Web Editor

  • £140K DREDGING: 1200 Tonnes of silt removed

    £140K DREDGING: 1200 Tonnes of silt removed

    by

    THE Canal and River Trust has spent £140,000 dredging the River Soar in Leicester, removing more than 1200 tonnes of silt as part of works to make it easier for boaters and encourage wildlife. The work was carried out on a 500-metre section of the river at Limekiln Lock, near Abbey Park, as well as…

    Continue reading »

  • NEW: Wetland and gardens open

    NEW: Wetland and gardens open

    by

    A COMBINED effort has seen a green corridor to aid well-being open alongside a London waterway. The Southall Wellbeing Way is a combined park and wetland area, linked with towpaths to improve access to a series of green spaces in the area. The canal towpaths and linked green spaces between Spikes Bridge Park and Glade…

    Continue reading »

  • ANCIENT CRAFTS: Demonstrated along the Leeds & Liverpool

    ANCIENT CRAFTS: Demonstrated along the Leeds & Liverpool

    by

    CROWDS enjoyed a series of free special blacksmith’s forge demonstrations to celebrate this year’s Heritage Open Days at Apperley Bridge, Bradford close to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Thanks to Canal & River Trust volunteer and former blacksmith David Wadsworth and fellow volunteer Phil ‘bellow boy’ Bristow, the charity was able to reignite history and…

    Continue reading »

  • LLANGOLLEN Canal: £400K Lottery Award

    LLANGOLLEN Canal: £400K Lottery Award

    by

    PLANS to open up one of the oldest working boat yards on the Llangollen Canal will now become a reality after a £409,933 development grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Ellesmere Yard, which dates back to 1806, could house a visitor centre and craft workshops as well as continue as a working canal maintenance…

    Continue reading »

  • DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Attends canalside memorial

    DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Attends canalside memorial

    by

    A MEMORIAL plaque has been unveiled to commemorate and celebrate the life of Michelle Hodgkinson, who died after being attacked in Tameside close to the Ashton Canal last year. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner joined Michelle’s family and friends to unveil the special tribute to the 51-year-old mum and grandmother on the canal towpath as…

    Continue reading »

  • INVASIVE WEEDS: Floating digger brought in

    INVASIVE WEEDS: Floating digger brought in

    by

    A FLOATING digger is the latest weapon being used by the Canal & River Trust to tackle invasive weeds in the waterways. The trust has spent £1 million a year on various methods to tackle plants which clog the canals and rivers it looks after. There is even a UK conference later this month which…

    Continue reading »

  • CANAL HISTORY: Marked with plaque

    CANAL HISTORY: Marked with plaque

    by

    Lucy Wood reports… A PLAQUE marking the site of a hostelry that played a part in the origins of the Chesterfield Canal has been unveiled. The canal has been central to the town’s life for 250 years since it opened in the 1700s – but it almost was not to be. The original route of…

    Continue reading »

  • FORCES VETERANS AFLOAT: Needs help

    FORCES VETERANS AFLOAT: Needs help

    by

    Tim Greenfield reports… A CHARITY which provides homeless military veterans with boats to live on is appealing for aid so it can expand its operations and help even more ex-service personnel. The Forces Veterans Afloat Charitable Trust, which takes former military personnel off the streets and provides them with a floating home, has been a…

    Continue reading »

  • CANALS STRATEGY: To breathe life into historic waterways

    CANALS STRATEGY: To breathe life into historic waterways

    by

    Lucy Wood reports… THE Canal & River Trust and Active Black Country have unveiled the Black Country Canals Strategy 2024-2029, setting out ambitions to maximise the potential of the region’s world-famous navigable canal network. Central to the strategy are the opportunities for improvements in the health and well-being of local communities through increased access to…

    Continue reading »

  • CRT: Income rises to £237m

    CRT: Income rises to £237m

    by

    THE Canal & River Trust has seen its overall income increase by £12 million to £237 million in the last year, raising more from commercial operations as its reliance on government funding decreases. In what the charity says was a record year for charitable work (£208 million), it also spent £70 million on engineering works,…

    Continue reading »

  • GHOST BOAT: Resurfaces on a Shropshire canal

    GHOST BOAT: Resurfaces on a Shropshire canal

    by

    RELICS of a ghost boat said to be haunted by its skipper have resurfaced during work to restore the Montgomery Canal. A digger working on the canal channel at Crickheath Tramway Wharf came across ironwork from a narrowboat deep in the earth. All the woodwork had long since rotted away but the iron skeleton remained…

    Continue reading »

  • NEW: Passenger boat for East Midlands waterway

    NEW: Passenger boat for East Midlands waterway

    by

    A NEW narrowboat designed to carry passengers up and down the River Slea in Lincolnshire will launch next spring. The £50,000, 30ft Benjamin Handley will take 12 people between The Hub in Sleaford and Cogglesford Watermill as part of history trips which will deposit guests so they can explore the market town. The boat was…

    Continue reading »

  • SIXTY YEARS: AWCC Anniversary

    SIXTY YEARS: AWCC Anniversary

    by

    Lucy Wood reports… A FLOTILLA of boats from all over England paraded in a rally to mark 60 years of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs. The rally, hosted by Lichfield Cruising Club on August 10/11, was officially opened by chief executive of the Canal and River Trust Richard Parry, who joined more than 100…

    Continue reading »

  • LIVING AND WORKING: Floating home & workspace

    LIVING AND WORKING: Floating home & workspace

    by

    Couple’s floating home is their workplace. Sally Clifford reports. IT WAS a chance find; the forlorn-looking narrowboat was lying against a hedge when Colin Wood spotted it. He’d previously made a career out of buying, restoring and selling cabin cruisers and could see beyond the boat’s then sorry state. Colin knew it had potential and…

    Continue reading »