A TWICE-postponed transport festival will take place in early June.
Keighley in Motion – which has been three years in the planning, but had the brakes applied twice due to lockdown – is being held on June 2 and 3.
There will be a host of free attractions across the town – showcasing water, road and rail transport through the ages.
A wide range of organisations is involved, including model railway clubs, Craven Old Wheels, the local history society, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, Cliffe Castle Museum, Aire Valley Transport Group, Keighley Bus Museum Trust, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society, the Museum of Rail Travel, Bahamas Locomotive Society, Renaissance Motorcycle Workshop, the Lion’s Den Men’s Shed and many independent vehicle and horse owners.
Funding is being provided by Keighley Town Council and Bradford Council.
There will be horses and vintage and veteran cars at Cliffe Castle Park, renaissance motorcycles in the Airedale Shopping Centre, heritage boat Kennet on the canal at Stockbridge Wharf, steam and diesel trains at Keighley Station and Rail Story Ingrow on the Worth Valley line, model railways and Ten Travel Tales of Keighley in the civic centre, and a display of trolleybuses and motor buses – spanning the years from 1913 to the modern day – outside Keighley College. There will also be brass bands, street theatre and food stalls.
Star attractions will include a Scott Flying Squirrel motorcycle which was ridden in the 1950s by a young Captain Tom Moore. He was a keen motorcyclist, competing successfully in races across the district. The motorbike is now on long-term loan to Bradford Museums and Galleries and during the festival will be on display at Cliffe Castle Museum.
A free bus service – provided by Keighley Bus Company – will operate at 15-minute intervals each day, between 10am and 5pm, linking the six festival sites.
Festival co-ordinator, Graham Mitchell, said: "Apart from the heritage cars at Cliffe Castle Park, we would like this to be a car-free event. Therefore we are asking car owners not to drive to the festival sites but to use the free parking at the Airedale Shopping Centre multi-storey car park or the council car park in Scott Street, and then board the free buses from Keighley Bus Station or from outside Wetherspoon’s. This free service will also pick up and set down at any marked bus stop on the circular route."
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