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Canal Charity Warns of Increasing Battle Against Aquatic Weeds

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August 7, 2023

The Canal & River Trust – the national charity working to protect the nation’s historic canals – predicts that warmer, wetter summers brought about by climate change are challenging the fight to stop Britain’s canals from becoming choked by invasive weeds. The Trust’s annual summer programme to tackle the weed across its 2,000 miles of…
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Pack a picnic and enjoy a free summer day out at Stockingfield Bridge

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August 3, 2023

In celebration of the newly installed community artworks at the award-winning site, Scottish Canals will host an afternoon of storytelling, art and entertainment on Sunday, August 20th. Scottish Canals invite you to pack a picnic and head to Stockingfield Bridge in Glasgow next month to enjoy a free summer day out. In celebration of the…
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Family photographs recall bygone days

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August 1, 2023

BOATER and wildlife photographer Grant Hebblewhite, who was featured recently in Towpath Talk (Character, Issue 212, June 2023) writes: “I found these lovely old photos of my Nan and Grandpa taken in the 50s, I expect at Stoke Bruerne. The butty is still around, apparently. “It used to carry the two different names Northolt and…
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Have you HERD about this?

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July 31, 2023

Sally Clifford finds out how the canal – with a little help from some fleecy friends – played a part in a unique music celebration in West Yorkshire. Textiles have played an integral part in Yorkshire’s history so it was fitting for some fleecy friends to be part of a unique celebration. HERD, described as…
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Tapton Lock Festival Returns Next Month!

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July 29, 2023

Now in its eleventh year, organisers have confirmed that the popular Tapton Lock Festival will return this September with a host of new activities and entertainment for families to enjoy. The free annual event is organised by Junction Arts and Derbyshire County Council to bring families and friends together to enjoy the outdoors, promoting better health…
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Work starts on Cromford Canal extension at Langley Mill

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July 28, 2023

THE much-anticipated start on the extension of the Cromford Canal at Beggarlee, Langley Mill, has begun, with preparatory work to pipe two gullies. One of these will pass underneath and across the new canal extension which has been one of the principal objectives of the Friends of Cromford Canal which was established in 2002. Connecting…
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Up for the challenge on the Chesterfield Canal

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July 28, 2023

Report & photos: Janet Richardson EXCITING plans for the Staveley Town Basin were unveiled at a business event hosted by the Chesterfield Canal Society on the eve of its recent canal festival. A new hub – Staveley Waterside – is to be created for start-up and existing businesses, building on the success of the Markham…
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Innovation at lock gate workshops

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July 27, 2023

THE Canal & River Trust’s lock gate workshops, at Bradley in the West Midlands and Stanley Ferry in Yorkshire, are bringing forward several small changes to lock gate production to increase speed and efficiency. With over 1500 locks across the trust’s canal network, and a working life of typically 25 years, there is a constant…
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More good news for the Monty Canal!

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July 27, 2023

THE Shropshire Union Canal Society has received a £14,600 restoration grant from the Association for Industrial Archaeology towards the cost of restoring the historic tramway wharf on the Montgomery Canal at Crickheath. It was the terminus of a 2½ mile horse-drawn tramway from the limestone quarry at Porth-y-waen. Built by navvies during the construction of…
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NBTA plans ballot on resistance to licence changes

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July 26, 2023

AS BOATERS anxiously await an update from the Canal & River Trust (CRT) on their new licensing structure, the National Bargee Travellers Association (NBTA) is gearing up to ballot its members on what actions they are willing to take to oppose any attack on the itinerant liveaboard community. CRT carried out a ‘consultation survey’ between…
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Cost of living petition presented at No 10

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July 26, 2023

Boaters joined a flotilla to take their Energy Bills Support Scheme plight to the capital. Sally Clifford finds out more. SLOW cruisers took their campaign to the doorstep of Britain’s political power. The boaters travelled to London to protest the continued exclusion of itinerant boat dwellers and others without a fixed address from receiving the…
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A horse hauled Shroppie fly-boat!

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July 25, 2023

THE Shropshire Union Main Line near Norbury recently saw a Shropshire Union Fly-boat hauled by a horse, perhaps the first time here for a hundred years! This rare and wonderful sight was the well-known Saturn, hauled by Flower, an eight-year-old mare. David Ray of Norbury Wharf Ltd said: “Flower did really well. She is usually ridden…
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Green Flags for Almost 600 Miles of Waterways!

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July 25, 2023

The Canal & River Trust is announcing that Keep Britain Tidy has awarded 50* of its canal and river navigations with prestigious Green Flag status. The nation’s canal charity has secured a further 53.5 miles of Green Flag waterways across England and Wales, with 592* miles now holding the international quality mark for parks and…
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Canal Charity Announces Programme of Work to Help Protect Nation’s Historic Waterways

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July 24, 2023

The Canal & River Trust has announced an £89m programme of engineering work, illustrating the scale of the resource required to protect and preserve the nation’s 250-year-old canal network. Against a backdrop of the government announced sweeping cuts to the future funding of canals, in the current financial year, the Trust will complete more than…
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