Hundreds of visitors from all over the North West were heading for Ashton in July 1999 to enjoy the annual Tameside Canals Festival at Portland Basin.
A weekend of glorious weather ensured a great turnout and a lively atmosphere with live music performances, a festival of dance and the ever popular real ale tent.
Visitors could also see the improvements being made to the canals. Local enthusiasts staged a display showing how they were breathing new life into old, dilapidated narrowboats.
