Visitors to Ripon Canal now have a permanent reminder of its long history after a plaque was unveiled at the weekend to mark its 250th anniversary.

The canal basin off Bondgate Green/Boroughbridge Road, was bathed in warm sunshine on Saturday as groups, organisations and members of the public were invited to a festival to celebrate one of the city’s hidden gems.

In addition to the formalities, carried out by the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Sid Hawke, there were displays by organisations including Ripon Civic Society, the Canal & River Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, Inland Waterways Association and Ripon YMCA.

All have a keen interest in the canal for reasons ranging from built heritage to wildlife habitats and use of the waterway as a leisure and wellbeing asset.

Lizzie Dealey, partnerships manager for the Canal & River Trust, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s remarkable to think how this waterway, which lay derelict for decades after the arrival of the railways, has been transformed, through the efforts of so many people, into a treasured facility.

“There are now more boats on our canals than at the height of the Industrial Revolution, with more than 10 million people using the network each year.”

Those who visited the Ripon Canal Basin on Saturday as part of the free Heritage Open Days programme which runs until Sunday (September 17) were treated to some free entertainment provided by a team of Appalachian clog dancers (pictured above)  before a performance by Ripon singer/songwriter Freddie Cleary. 

Nigel Rawlinson, president of Ripon Civic Society

And people who wanted to find out more about the canal’s heritage were able to speak with Nigel Rawlinson, the president of Ripon Civic Society and Richard Willis, the owner of Ripon Scenic Cruises and a former secretary of Ripon Canal Society.

Both societies played key roles in the canal’s protection and restoration between the 1980s and 1996.

The unveiling of the plaque was carried out by the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Sid Hawke, attended by Mayoress Ms Linda Hawke along with Lizzie Dealey, partnerships manager of the Canal & River Trust and event organiser Richard Willis, owner of Ripon Civic Cruises, which operates on the waterway.

Read more:

• Free Heritage Open Days in the Harrogate District
• Celebrating 250 years of Ripon Canal

Fundraising for 15-year-old Liza Bartienieva, who was orphaned following a tragic accident that claimed the lives of her mother, brother and half sister, received a £4,000 boost at Ripon’s Black Swan over the weekend.

Regulars of the Westgate pub and members of the wider community dug deep to support the teenager, whose father also died earlier this year.

But there was disappointment when it was discovered that an anonymous donation of £10,000 to the GoFundMe page set up for her will not be added to the fund.

Donna Chilcott who set up the page, which has received more than 1,300 donations, told the Stray Ferret:

“I have been contacted by GoFundMe and told that the person who donated the £10,000 has retracted their donation.

“This is disappointing, but we have still raised more than £31,000, which is an incredible amount in less than a week and when you consider that the initial target set was £3,000.”

Saturday’s fundraiser at the Black Swan raised £4,000.

She added:

“Working alongside Sara and Kelly Hirst who run the Black Swan, we achieved this through the generosity of the Ripon community, businesses and regular pub customers and we cannot thank them enough for their kindness.”

Freddie Cleary

The money raised at the pub’s fundraiser will be added to the GoFundMe page which stood at £27,331 this morning.

Kelly Hirst, added:

“The situation that Liza faces has captured the hearts of the people of Ripon and everyone that we approached wanted to help by either donating prizes for the raffle that we held or by putting money in the donations bucket that we had on the bar.”

Live music was part of Saturday’s event and among the performers was Ripon singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary, who donated more than £600 to the GoFundMe page raised while busking in the city.

Liza has been looked after by a Ripon family since the accident occurred on Sunday September 3.

Read more:

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Ripon-based singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary will provide the entertainment when The Salvation Army holds its Yorkshire Day celebration next week.

The event on Tuesday August 1, is being held in the church hall on Lead Lane from 10am until 2pm and is free to attend.

Church leader Pat Clark, said:

“We hosted a Yorkshire Day celebration pre-pandemic and it proved a great success, so we decided to organise another one this year.”

She added:

“It’s a way of reminding all members of the local community that we are here for them all year round, not just as an emergency service for those who find themselves in difficulties.

“On the day there will be lots of reasonably priced refreshments including home-made cakes, sausage rolls and sandwiches, scones provided by Morrisons and icecream.”

In addition to the refreshments,  brand new or good as new gifts, household items and toys will be on sale and there will be a uniform swap.

Families wanting to be involved in the swap are asked to take good clean items of uniform to the church hall in advance  of Yorkshire Day. The hall is open from Monday to Wednesday between 9:30 am and 3 pm.

Musicians busked in the bright Bank Holiday sunshine in Ripon as performers in many different musical genres attracted extra footfall to the city’s streets.

The Ripon Indie event, organised by independent traders and featuring a host of highly-talented local and regional artists, was supported by Ripon Business Improvement District.

There was a large gathering on Kirkgate, where performers included the rock band Time Machine (main picture) and singer-songwriter Alannah Creed, pictured below.

The day also featured a Little Bird Artisan Market in the city centre which, alongside the musical entertainment and a team of Bollywood-style dancers, brought hundreds of people in to Ripon.

Buskers were strategically placed in Market Square, Westgate, North Street and The Arcade and their music acted as a magnet to those wishing to follow the busking trail.

Popular Ripon performers Lily Worth (above) and Freddie Cleary (below) were among the entertainers who showed the depth of young musical talent that the city boasts.

Yesterday’s event proved a natural follow-on from the successful street party held on Kirkgate on Easter Monday, which ran under the umbrella of the independents’ Totally Locally Campaign backed by Ripon BID.

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Thousands of people lined the streets of Ripon to watch the return of the historic St Wilfrid’s Procession.

It was a party atmosphere as the crowds clapped and cheered as the parade made its way around the city, which is celebrating its 1,350th anniversary.

Led by an actor on horseback playing the role of St Wilfrid, the parade was accompanied by the award-winning Ripon City Band.

An actor on horseback playing the role of St Wilfrid.

It featured a colourful assortment of decorated floats, with designs created by businesses and organisations, including Bishopton Vets, Ripon Farm Services and Winksley cum Grantley Young Farmers Club.

You can watch a video of the procession on the Stray Ferret Facebook page here.

The parade was unable to go ahead in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Bishopton Vets’ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory float.

But it was back in force today, with a total of 16 floats taking part.

Antony Prince, chairman of the St Wilfrid’s Procession Committee, said:

“It has been a huge success. It’s fantastic that it is able to take place again.

“The community and public have really got behind it. There is no procession without all the people who put it together. They are all volunteers and all the money raised goes back into keeping it going.

“The weather has held off and it is just fabulous to get the community back together again.”

Ripon Farm Services’ Top Gun float.