Braunston Historic show 2026

[Ray T]

I see the car park fee for the show is now £30.00 per car.

How can that be justified?

The village will get quite busy.

[alan_fincher]

I suppose TIm justifies it by the "It's for charity" argument.

 

However as attendance at the shows visibly dipped when he upped it from £10 to £20, I can't imagine this having a good outcome.

 

If you have 4 in a car, then I suppose £7.50 a head compares very favourably with many other attractions, but if you are on your own, then it is too steep.

[robtheplod]

£30 seems steep when you consider its half that for RIAT air show...... presume they have a park and ride thing setup as this will dissuade users coming by car?

[Ray T]

15 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

I suppose TIm justifies it by the "It's for charity" argument.

 

However as attendance at the shows visibly dipped when he upped it from £10 to £20, I can't imagine this having a good outcome.

 

If you have 4 in a car, then I suppose £7.50 a head compares very favourably with many other attractions, but if you are on your own, then it is too steep.

Alan this statement is as "clear as mud" from TC.
To quote the advert:
"ENTRANCE £30 per car (All profits to canal & local causes)."

I've never seen a published account of costs.

Edited March 12 by Ray T

[alan_fincher]

5 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

presume they have a park and ride thing setup as this will dissuade users coming by car?

 

The chargeable field is very close to the centre of the show.  Braunston village is not a long walk, but cars dumped everywhere there apparently annoy at least some of the locals.

2 minutes ago, Ray T said:

Alan this statement is as "clear as mud" from TC.
To quote the advert:
ENTRANCE £30 per car (All profits to canal & local causes).

I've never seen a published account of costs.

I doubt the total amount to "good causes" versus the amount retained to cover costs has ever been published - or ever will be.

[ditchcrawler]

I went by boat last year and there seemed a lot of time with nothing happening unlike other years  where there has been a steady stream of boats on the move, Mind you the bacon butties where some of the best I have ever had .

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I went by boat last year and there seemed a lot of time with nothing happening unlike other years  where there has been a steady stream of boats on the move, Mind you the bacon butties where some of the best I have ever had .

After the chaos of some previous years, they changed the arrangements for the parade last year. With the result that those of us taking part, instead of waiting in endless queues of boats (which at least provided some entertainment for the spectators), we were held back on our mooring for a long time, then boated more quickly, with no boats immediately in front or behind for most of the time. It was no doubt more "efficient", but it did rather take some of the fun out of it for participants and spectators.

[Lady M]

Completely spoiled the entertainment IMHO.

[Tonka]

5 minutes ago, David Mack said:

After the chaos of some previous years, they changed the arrangements for the parade last year. With the result that those of us taking part, instead of waiting in endless queues of boats (which at least provided some entertainment for the spectators), we were held back on our mooring for a long time, then boated more quickly, with no boats immediately in front or behind for most of the time. It was no doubt more "efficient", but it did rather take some of the fun out of it for participants and spectators.

Is that because HNBC organise the parade now rather then Braunston Marine

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

Is that because HNBC organise the parade now rather then Braunston Marine

 

Do they?

If I ever knew that, I seem to have forgotten it.

 

It's unusual to see the word "organise" assosciated with the Braunston parade!

[Tonka]

8 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

 

Do they?

If I ever knew that, I seem to have forgotten it.

 

It's unusual to see the word "organise" assosciated with the Braunston parade!

well it mentions it in the HNBC Newsletter 2026/1 page 1 The Fore End by Phil Prettyman's article

[Lady M]

Graham, who had Joseph, ran the parades for a number of years.  Tim always encouraged as much confusion as possible.  

[Rob-M]

The sitting around in queues was part of the enjoyment for me although it had got quite bad when not moving for well over an hour in 2024.  I felt last year went too far the other way.

[Victor Vectis]

4 hours ago, David Mack said:

After the chaos of some previous years, they changed the arrangements for the parade last year. With the result that those of us taking part, instead of waiting in endless queues of boats (which at least provided some entertainment for the spectators), we were held back on our mooring for a long time, then boated more quickly, with no boats immediately in front or behind for most of the time. It was no doubt more "efficient", but it did rather take some of the fun out of it for participants and spectators.

