Going back for a Burton

摘要

With a fair wind it will be second time luckier for this year's Waterways Festival. Not that the last one at Burton upon Trent in 2004 wasn't a success, it was but the weather was decidedly autumnal As this year's date has moved from its traditional August Bank Holiday slot (and we all know what happens on bank holidays...) to the end of July there will, with a bit of luck, be much more sunshine on Shobnall Fields alongside the banks of the Trent & Mersey. Last time the Festival was at Burton it attracted some 24,000 visitors and had a distinct 1940s theme. This year it will go further back in time with Regia Anglorum, one of the country's leading re-enactment societies, setting up their encampment and demonstrating the way people lived and the skills they possessed in the 10th Century. Naturally the Saxons and Vikings will have a bit of a to-do in the arena at some stage. With the change in date, 29-31 July, there comes a change in days too: instead of the usual Saturday to Monday festival days, this year's event starts on the Friday and finishes on the Sunday.