Narrowboats everywhere. I don't think the Great Ouse has ever seen so much steel! It did make for a carnival atmosphere. It was nice to see some colourful boats, it made a change from white GRP!

The view downstream approaching the festival site. There must have been half a mile of moored boats, sometimes rafted up to six deep. As you can see the weather was beautiful, which must have come as a great relief to the organisers after all the rain.

What can I say, more boats!

Obviously the pride and joy of their owners, judging by the gleaming brass and copper. Lovely to look at, but we'll stick to a petrol engine...

A row of steam powered boats that were temporarily moored at our marina for the duration of the festival. It was great to watch them set off in procession on the opening day.

Some of the many cruisers attending this year's festival, many of these are local boats. It was nice to see some GRP amongst all the steel.

The first day of the festival was more like Glastonbury than a boat show. Some people dispensed with footwear and just plugged barefoot through the quagmire! A lot of the exhibitors had buckets of water so people could wash their feet before boarding the boats! We chose to remain booted, so were forever taking them off and putting them on again.

Another shot of the mud. Notice how everybody is looking at their feet as they walk. The situation was vastly improved by the second day, thanks to the hard work of the organisers and a good dose of hot sunshine.

This was the boat maintenance marquee. All diesel though, so not much use to us Seawolf owners!

The rather delicious bhajis and dahl served up by Kent and East Sussex Canal Restoration Group on their stall at the festival. Cheap, delicious and for a good cause!

A bird in the hand... This handsome specimen was proving quite an attraction with the festival goers. The falconry display was one of the events held in the main ring. The raptor stars didn't always give Oscar winning performances. The flying display was at times more of a perching display!

Something to keep the kids amused.

View of the illuminated boat parade from the Dolphin pub. A good crowd of people gathered to watch this. Of particular note were the little Wilderness Beaver boats pirouetting with great agility.

Nice Beaver! The Wilderness Boat Owners Club had a strong presence at the festival. I think these Wilderness Beavers are now being manufactured again.

It might not be a steamer, but it certainly has a paddle. This is one of the local St Ives boats.

We want one! This Polish-built Aqualine Canterbury wide-beam boat is seriously making us consider a lifestyle change! This wasn't the biggest widebeam narrowboat on show, but the size is ideal for the Gt Ouse, as the 10' 6" beam will go through all the locks. The build quality was fantastic, even Mr Freeman would approve. We'd still keep Cassie though!

Aqualine interior #1 The quality of the fit-out is evident in this picture of the galley. Granite and solid wood as standard! Photo from Aqualine website, see the links section for details.

Aqualine interior #2 The ingenious dining table folds away into the cupboard, along with the chairs. Photo from Aqualine website, see the links section for details.

Aqualine interior #3 Not a wire out of place. The quality of this wiring job has to be seen to be believed. Whoever did this takes a great pride in their work. Photo from Aqualine website, see the links section for details.

Aqualine interior #4 The luxurious bathroom Photo from Aqualine website, see the links section for details.