Banbury Canal Festival

The Banbury Canal Festival is a free weekend on the stretch of the Oxford Canal between Castle Quay and The Mill Arts Centre, in the middle of Banbury. It has fallen around the start of October: 3 and 4 October in 2026 and 4 and 5 October in 2025, from 11am to 5pm, and 5 and 6 October in 2024. The date for 2027 is to be confirmed. If it keeps to the first weekend of October, it will fall on 2 and 3 October 2027, but the town council has not said so yet. It approved its 2026 events calendar in January 2026, so look for the 2027 dates early in the year.

What happens

The festival spreads across three main spots. At Tooley's Historic Boatyard, the blacksmith's forge is working, traders set up in the dry dock and boat rides leave from beside the yard. In and around Chamberlaine Court car park are a theatre stage run by The Mill Arts Centre and a trailer stage for local bands, with funfair rides and go-karts, face painting and food. A covered market fills the car park under Lidl.

In 2026 local societies performed too, among them Banbury Operatic Society and the Adderbury Morris Men. It suits families, and anyone curious about the canal's working history. It is a town event more than a boaters' gathering, so don't come for rows of historic craft.

The canal itself has been the problem

Low water has closed this length of the canal in each of the last two summers, and that changes the festival. In 2025 only two of the usual 18 trading boats were there, marooned, and Tooley's could not run its boat trips. In 2026 the traders sold from the dry dock instead. The council reported a successful 2025 and thousands of visitors in 2026, but if boats are what you are after, check the Canal & River Trust's notices (opens in a new tab) first.

Getting there and parking

Walk or come by train if you can: Banbury station is about five minutes on foot from the Town Hall. The festival uses Chamberlaine Court car park, so don't count on it. Castle Quay South and NCP's Cherwell Centre are the sensible alternatives, and the charges are on our parking page. The council's pages say nothing on dogs, toilets or step-free routes, so ring 01295 250340 if you need to know.

Where it came from

The festival began as Banbury Canal Day, and it grew to a full weekend. The council calls it one of its oldest events, and says it is older than the council itself. The canal reached Banbury in 1778, and Banbury Museum & Gallery, beside the water, tells the wider story of the town.