Over the course of the weekend of 5th to 6th September 2026 nearly 600 visitors came to the wharf to take part in ACA’s Diamond Gathering. Aside from a heavy shower on Sunday, the weather was sunny and pleasantly warm throughout. Gates opened at 10 am and the event was formally opened on Saturday at 12 o clock by Paul Lees, the Chair of NWLDC. He arrived on the bow of Waterloo Sunrise accompanied by an accordionist.

Paul gave a brief speech outlining the history and aims of the restoration. As he stood on the stop gate, The Coat Tits, a folk group from Swadlincote, played a few tunes, which included a song they had penned specifically about the Ashby Canal. They performed a second set later in the afternoon.

Throughout both days RAM carried visitors to bridge 62 and back. The boat trips were essentially free of charge, but passengers were invited to drop a donation into the ACA’s Buckby can when they disembarked.

People mingled at the wharf, eating, drinking, reminiscing, inspecting the display of bricks and asking questions about the restoration plans at ACA’s mobile stand.  In general visitors were just glad to have an opportunity to meet up and be outside again without having to worry about the oppressive heat of the previous months. Shire Catering were rushed off their feet with food orders, as was the shop – so that the caterers could concentrate on cooking the food, we had decided on a voucher system, which meant that the BBQ food had to be purchased via the shop, making the shop busier than ever.

Sunday saw a raffle draw take place at 3 pm with three lucky winners.

Overall, the Diamond Gathering was a huge success, not least due to the unerring assistance of our volunteers. A substantial amount of money was taken in the shop and the feedback from the public, both in person and on social media, has been very positive.

In spite of the unseasonly cool weather for May, and the occasional heavy shower on the Sunday, it was a productive, busy and successful Moira Canal Festival for the ACA, with much interest shown in the canal. A sizeable amount of bric a brac was also sold.

The ACA held their AGM at Measham Leisure Centre on 14th April 2026 with 20 people in attendance. Chairman Peter Oakden reviewed the past year whilst Treasurer Bob Taylor outlined the financial position. The ACA committee had earlier proposed to raise the annual subscription rates for the first time in eleven years and these rate increases were ratified by those attending.

The AGM lasted 30 minutes and it was followed by an informative and witty talk by historian John Parry on Burton’s Trent Navigation in the 18th Century. Through the short-lived Bond End Canal, of which now only Horninglow Basin is in water, there was to be a direct connection with the original proposed route of the Ashby Canal.

The Chair of North West Leicestershire District Council, Paul Lees, accompanied by the Deputy Chair of NWLDC, Jenny Simmons, were in attendance for the official opening of the restored shop at Snarestone Wharf.

The shop front has been given a fresh look and made more sturdy with double-glazed windows and wooden panels, following storm damage earlier this year. The work has been carried out entirely by volunteers with the materials generously supplied by local businesses.

Before opening the shop Paul took time to admire the display of Buy-a-Bricks and find the brick donated by NWLDC.

After the ribbon had been cut the dignitaries, now accompanied by Wendy May, Principal Economic Development Officer for NWLDC, retired to the on-site office for a brief talk on the restoration by Peter Oakden and Orest Mulka from the ACA.

21 members and 4 non-members attended the AGM at Measham Leisure Centre. Chairman Peter Oakden outlined the current situation and gave a summary of the events that had taken place in the past year, assisted by the Honorary Life Member and former Treasurer, John Roddis, who was standing in the for absent Secretary.

The 30 minute AGM was followed by a return visit by Shirley Horton from The Magic Attic in Swadlincote. She gave a witty and informative presentation titled “Another One for the Road”. As the name suggests it was largely about local pubs and inns, the origins of their names and how they came to be located where they are.

Tom M., aka Droney Maloney, is resident on the Ashby Canal and has taken these atmospheric photos with his quad copter camera. You can see more of Tom’s work on the Ashby Canal Association Friends Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/210818989100866

As part of a series of walks through The National Forest, local residents Carol and Richard Higgott, have made a series of entertaining and informative short films tracing the route of the Ashby Canal between Moira and Shackerstone.

