Features

Canal & River Trust challenges children to beat grandparents in online wildlife quiz

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Shannon Butcher

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May 5, 2020

Spring may be bursting out all over but, with the coronavirus lockdown confining people indoors for much of their day, everyone is at greater risk of losing touch with nature. The Canal & River Trust charity has responded by launching an online wildlife quiz so everyone can imagine they’re strolling along a waterway towpath listening…
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Charity supports local people with canal-side crops

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Shannon Butcher

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May 4, 2020

Waterways and wellbeing charity, Canal & River Trust, has donated young vegetable plants to local people living in Birmingham to enable them to grow their own produce during the Covid 19 lockdown. The plants, which were grown by Trust colleagues and volunteers with a view to them being planted along the Birmingham Canal Navigation in…
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Environment Agency: Update for boaters

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Shannon Butcher

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April 28, 2020

Environment Agency have recently released a new update on boating registration methods, charges and ways to pay. It reads as follows: Following our last communication we wanted to expand on some of the measures we are taking on Environment Agency navigations. We are continuing to follow Government advice during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and our…
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BOAT International launches industry’s biggest Virtual BOAT Show

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Shannon Butcher

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April 28, 2020

BOAT International is launching the industry’s biggest Virtual BOAT Show, bringing the world’s best boats directly to consumers at home. The BOAT International Virtual BOAT Show will be the first to unite leading brokers, builders and designers in one place including Sunreef, Silver Yachts, Admiral, Heesen, Fraser, Triton Submarines, Camper & Nicholsons International among many…
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Coronavirus: Canal & River Trust to extend boat licences by one month

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Shannon Butcher

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April 27, 2020

The Canal & River Trust is extending all boat licences by one month in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The situation will be assessed again in a month’s time when a further view will be taken about the extent and likely timescales around the coronavirus disruption on boating. All boat licences that are due…
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Vital work to resume on unlocking the Severn project

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Shannon Butcher

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April 27, 2020

Construction of four fish passes along the River Severn in Worcestershire, paused on 25 March due to the coronavirus pandemic, is set to resume in the coming days. The Unlocking the Severn project team has worked extensively with the contractor, Kier, to develop safe working practices to ensure work can be undertaken in accordance with…
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Waverley 2020 season an ‘open question’

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Shannon Butcher

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April 24, 2020

Whether PS Waverley sails again in 2020 remains an ‘open question’, according to Paul Little, Waverley Excursions general manager. Not only has the impact of social distancing slowed the fitting out of the ship’s boiler room, where its two, new, Cochran-built boilers were installed at the start of April, but the charity is awaiting further…
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River Canal Rescue launches midi Bilgeaway filter

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Shannon Butcher

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April 24, 2020

River Canal Rescue (RCR) has extended its range of Bilgeaway filters with the addition of a new smaller midi filter, suitable for boat owners who have little or no bilge pollution, but want peace of mind they will not pollute the waterways if anything does happen. Retailing at £60, the cartridge-free, ‘plug and play’ filter…
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Where Arden met Shakespeare

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Shannon Butcher

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April 23, 2020

April 23 celebrates the amazing life and works of William Shakespeare. However, few know about the roots of this iconic literary figure. The story of one of the world’s most influential writers begins not in Stratford upon-Avon, but the far side of the thick belt of ancient forest that once covered much of the landscape…
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Calling all Armchair Adventurers – England’s first coast to coast canoe trail

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Shannon Butcher

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April 21, 2020

Coronavirus confinement at home may be frustrating, particularly for active people who are used to racing around outdoors and don’t have patience for streaming endless TV box sets. Canals and towpaths are largely off limits at the moment but bin the boredom, the Canal & River Trust charity invites you to plan your escape…
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Data shows people swapping tourist hotspots and city centres for local towpaths

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Shannon Butcher

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April 21, 2020

The Canal & River Trust, the charity which looks after 2,000 miles of the nation’s waterways, welcomes the latest Government advice about the importance of accessible green space, as data shows a growth in people staying local to discover the canal on their doorstep in place of the usual tourist hotspots and many city centre…
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Worcester Festival of Water cancelled

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Shannon Butcher

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April 20, 2020

The extension of the Covid 19 lockdown has led the Inland Waterways Association to regretfully cancel the IWA Festival of Water due to take place on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, Worcester over the August Bank Holiday weekend this year.
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Coronavirus update from the Canal & River Trust: Guidance for boaters

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Shannon Butcher

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April 17, 2020

With Government today (16 April 2020) extending the Coronavirus lockdown period to 9 May 2020, the Canal & River Trust is accordingly extending the suspension of the normal requirement for boats to move every 14 days to 9 May. During this period, boaters do not need to contact us to tell us they will be…
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Shipbuilding in a Lincolnshire market town

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Janet Richardson

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April 17, 2020

WHEN Louth author and historian Stuart Sizer first researched the history of his local canal, he concentrated on the construction, personalities and businesses and not the craft using the navigation. A visit by the direct descendants of the Nell family who travelled from New Zealand to see where their ancestors lived and worked sparked an…
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