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS), which owned the Trent & Mersey and Shropshire Union canals at the time.

One of a pair of tug/icebreakers built with wheel steering and a wheelhouse by W J Yarwood & Sons of Northwich. Sister tug was Beeston, both built 25ft long, although Sandbach was lengthened to 35ft less than a year later. 

On the nationalisation of the waterways in 1948, Sandbach was transferred to the British Transport Commission (later British Waterways Board) as part of the maintenance fleet, based initially in Middlewich, and later (by the 1970s) on the River Weaver. 

Later abandoned and sunk, she was rescued by Malcolm Braine in 1982, and restored at Norton Canes. The original engine was a Russell Newbery DM2 but now has a 1953 Bolinder 1052, (two cylinder 23 hp).

Purton

Purton makes a welcome return to the Show. 

Built by W. J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd at Northwich Cheshire in September 1936. Purton is one of 38 all-steel motors known as a Large Northwich built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd.

Her fleet number was 162. Originally fitted with a National diesel, Purton was re-engined in 1962 with the present Lister HA2 and also shortened to her present length of 57ft 6 in by British Waterways at Knottingley Yorkshire where she worked until 1989. Purton then went into private carrying with West Riding Canal Carriers until she was purchased on the Kennet and Avon Canal by the current owners in 1998, since when time a considerable amount of work has been carried out throughout the boat.

Purton was originally paired with butty Purley, one of 62 built by Walkers of Rickmansworth.

Aldgate

After nationalisation in 1948, Aldgate was transferred to the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive of the British Transport Commission (later British Waterways) and leased to Willow Wren Canal Transport Services. Working in the South Eastern division until well into the sixties, Aldgate was at one time paired with the butty Brighton working up to Whitworths flour mills at Wellingborough with Ron Green as steerer. After the decline of Willow Wren she was sold to Alfred Matty & Sons of Oldbury, and used on the phosphorus waste run from Allbright & Wilson to Dudley Port. Following Alfred Matty's death, Aldgate was abandoned on a disused arm in Oldbury and allowed to sink.

She was recovered in the early 1980s by Steve Priest, and after substantial rebuilding was sold to P. Ayres who used her, trading as Colne Valley Carriers. In 2007 Aldgate and Angel were bought as a pair by Nick Wolfe, whose care, time and money (aided by a grant from the Register of National Historic Ships) has brought Aldgate to the condition she is in today. Nick now works Aldgate under the name Nick Wolfe Canal Carrying. Aldgate parted company with Angel in 2008 but the two boats can occasionally be seen together at Badseys Wharf, Hillmorton.

Technical data: length 71ft 6in; width 7ft 0.5in; draft: 3ft (empty), 4ft plus (loaded); gauged for 41 tons; engine - air cooled Petter PD 2 (20hp @ 1500rpm); gearbox -  Parsons 3:1

Sculptor

Crick stallwart Sculptor is maintained by Friends of the Canal Museum who will be at the Crick Boat Show to talk to visitors about the history of the boat and canal carrying.

A Small Northwich motor boat by W.J. Yarwood, Sculptor was built in 1935. It was registered on 5th May 1936 and its cabin was described as a dwelling to accommodate 'three persons or man, woman and two children'. It was paired with butty Toucan and delivered to the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company as part of a fleet of 12 pairs. Sculptor and Toucan began their cargo carrying days taking general goods from the Midlands to London.

Sculptor was commissioned by the Ministry of War Transport department in 1943 to be used as a fire fighting facility based on the Grand Union Canal in Greenford, Middlesex. The alterations made to accommodate pumps are still evident on its hull.

After the end of the war Sculptor was returned to the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company and in 1948, when the canals were nationalised, was passed to the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive's South Eastern Carrying Fleet where extensive work was carried out on the boat's bottom and keelson. Shortly after it became a maintenance boat for the Engineering Department at Northwich. Its engine was replaced in 1960 with a 2-cylinder air-cooled Lister HB2 diesel engine.

Sculptor retired from the maintenance fleet in 1985 and was restored at Ellesmere Port, returning to its Grand Union Canal Carrying Company black and red wartime livery. Since 1986 the boat has been located at the Canal Museum in Stoke Bruerne as a floating exhibit. In 2012 it was re-bottomed with a wooden hull and is now one of very few composite boats in existence.

Renfrew

GUCCCo ‘Big Northwich’ town class Motor Narrowboat

Renfrew was built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company by Yarwoods at Northwich and launched in October 1936, fleet number 165, paired with butty ROMSEY.

Renfrew worked for the GUCCCo, DIWE, BWB and Willow Wren up to 1965. In1968 she was purchased by Blue Line Canal Carriers who rebuilt the cabin and fitted the Lister HB2 engine. Finally she towed the wooden LUCY on the Jam Ole coal run. In 1970 she transferred to a family who used her for 40 years for camping trips. In 2011 the present owners returned her to carrying. She has carried elm and oak timber for use in the restorations of LUCY, CLENT and JAMES LOADER.

Between 2012 and 2014 she was chartered by the Dog Kennel Hill Project for their experimental dance show “TUG”, in Nottingham, Watford, Kings Cross and Sale.

The present livery is from the new ‘Wonka’ film, when we spent six weeks working for Warner Brothers on the River Thames at Goring and Culham. Much money was spent on carpentry, painting, filming, safety, catering, lighting, for less than a minute’s appearance. Photographs from the filming are displayed on the boat.

