Foxton Canal Museum

21st June 2025 | Local History, What's On

The Museum’s new summer exhibition, ‘Ingenuity and Vision’, explores the remarkable story of the 1950 Market Harborough ‘Festival and Rally of Boats.’ Held just five years after the end of World War II, this event brought together over 50 boats, campaigners and enthusiasts, in a bold celebration of Britain’s inland waterways.

Marking the 75th anniversary, the exhibition offers a fresh look at this important event through rarely seen archive footage, historic photographs, personal accounts, and memorabilia. Learn how this gathering in Market Harborough helped change the future of the waterways.

Included with museum admission, the exhibition runs until Saturday, 28 September. Join a guided tour of the ‘Foxton Inclined Plane’, a feat of Victorian engineering, on one of our regular tours. Led by knowledgeable volunteers, these tours offer insight into how this pioneering boat lift once operated, and its lasting significance.

Tours run: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm. Starting from outside the museum.

Please note: all our guides are volunteers, and tours may need to be cancelled. We recommend calling ahead to check availability.

Visit: www.foxtoncanalmuseum.org

Penny Arscott