TO commemorate this year’s Remembrance Sunday, Cheshire’s Anderton Boat Lift will hold a service and release a cascade of poppy petals on November 10.
The service begins at 10.30am and the poppy cascade will take place at 11am. There is no charge to enter the Anderton Boat Lift’s site, owned by the Canal & River Trust charity, and be part of this commemoration.
The Remembrance Day service commemorates those who died in war and will be held by the banks of the River Weaver at the base of the Lift. The short service will include readings and prayers from Rev Neal Stanton and will end with the solemn bugle salute sounding the Last Post as thousands of poppies are released from the top of the 50ft Lift.
Poppy Cascade at Cheshire's Anderton Boat Lift to mark the centenary Armistice Day last year
Graham Wood, duty manager, said: “The Lift is widely known as the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’ and it is a very fitting setting to stand in quiet reflection and remember and honour those who suffered and died in war. Last year, to mark the Centenary Armistice Day, hundreds of people attended a special service and poppy cascade and we hope that as many people as possible, both young and old, will find the time to join us this year.”
The Duke of Normandy tug boat will sound the end of the two-minute silence. It is a tug boat with a chequered history that timely, includes the war years. It was built in 1934 in Oldenberg, Germany, before being taken over by British Forces in 1945. The majority of its post-war working life was spent in the Channel Islands and latterly, Scotland.
Visitors can buy refreshments in the Lift View Marquee and the Lift’s Treetop Coffee Shop will be selling fresh and affordable lunches. The Anderton Boat Lift, near Bunbury, is the world’s first successful boat lift and is a pinnacle of Victorian precision engineering. It is of such historical significance that it is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument, giving it the same protection status as Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.
As the event is due to take place out of season, boat trips along the River Weaver and through the Lift will not be running, but visitors can enjoy the exhibition area and the Lift’s terraced grounds for no charge. For the youngest visitors, there is a lift-themed play area.
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