You can access their footage here:

Only a small number of supporters have been members of the IWA for fifty years or more. The ACA is a corporate member and this is reflected by a logo on our letterhead.

As a thank you for our support, and in recognition of our loyalty, the ACA has received a commemorative gold-coloured plaque in celebration of this anniversary.

Both the IWA and the ACA have changed in many ways since their inception, but at heart both parties continue to ensure the protection and restoration of our waterways for our future generations to enjoy.

The ACA looks forward to continuing to support the IWA over the coming years.

The Ilott Wharf Project

For the last 2 years the ACA has been working on the Archaeology and Social History of Ilott Wharf which is on the line of the Ashby Canal, just west of where the Gilwiskaw Aqueduct once stood.

Through the generosity of Lottery players we were given a grant of £10,000, to which we added £1000 of our own money. We have also put in many hours of voluntary work.

The purpose of the project was to find out what state the underground remains of the structures at the Wharf are in, with a view to possible future archaeology excavations before the canal is restored through the site. We also did a social history investigation: who lived there, what their lives were like, and what did they do on this industrial canal site.

What did we find? Basically, because of repeated destruction and vandalism on the site, there were no remains underground which would justify excavations. We used state of the art geophysics investigations: LIDAR, magnetometry and ground radar. Whilst disappointing, this result means that we can now go ahead with restoration.

In fact, there was one small corner of the site near the level crossing on Bosworth Road where we found some remains of walls and a street lamp, so ACA members and others were able to do some supervised archaeology.

The social history investigation was also successful. We traced several people who lived on the site in both the houses there. Amazingly, we managed to identify two people from the same family who lived there 60 years ago and had completely lost touch after the site was demolished in the 1960s after which the occupants went their different ways. Just like “This is your life”!

We have a film of some of the findings on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OtQJVfg2d_g

These are some of the photos which show what we did:

This is a map of the site a few years before the closure of Ilott wharf. You can see that the left arm of the canal had already been dewatered in the 1950s when Measham town lost its stretch of canal.

The lads putting up the sign at the car park at Ilott wharf. They had previously scrapped the car park so it could be used again.

The chute at Ilott wharf in about 1965, just before demolition and dewatering of the canal back to Snarestone Wharf. The trains from Measham Mine were backed up on the siding, and men shovelled the coal into narrowboats moored on the canal.

The engine used to pull the coal wagons crossing Bosworth Road just west of the old coaching inn.

Referring to the previous steam engine photo, Peter Oakden is seen here having excavated the base of the street lamp, with even the electricity cable sticking out of it.

Trains crossing the fields coming from Measham Mine (on the horizon), heading towards Ilott Wharf.

In 1965 the canal was dewatered. Just before it happened the Ashby Canal Association was formed in order to try to stop the closure. Sadly, the ACA failed, but one of the protests was by “Prince” seen here at Ilott Wharf, having just passed the gauging station.

This house, one of two at Ilott Wharf, had been a coaching inn on the Measham to Bosworth route. It was demolished in 1965. It belonged to the Coal Board and the last occupant was a manager from the mine.

The house in the background was the Ilott House which belonged to the Midland Railway Company, which also owned the canal. The little black shed in front of it was the tally shed where canal records were kept. Also shown are the loaded wagons on the raised siding and boats waiting to be filled.

This is a view from the east side of the aqueduct looking towards the gauging station. This was around 1965 and Ilott House had already been knocked down. Margaret Goodwin, the last tenant, remembers, that whilst they liked living there, the house had no electricity or running water. It was condemned as unfit.

Another view taken at around the same time. Ilott House has been demolished. The dilapidated tally hut is still there, as is the greenhouse seen in front of the tree.

Life on the Wharf

Although life was hard, there was fun to be had for children. In the background, there is a train on the siding, and the coal shute can be seen on the far left.

Margaret and Brian Goodwin outside Ilott House 60 years ago.

The Goodwins at Ilott wharf. The gauging station is in the background. They borrowed the canoe from Bill Bradford, the local carpenter and undertaker, who lived at Bosworth Grange just east of the aqueduct.