THE first Salt Towns' Rally brought festivities to Barons Quay on Thursday.

A celebration of Cheshire's famous salt industry and waterways, Northwich served as the rally's halfway point, sandwiched between events in Middlewich and Winsford.

Funded by the Northwich Business Improvement District (BID) and Barons Quay, the day featured the arrival of boats along the River Weaver and activities from noon until 7pm.

Artists performed through the day on a purpose-built stage, while children were entertained with a circus skills workshop, facepainting and a magic show.

The Hive and The River Weaver Navigation Society teamed up to organise the event – the first ever UK waterways’ boat rally to take in three events across three towns.

The event continues at the Offcut Festival this bank holiday weekend.

Damon Horrill, one of the organisers, said the rally sought to commemorate the area's history and heritage.

He said: “The idea of the three towns working together on projects such as this have been long discussed given the shared salt mining heritage and waterways linking Middlewich, Winsford, Northwich. Together the towns are known as The Weaver Valley.

“The Salt Towns’ Rally sets out to highlight the fantastic waterways that link the three towns whilst campaigning for a boat lift in Winsford to raise boats from the end of the Weaver to the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union Canal so as to create The Weaver Valley Ring of Water, which will become the most popular stretch of water in the country for leisure boaters and tourists.”

Lina Higuita, operations manager of Barons Quay, added: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to be involved with celebrating Cheshire's rich and local history.

“It’s so important to understand the incredible history of Northwich, which has made it the wonderful place it is. Such an interesting story should not be forgotten.”

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