Former Eastenders star to open town’s Shakespeare Marina
IT promises to be plain sailing for the launch of a new water-based tourist attraction in Stratford-upon-avon.
Rather than smash a Champagne bottle, as is customary for a boat’s maiden voyage, Eastenders veteran Timothy West CBE will mark the opening of Shakespeare Marina with a more gentle ribbon-cutting exercise.
The Marina, just a ten-minute walk from the town centre, will boast a wide range of modern facilities including a shower block with laundry, a service quay with fuel and pump out, plus service pedestals for water and electricity for each berth.
And who better to launch it than stage, film and screen icon Mr West, who appeared in the hit UK soap in 2014-15 as Stan Carter.
The former Royal Shakespeare Company actor is a patron of the Avon Navigation Trust and has filmed ten series of Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys with his wife Prunella Scales.
Neil Warren of Geomac Limited, the award-winning inland marina developer behind the project, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Timothy West together with local dignitaries, boating enthusiasts and the local community to the opening of Shakespeare Marina.
“Marinas are about people, not just boats, and we are proud to have worked alongside Land & Water Services and AVT to create a first-class, exclusive, leisure boat marina that provides customers the chance to moor their boats in a prestigious location and popular tourist destination.
“It is truly set to be a spectacular and memorable day and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it.”
The celebrations on Friday, May 27, will get under way when Timothy boards ‘Lily’ before sailing down the River Avon to the state-of-the-art Marina. As Lily sails under the marina’s towpath bridge, the former Coronation Street and Eastenders actor will cut a ribbon to symbolize the opening.
On the dock beside the marina buildings, refreshments will be served to guests and speeches will be delivered. Twenties Again, traditional Dixieland jazz band, will provide ‘an atmospheric musical backdrop’ to the festivities. It’s hoped the marina will become a ‘prime location for boating enthusiasts’ as it provides access to the Avon Ring and the national canal network.
It is complemented by floating jetties with non-slip decking. The jetties will rise with any change in water levels. It has been designed and built using sustainable solutions such as the re-use of spoil material and recycled steel piles in an effort to minimise waste and its carbon footprint.