Welcome to the first annual Canal and Rail Festival in Wolverton Park, 12 & 13 September 2026.

It's part of Heritage Open Days. The Festival will be free for all to enter and will celebrate Wolverton and Milton Keynes' unique Canal and Rail heritage along with the local groups and community that live here.

A floating market, organised by Roving Canal Traders Association, will be along the canal on both days. With a selection of crafts and market trading canal boats why not pop down and have a look! Electra the all-electric canal boat will be offering heritage and cream tea cruises (book ahead online). Volunteering and information stalls from MK Canals, the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway, and the Buckingham Canal Society will be next to the towpath.

On Sunday 13th September the festival expands onto the Railway sports ground at Lonsdale, Wolverton Park will welcome a range of stands, activities and presentations including local traders, Cycling Citizens MK, Inland Waterways Association, Wild Over Water, Places for People, MK Beergarten, Canal & River Trust and more!

At 12pm, 2pm, and 3pm there'll be a free talk about The Canal, The Railway and The Birth of Wolverton 
​Before Wolverton became a railway town, it was  canal village.  Then the railway barged its way through, bringing employment and major changes to the town. In this half hour talk, David Wolfson, Chair of MK Canals will talk about how these two huge businesses came to be, and how they existed side by side as Wolverton grew.

It’s going to be a great family day outdoors celebrating our industrial heritage with street food and entertainment. So get the date in your diary, call your friends and come and join us in Wolverton Park in September. We look forward to welcoming you!

Want to be part of this event?

Volunteer help needed
We are looking for volunteers to help on Sunday 13th Sept. We have multiple volunteer roles from helping set-up and take down at the beginning and end of the day, welcoming visitors and guiding them to the activities, general event support and litter picking or if you have a particular skills and would like to run a free activity e.g. football skills, craft workshop please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!
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As a volunteer you will get to be part of a great team of like-minded volunteers wanting to create a fun event for the local community.

Stall holders, street food vendors
If you would like to have an information stand, a trading stall or a street food truck at the festival on Sunday 13th September please email [email protected] with information about what you offer.

Local performers
We are looking for local groups that would like to perform for free in the grandstand, up to 30 minute performance of dance, music, storytelling.

Can you pop up a poster in your window or garden? Or email one to friends?
Click here to download an A4 Festival poster. Your help is much appreciated!
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Can you help support the festival?
We would like to thank a number of organisations who have already given support to the event; MK Community Foundation, local city councillors and Wolverton and Greenleys Town Council and to HC-GB Ltd for providing access to the historic sports ground.

Organising an event of this scale for free to visitors takes resources and we are looking for more donations and sponsors to support the event. If you are interested in sponsoring this event or the work of MK Canals please contact [email protected]