Maryhill Housing Association is heading down the canal by bringing a nautical theme to its annual Residents’ Conference.

The Association has opted to hire a canal boat and take its residents on a short trip down the Forth and Clyde canal on Saturday, May 16.

The annual opportunity for Maryhill and Ruchill residents to engage with the Association is entitled “What Floats Your Boat?” and is the first time ever that the conference has not been held on dry land.

Jamie Ballantine, customer engagement manager at the Association, said: “We thought having our Residents’ Conference on the canal would be something a little different.

“As far as we know, no housing association has ever held its conference on a canal and there is a strong novelty factor about it all. We think our residents will like the idea very much. We also know that many of them have never experienced a boat ride on the canal.”

The Forth and Clyde canal stretches from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth and opened as long ago as 1790. It has been an important part of community life in the Maryhill area since then, runs through the district and is regarded with great affection by local people.

It stretches from Bowling in West Dunbartonshire to Grangemouth in Stirlingshire.

For those who don’t want to travel on the canal but want to attend the event Ruchill Parish Church next to the canal will be used for people to drop in and speak to the Association.

Jamie added: “The Residents’ Conference is always popular and gives people a chance to have their say. We place great emphasis on keeping in close contact with our residents during the year but getting many of us together in the one place is a useful way of listening to what people think.”

The event will have a historical link, too, with an on-board talk about Scotland’s much-loved canals which have been successfully brought back to life.

There will also be the aptly-named “boat bingo”, activities for children, a free lunch and a raffle.