Brownhills Canal Festival

Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August 2027: 10am to 4pm

The Brownhills Canal Festival is held on the third weekend of August each year, on the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Silver Street. The festival has floating traders, historic narrowboats, land traders and lots more.

Jump to: Attractions | location | parking | booking

How to find us

Location: Silver Street, Brownhills, WS8 6DZ | ///diplomas.fled.motion
Admission: free
Parking: see details

Attractions in 2026

Here’s the list of the attractions for 2026:

Floating traders

• Candles on the Cut: Handcrafted scented candles, melts, reed diffusers all made on narrowboat Free Spirit.
• Crooked Mouth Creatives: Innovative designs that challenge norms, spark conversations, and leave a lasting impression with laser engraved items, kitchenware plus 3D printed toys and gadgets.
• Nb Wakamatandoto: Eco-friendly cleaning products and handcrafted items.
• Over The Yarnarm: Yarn-knitted and crochet items, yarncraft and sewing supplies, fibre arts gifts and kits.
• Tikova Crafts: Handmade canal-inspired gifts, micro crochet jewellery and other handmade items.
• Vintage & Modern: An eclectic range of antique and vintage collectables along with hand crafted items
• Watery Art and Crafts: Handcrafted clay models tree fairy houses jewelry and more.
• Winty Crafts: Bespoke handcrafted crystal jewellery and resin shapes.

Floating foodie traders

• Curry Cruiser: Indian street food and meals (now on land)
• Three Sheep Cheese Boat: Cheese, chutney, crackers and a sparkling personality
• Wildside Preserves: Delicious hand made preserves, many including ingredients foraged from the towpath.

Historic boats

• Nutfield: Built by Yarwoods for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Co and launched in 1936. She was acquired by the Friends of Raymond in 2003, and returned to the traditional Blue Line CC colours, echoing her working days
• Raymond: The last wooden narrowboat built for commercial work in England and launched in 1958, Raymond was mainly used to carry coal from the Midlands to London. She was initially towed by the motor Roger and from 1968 by Nutfield, and then acquired by the Friends of Raymond in 2003.
• Roach: Built in 1935 by Fellows, Morton & Clayton, Roach is a 90‑year‑old working boat, and she’s still carrying today as a working fuel boat across Birmingham and the surrounding area.
• Nuneaton: Built in the mid‑1930s by W. J. Yarwood during the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company’s major fleet expansion. Now cared for and operated by Narrow Boat Trust. (Cancelled due to engine issues.)
• Brighton: Built in the mid‑1930s by Harland and Woolf, and like Nuneaton was part of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company’s major fleet expansion. Now paired with Nuneaton and cared for and operated by Narrow Boat Trust. (Cancelled due to engine issues.)

Land Traders

• Arty Craft: Plaster of Paris paint kits, gift clay hangers, porcelain shapes, pebble frames – all handmade and always made with love.
• Billy’s Dreams: One stop for crystals, incense and all your holistic needs.
• Champion Dog Shop: Quality natural dog treats, products and toys.
• Cow Home Ltd: Brownhills based business offering fragrance options for the home and body. Loved by many in Brownhills.
• Glitter & Henna Fest: Festival hair, head and body glitter – 100% Organic henna tattoos.
• Hillwood Gifts: Wooden ducks and other gifts for all occasions, bespoke designs made to order.
• Howard the Bodger: A wide range of vintage restored tools for use by craftsmen and the hobbyist and vintage hardware, together with a range of vintage hardware.
• Jen & Jane Elegant Treasures: Handmade bespoke jewellery and personalised engraving
• Larkspur Gemstone Creations: Handmade Gemstone & Silver Jewellery to suit all occasions and everyone.
• Lavinia’s mystical caves: Witches wares with unique handmade jewellery, beautifully smelling candles, lovely animal and greenmen heads.
• Light and Dark Crafts: Many items for both Light side and alternate dark side.
• Overthehook: Crochet gnomes, bees, chickens, turtles, bags.
• Poke Outpost: Selling Pokemon craft and all sorts in between (Sunday only).
• Pretty Little Beads (Handmade by Chole): Affordable jewellery for adults and children.
• ReVinylized: Upcycled vinyl records transformed into clocks, coasters and other items, plus band merch.
• Simple Elegance: Sewing items, pipe‑cleaner flower displays, clay jewellery and handmade cards.
• Teddy Tombola/pick a bag: A prize everytime teddy tombola, with punch balloons and pick a bag with toys
• The Bookery: Blind date with a book, bookmarks, reading accessories, handmade book and kindle sleeves
• The Crafty Fish: Crochet clothing, cross stitch gifts, slate coasters, 3D printing.
• The Fidget Box: 3D printed fidget toys, keyrings, gadgets and ornaments (Sunday only).

Foodie land traders

• Aunty Lane’s Rocky Road: Don’t assume you know Rocky Road, until you’ve tried Aunty Lanes Rocky Road!
• Carlie’s Bakes: Gluten free cakes and savouries with hot and cold drinks (Saturday only).
• Curry Cruiser: Indian street food and meals. Usually served by boat, but this time on land.
• Fairy Good Cakes: Come find the little pink van stocked to the max with lots of yummy treats!
• Super Whippy: Ice cream van
• Tslices: Hot drinks, light bite and sandwiches plus Sunday roast (Sunday only).

Charities and other organisations

• Lichfield & Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust: The reason we are all here! Do come and say hello to the team.
• Canal and River Trust: The UK’s largest canal charity, looking after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales.
• Friends of Raymond: A volunteer-led charity dedicated to preserving and showcasing two historic narrowboats: Raymond and Nutfield.
• Fund Britain’s Waterways / Chasing the Boats: Find out about the campaign to protect the public benefit and natural capital of the UK’s waterways, and browse the popular canal‑themed calendar.
• Men Walking and Talking Wednesfield: A men’s mental health walk, based in Wednesfield but part of the overall Men’s Walking and Talking Group.
• The Thomas Project: To raise funds to continue supporting vulnerable families in the area (Saturday only).
• 5th Brownhills Brownies and Rainbows: Hook-a-duck, bric-a-brac and books. (Sunday only)

Other attractions

• Brookhouse Shires: Ebony and Bailey the shire horses will be there for a meet and greet, bring them some carrots!
• Staffordshire Portable Amateur Radio Club: The group will be contacting people from across the world, come and find out who they speak to.
• Wild Actors: Hands-on photo opportunities with giant snakes, lizards, and an enormous frog! (Saturday only)
• Music by Simple Folk

Water activities

• Let’s Paddle with Bell Boat: A super‑stable, sociable paddling craft perfect for all ages, organised by Canal and River Trust.
• The Canal Shopping Trolley Challenge: Every week Canal and River Trust has to remove scores of trollies out of the water – now the tables have turned – see if you can rise to the challenge and pull a full sized shopping trolley back up from the depths of the canal.

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Parking

The nearest parking is kindly provided by Tesco, please ensure you check the parking restrictions.
Other car parks are available near by. Visit Parkopedia for more information.

Booking for traders:

Booking will open in January 2027: Booking information and forms