Flax boat at Beale Park

It was a bit of a shock to discover at the Flaxland stand that nobody processes flax in Britain any more. It used to be a major industry, producing the linen ropes and sailcloth that drove British ships round the world. Now - nothing. Flaxland hopes to change this, promoting flax as a crop that could provide sustainable alternatives to oil-derived fibres and resins for many purposes including food (linseed is an excellent source of short-chain Omega 3 oils), fibres (I love my linen jacket) and even resins. This nice little canoe was made of a linen cloth on an ash frame. The linen was impregnated with flax resin and left in the sun for a few days - the resin cross-links and hardens in the ultraviolet rays.
It looks lovely, is totally sustainable and works well, as you can see from this video.

The skiff on the International Boatbuilding Training College stand was less sustainable (that's a plastic film on the frame) but looks a whole lot of fun.