Sawley Waterside & Marina

FREE ENTRY | FREE PARKING | FREE VISITOR MOORINGS*

We’ve got your late August Bank Holiday Saturday plans all sorted, with a fun-filled day of live music, kids entertainment, local arts & craft traders, floating traders, food vendors and, of course, lots of boating chat! This event is open to everyone, whether you’re a boater or non-boater, join us for some fun by the water. And the best bit, all the proceeds will go to Young Lives Against Cancer and Pasic.

There’s plenty happening throughout the day for everyone to enjoy, from tucking into some delicious food to watching the Derbyshire Fire Service demonstrations to listening to live music and just soaking up the great community atmosphere, and if you’re a boater - our team will be on hand to chat about moorings and buying or selling a boat.

Find your perfect mooring

It’s the perfect opportunity for those of you looking for a marina for you and your boat to come down and explore. We’ll be doing marina tours throughout the day, and you can meet the crew and select your new mooring space. Sawley Marina has a cracking community spirit, so come and immerse yourself in what it’s like to moor here.

Free visitor moorings*

We have a limited number of complimentary visitor moorings available from Friday, 25^th August, to Monday, 28th August 2023. Subject to availability and must be pre-booked by calling 0115 9077 400

View our boats for sale 

We’ve got over 20 boats for sale in our basin at Sawley, so if you’re in the market for a new boat, pop down and take a look inside our pre-owned narrowboats and cruisers and our brand-new fully-fitted luxury 60ft narrowboat – The Fareham and 60ft wide beam - The Hampton. Our team of brokers will be on hand to give advice and answers any questions. Plus, if you’re new to boating, you won’t want to miss our 15-minute Boat Talks, taking place throughout the day in our Chandlery.

Talk to us about our Floating Homes

Our experts on floating homes will be on-site to answer all your questions about a unique way to live on the water, and you can book to view our show home at Crick Marina in Northampton.

Enjoy live music and entertainment throughout the day:

• Derbyshire Fire & Rescue will be with us between 10 am and 1 pm
• We’ve got a kid's disco between 10 am and 2 pm, and The East Midlands Volunteer Mascots will be here, so come and meet Captain Jack Sparrow and Jake the Pirate.
• Sharna’s Sparkles will be doing glitter tattoos and hair braiding
• And a local favourite, Fitzy, will be performing on the Café Blue terrace from 2 pm – 5 pm

Plenty of choices for food and drinks

Our on-site café, Café Blue, will be open from 8am to 8pm, offering their usual delicious range of breakfasts, lunches, cakes and coffees. And they’re licensed too, so you can also enjoy a cold beer or a cider by the water. And we’ve also got some amazing food vendors like Scotch Bonnet Jamaican Kitchen and Picks Organic Farm.

Boat Trips with Barry

We will be doing boat tours around the marina on our Narrowboat - Little Gem, from 11 am to 4 pm. These will be held by Barry, our boating expert and will have a max of 10 people per trip, and the cruise will last 30 minutes.

We will only ask for donations for these trips, with all proceeds going to Charity.

Local arts and craft vendors

• Woodturner - A selection of wooden products
• Over-the-top crafts - A wide variety of handmade gifts
• Gemmas personalised hangers - Wooden plaques and gifts 
• Handmade by Holly - Decoupage items
• Reiju - Crystals, crystal jewellery, candles 
• Marsha Ragsdell - Jewellery made from upcycled products 
• Treasure - Mosaic and collage art 
• Little Miss Manga - Baked goods
• Smurphys bags - Handmade bags and crafts
• The Potting shed - Eco boutique & botanicals
• Nutty Knots Macrame - Macrame 

and much more!

Floating vendors

• Canal Art by the Sea – canal art
• Cheese aboard the Cheeseboard - Cheese truckles & chutneys
• Magic hands - Massage, balms, herbal tea, handmade oils, beeswax, reflexology and acupuncture
• Croc’s The Vinyl Cut
• The Coddiwomple Cake Boat - Cake, fudge, ice cream, hot/cold drink, dog biscuits