Banbury boatyard hosts design a boat competition for kids during summer holidays

The “what floats your boat” competition is open to all local children aged between 4 and 11 and invites participants to come up with their most weird, wonderful, or wacky narrowboat designs.

The children will be able to use pens, paints, modelling clay, or recycling for junk modelling to bring their designs to life and potentially win the prize of a family trip on Tooley’s tour boat The Dancing Duck.

Tooley’s – alongside Orinoco Banbury, The Oxfordshire Scrapstore – is holding free creative workshop days on Wednesday August 10, and Thursday August 11 in the community pop-up space in Castle Quay, from 10 am until 4 pm.

To enter the competition, parents can email a photograph of their children’s designs to [email protected] before Friday August 26.

John Madden, chair of Tooley’s Boatyard Trust, said: “We can’t wait to see where the children’s imagination takes them, perhaps a dinosaur, unicorn, themes from around the world, cartoon characters, an aquatic friend for our Dancing Duck maybe, or even their take on the perfect houseboat.

“We are so privileged to have the historical gem that is Tooley’s Boatyard on our doorstep, we want to inspire the next generation to love our Great British Waterways and understand its heritage.”

Tooley’s Boatyard is open to visitors anytime between Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 1 pm with ‘Working Museum’ guided tours taking place on Saturdays.

For more information on Tooley’s and its tours visit Tooley's Boatyard website.