The Heritage Boat Association fleet will drop anchor in Belleek this coming weekend - coinciding with Belleek Water Festival. Set to create an impressive spectacle in the village, the barges are visiting the River Erne since the start of this month, August.

The oldest boat dates from 1846 in the flotilla which started its visit in Ballinamore and has now spent a weekend in Belturbet and last weekend was spent at Lough Erne Yacht Club.

During their visit to Belleek, the eyecatching boats - quite a few of which are from the late 1800s, while the majority date around the 1920s and 1930s - will capture attention as they help retain the heritage of the Irish waterways and the history of the families who operated these craft.

On the last weekend of this month, the Heritage Boat Association fleet will be in Enniskillen, where a presentation will be of a very old and rare original engine to Waterways Ireland, which will display it in the reception area of its headquarters in Enniskillen.

Families are invited to come along and view the fleet, which will comprise of 34 boats in Belleek this weekend. Of that figure, more than 20 will be very old boats, while the rest will be replicas of originals. Family traditions are being maintained by a number of the skippers on the boats.

Belleek Water Festival opens tomorrow, Friday evening, August 22 and continues until Monday, August 25. Offering a full programme of events, its launch tomorrow evening is the arrival of the barges to the Marina and Gateway Centre. Live music and entertainment will be provided in the local bars.

Monday afternoon will feature free boat trips around Lough Lough Erne. Everyone is welcome, says a spokeswoman for Belleek Water Festival, who urges people to “come along and enjoy the craic!”