October 2026

A fantastic day at the Canal Festival 2026...

The 2026 Oxford Canal Festival opened its grand circle of tents and an action-packed programme at 11.30 on Saturday 19^th September at the Aristotle Rec. Visitors from local communities and further afield literally poured in, and the grounds were still heaving at 6pm when the event formally closed. It was a truly joyful event, graced by perfect weather, a fantastic atmosphere and widely dubbed ‘the best Canal Festival ever’.

Although there was something for everyone – with two music stages, a dog show, dancing, a monster beer tent, a cinema, and canal boats touting wares and rides, the big emphasis was on children having fun. Along with rides, helter-skelter, face-painting and the rest came a Story Tent, packed with children’s writers and entertainers, and a spectacular Arts and Crafts tent. Among other crafting delights, children decorated a ‘Festival Boat’, and paraded it around the ground.

Around 20 gazebo stalls included a Community Tent, sponsored by WMRA. Participants included St Margarets Area Society, Hayfield Road and Jericho Wharf Trust. Other stalls sold food, drinks, pottery, jewellery and you could have your portrait painted.

The Canal Festival, held every two years, costs over £25,000 to put on. Some local companies and trusts provide sponsorship, but donations have to cover the rest of the bill. The entire management is by local volunteers led by Bill Manville and James Fry. ‘Festival-goers were extremely generous this time’, they said. ‘We hope to have covered our costs and any profits will go to the Kilsby Project.’ The Festival is a two-yearly event, so those who missed it will have to wait until 2028 for the next one.

Please join us for the WMRA AGM on October 28th

The WMRA Committee invites you to join us for our Annual General Meeting where we will report on the year's events and invite views on issues of local concern. We hope you will join us.

When: Wednesday 28th October from 7pm-9pm

Where: The Main Hall, d'Overbroeck's School, Leckford Rd

Following on from the formalities, two of our committee will give a talk on the local area...

Walton Manor: understanding the past, appreciating the present, shaping the future

Speakers: Bryan Pickup and Hena Webster

A message from The Chair: Elections for the WMRA Committee at the AGM

The current WMRA Committee contains the constitutional 10 members, plus one supplementary member who will automatically become a full member when an existing member leaves. This year, after serving three years, three very valuable members, Bryan Pickup and Helena Webster who monitor all local Planning Applications, and Caroline Martin who runs the Website and Newsletter, are due for re-election; happily all wish to stand again. If anyone new wishes to stand for the Committee, please let me know via the Walton Manor email address (waltonmanorra@gmail.com). This would precipitate the unusual situation of an election contest at the AGM, as we would otherwise be over-subscribed. Many thanks for everyone’s support to the Committee over the year.

Local Carbon Oxford North Event - 13th October

Low Carbon Oxford North are running their next Go Solar event:

When: 13 October, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm)

Where: Woodstock Road Baptist Church | Oxford OX2 7NQ

• Discover the hidden health benefits of cooking with electricity
• Find out how best to combine solar PV, heat pumps and air cooling
• Hear the latest on plug-in solar panels

Guest speaker: Dr Felix Leach, Associate Professor of Engineering Science from the University of Oxford.

There will be time for questions and discussion. Free and open to all — everyone welcome. For more information click here.