Effingham

Effingham was one of the first boats to be built to 6ft 10" beam, which allowed passage through bulging locks awaiting rebuilding! She is one of the Admiral class of boats, built at Northwich by Pimblotts in 1959. Effingham was considered to be modern, having opening portholes, toilet and electric lighting throughout.

The hold was covered in cloths laid over hoops and secured with chocks. The hull design is a hydrostatic curved bluff bow. This unique design allowed the vessel to carry a maximum load of up to 29 tons on a badly maintained canal, by creating a bow wave which forced water under the craft, lifting the stern and assisting prop throughput.

Following her rescue as a sunk boat in 2007, major restoration processes have been completed including a new bottom and footings to the side plates, replica boatmans cabin and most recently new stern tunnel bands. Effingham was bought by the current owners in December 2019 and they are continuing her preservation.

Cyprus

Cyprus was built in 1935 by W.J. Yarwood & Sons at their yard on the River Weaver in Northwich, Cheshire. She entered service with the Erewash Canal Carrying Company on 26th September 1935, alongside her butty Cedar. A second pair, Elm and Ash, completed the order—remarkably, all four boats survive today. As the other three boats are named after trees, it has been speculated that Cyprus may have been intended as Cypress, though the reason for the naming remains unknown. Constructed from a mix of steel and wrought iron, Cyprus was hot-riveted throughout and originally fitted with a 3” elm bottom, now replaced in steel. Her hull, engine room, and rear cabin remain largely original. At £2,506 per pair, the boats exceeded their £2,440 tender. Shorter than the GUCCC “Stars,” the Erewash boats were built a foot shorter to suit a River Soar lock. In 2009, a near-original National DM2 engine was reinstated. Cyprus now carries her historic 1935 livery, with a converted hold beneath the cloths.

Bristol

Bristol is a Large Woolwich motor, originally built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company (GUCCC) and paired with butty Brighton. She entered service in the late 1930s and was transferred to Willow Wren in January 1962, renamed Dipper, and underwent significant repairs including re-bottoming and re-footing by British Waterways. Her original National engine was removed during this period and replaced with a Lister HB2, which remains serviceable. In the late 1960s, she joined the Black Prince hire fleet, gained a full-length cabin conversion, and reverted to the name Bristol. The hire conversion preserved her structure well until she passed into private hands in the 1980s as a leisure boat. Under current ownership, she has been returned to carrying condition. Her original wooden back cabin has been replaced with a historically accurate steel replica by Braunston Boats Ltd, and her back cabin and fittings have been finely refitted by the present owner, a skilled cabinetmaker.

Free Boat Trips

Sponsored by ABC Boat Hire

At Crick Boat Show, visitors can take a free trip out onto the water to experience the Grand Union Canal on one of our trip boats. Trip boats run every 10 minutes from 10.10am each day of the show and each trip lasts 30 minutes. 

All trips are run by LNBP Community Boating who will be collecting small donations.

This is a popular attraction, so we advise that you book your free trip at the Trip Boats Marquee on the Quayside soon after you arrive at the show. 

Find out more about LNBP Community Boating

The Crick Snug

On Saturday and Sunday evenings the VIP Marquee will transform into The Crick Snug - a quiet, music-free bar for those who wish to enjoy an evening apart from the bustle and live music entertainment in the much larger Crick Tavern marquee. The Crick Snug is open to all, serving a smaller range of real ales, wines, ciders and soft drinks.

The Waterways World VIP marquee

The Canal & River Trust Marquee

We look forward to welcoming visitors to our Marquee to find out about the recreation, health, and wellbeing opportunities available on our waterways.  And to learn about ways to support our #ActNowForCanals campaign, ensuring our network is secured for the benefit of current and future generations.

At Crick 2023, the Canal & River Trust Marquee hosted a ‘national treasures’ exhibition, shining a light on the 2,000 miles of historic and natural treasures in our care. We’ll have some examples on display of the 15,000 historic artefacts in our collection, as well as archive images.  And, following extensive restoration work, the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne’s historic working boat ‘Sculptor’ will be moored in the Marina for visitors to see.

We’ll be providing extra information on our local East Midlands waterways.  Stretching for over 295 miles, these ‘national treasures’ include 11 reservoirs, over 1,700 bridges, culverts and locks, and two major visitor destinations - Foxton Locks and the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne.

Visitors to the Canal & River Trust Marquee will also be able to try their hands at traditional canal arts, see how a lock works and find out what it takes to care for this fragile, aging network. There will be opportunities to talk to members of our boating, East Midlands and Museums teams, including some of our volunteers.

For more information about the work of the Canal & River Trust, go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk, call us on 03030 404040 or email customer.services@canalrivertust.org.uk

You can find out more about Canal & River Trust in this short video:

Find out more about Canal & River Trust

For Children

Free entry for children

There is free entry for children on Saturday 23, Sunday 24 and Monday 25 of the Crick Boat Show 2026 so bring along the whole family on these days, and pay only for the adults, providing excellent value for parents, grandparents and carers.

There is no free entry for children on the Trade and Preview Day (Friday 22 May 2026) so if you wish to bring children on this day, they will need a ticket to enter the Show.

Children's activities

In the Children's Area of the Show Village there will be inflatables.

Canal & River Trust will be providing many fun activities for all ages in the Canal & River Trust marquee.