Not to mention the 'fun' provided to any hireboats caught up in the parade!

[Stroudwater1]

4 hours ago, Tonka said:

Is that because HNBC organise the parade now rather then Braunston Marine

I’m pretty sure the 2024 event was run by others close to the marina/ Braunston. I suspect the same people ran 2025 too. The strict parade regs and mooring seemed to spoil the chaos, apparently it was a reaction to the chaos of 24 when no one could move far and the morning ran into the afternoon parade on the first day. 
 

Hopefully all can return to moderate chaos pre 2024. 
 

The cost is high, though costs for event have shot up, especially 3rd party insurance. A number of steam shows have disappeared apparently from higher overheads, including the huge Great Dorset steam fair. 

[Mike Tee]

If the organiser is doing it for charity then there should be some kind of declaration to show income, expenses and final amount given,  and to who.

[jake_crew]

We went in two cars on the Sunday.

 

The event was clearly winding down by then, though it was good to chat to friends on Pirton and Hampton.

 

We had a nice picnic luncheon in the car park, so what we saved on burgers etc., we spent on parking !!

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Mike Tee said:

If the organiser is doing it for charity then there should be some kind of declaration to show income, expenses and final amount given,  and to who.

Why. They are not a charity, they say they are giving profits to charities so I don't see why they have to make a declaration.

[Mike Tee]

But apparently he is saying the whole event's profits are for charity, so maybe he has no legal obligation to disclose but there is definitely a moral one - but obviously only in my opinion.

[Lady M]

Well you see Tim giving out his donation cheques to waterway causes on the Saturday.  I have heard that the event never covers its full costs.

[frangar]

3 hours ago, Lady M said:

Well you see Tim giving out his donation cheques to waterway causes on the Saturday.  I have heard that the event never covers its full costs.

I’m sure it’s a nice write down for tax purposes….dont think Tim or the Marina are down to their last few pence. 

[alan_fincher]

7 hours ago, Lady M said:

I have heard that the event never covers its full costs.

 

This seems unlikely!

However more transparency about money in versus money out would allow punters to make their own judgmwnt.

 

To my mind, iif you up car parking from £20 to £30 it could increase revenue from that source by as much as 50%.  However I think the increase will act as a deterrent to people using his parking, (even if they still attend, but park elsewhere), so I don't think the increase in revenue would actually be as much as 50%.

[stagedamager]

im currently looking at the feasibility of getting Norway to Braunston. my quandary is that im due to load Phantom of the Opera out of a theatre in Vienna at 9am on the Monday morning..now if I can't get the boat there and I call in on my way to an airport I can't honestly justify £30 for a single occupancy vehicle and so would end up parking in the village or a bit further out. id happily donate some money to the charitable cause but that is a bit steep. 

[agg221]

28 minutes ago, stagedamager said:

im currently looking at the feasibility of getting Norway to Braunston. my quandary is that im due to load Phantom of the Opera out of a theatre in Vienna at 9am on the Monday morning..now if I can't get the boat there and I call in on my way to an airport I can't honestly justify £30 for a single occupancy vehicle and so would end up parking in the village or a bit further out. id happily donate some money to the charitable cause but that is a bit steep. 

We have a related quandary. We could take Oates down to Braunston after the BCN Challenge if we can find somewhere to leave it for the 3.5weeks in between and then again at the end of the event before heading off. However, we would need to travel over on the Friday after work so it would need to be close enough that we can boat straight to Braunston, and then get back there on the Sunday evening. That also means parking fairly close, which isn't appealing at that price.

 

Alec

[Lady M]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

This seems unlikely!

However more transparency about money in versus money out would allow punters to make their own judgmwnt.

 

To my mind, iif you up car parking from £20 to £30 it could increase revenue from that source by as much as 50%.  However I think the increase will act as a deterrent to people using his parking, (even if they still attend, but park elsewhere), so I don't think the increase in revenue would actually be as much as 50%.

Well last time the parking fee went up, it was from £10 to £20 which I make 100% more.  Both rises do seem a bit steep but interim figures are fiddly for change.