Fairport Convention, that perennial At The Barrier favourite, will be cruising down the River Rhine later this month, from Amsterdam to Basel, and they’ll be giving a lucky boatload of fans a pre-Cropredy treat into the bargain. At The Barrier will, of course, be there...

On 21st June, 150 or so lucky punters will be board the MS Amadeus Queen in Amsterdam’s River Cruise Terminal for a river cruise with a difference. The difference is that, on board the ship, Fairport Convention will be waiting to add something extra special to the vessel’s cruise down the River Rhine to Basel in Switzerland.

The cruise itself will take in visits to Utrecht, Cologne, Cochem, Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Mannheim, Speyer and Strasbourg, before arriving in Basel one week after the departure from Amsterdam, on the morning of 28th June. There’ll be some very special sights to see and experiences to enjoy along the way and, in the evenings, the passengers will have a great opportunity to get “up close and personal” with the Fairport boys during the five nights of on-board entertainment that have been planned. I have it on good authority that, alongside Fairport performances, there’ll be solo and duo spots, a Beatles singalong and even conjuring and comedy spots from the chaps. There’s even a Beatles karaoke session on the cards in which punters are invited to sing their favourite Beatles songs, with Fairport acting as their backing band – sounds fantastic, but anyone who has heard me sing will be mightily relieved to know that I’m resisting the temptation to join in with that one…

Because, yes – I’ll be amongst the favoured few on board for a pre-Cropredy Fairport taster, and I’ll be sending back regular pictures, comments and anecdotes to the At The Barrier team back at base to let everyone share a slice of the on-board fun. And, once I’m back ashore in Blighty, I’ll be bringing a full account of the adventures aboard the Riverboat (Amadeus) Queen to these pages. Watch this space!!

Fairport Convention Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube

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