News

CHARACTERS OF THE CUT: Marcelo Duarte – from Sao Paulo to the Kennet & Avon

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April 25, 2025

Alice Elgie reports… WHEN Marcelo Duarte moved to the UK from Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, where he had been born and raised alongside more than 22 million people, he had no idea he was heading towards an entirely new – and somewhat quieter – life, living on the canals of England. He explained: “My…
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FREE CAKE for volunteers

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April 24, 2025

SHROPSHIRE Union Canal Society is on the lookout for new volunteers to help members keep up their relentless pursuit of closing the Shropshire Gap. The society has been restoring the Montgomery for many years and has recently hit major milestones with Crickheath basin being opened for navigation in 2023 and Crickheath Tramway Wharf being restored…
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FREIGHT on the waterways update

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April 23, 2025

Jonathan Mosse’s monthly look at freight development on the inland waterways.BLEATING away on a monthly basis in a waterways magazine about the discrepancies in recognition of modal freight paths in the UK might, on the face of it, appear to be a fairly fruitless and therefore soul-destroying occupation. But is it? Let’s start by saying…
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VOLUNTEERING sparks firework firm’s joy

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April 22, 2025

WILTSHIRE fireworks company employees lit up with delight after a stint of volunteering with their local canal restoration trust. Staff from Pains Fireworks joined the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust for a day of outdoor work, helping to create a new wildlife habitat alongside the restored stretch of the waterway between Melksham and Chippenham. The…
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HELP COMPILE a national picture of waterways heritage

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April 21, 2025

IWA’s Amy Tillson reports… IWA’s Heritage Advisory Panel aims to safeguard and publicise the extraordinary national heritage asset that our waterways network represents. To aid public and governmental awareness of this, the group is compiling a ‘risk list’ of significant waterways heritage items that are endangered for whatever reason – for instance neglect, dereliction, insensitive…
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PUBLIC ASKED to share memories of West Midlands canals

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April 19, 2025

A PLEA has gone out for the public to share their memories and experiences of West Midlands canals to keep the history alive. The Canal & River Trust is launching a new heritage project, funded by the National Lottery, in the West Midlands and is calling on people to help make it happen. The trust…
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WIN A PLACE ON AN RCR MAINTENANCE COURSE

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April 18, 2025

TO CELEBRATE River Canal Rescue’s 25th anniversary, managing director, Stephanie Horton, is giving away prizes every month, throughout the year. In May, Towpath Talk readers can win a place on one of RCR’s boat and engine maintenance courses worth £315. The two-day course covers how to maintain diesel engines and the systems within a narrowboat,…
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SCHOOL STUDENTS tackle climate change and flooding head on

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April 17, 2025

Students from two East Midlands schools tackled climate change and the dramatic affect it can have on waterways head on during a recent journalism workshop at the University of Lincoln. The group, from Cleethorpes Academy and John Spendluffe Technology College, created a story package on flooding which included a video, podcast, digital story and social…
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LOUTH CANAL: Vegetation cut back

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April 16, 2025

Lucy Wood investigates… THE Environment Agency has been clearing overgrown vegetation along Louth Canal, in Lincolnshire, to mitigate flood risk. Teams have also been coppicing willows and cutting grass throughout February and March in advance of the bird nesting season. As previously reported in Towpath Talk, advisory signs were erected along the path of the…
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CRICK WATERSIDE & Marina launches residential moorings

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April 15, 2025

Crick – the home of the famous Crick Boat Show – is Aquavista’s latest marina to announce the launch of official residential moorings.Crick Waterside & Marina located on the Leicester section of the Grand Union canal is a spacious marina with two basins offering 270 moorings for narrowboats and cruisers of all lengths. Aquavista’s residential…
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HAVE YOUR SAY on boat licensing, but be quick!

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April 14, 2025

BOATERS can have their say on a possible new water licensing system – but they need to be quick. Waterway users have until April 22 to voice their opinions as the Canal & River Trust looks future-proof its licensing. The charity wants to hear about the experiences that people have had and any changes they…
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BUCKET LIST TRIP: UK’s longest, deepest, highest canal tunnel

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April 12, 2025

INTREPID explorers will be able to tick off a bucket list trip through the UK’s longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel this spring. Visitors can either canoe or relax and be chauffeured through the 3.5-mile Standedge Tunnel, which runs under the Pennines between Marsden, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, and Diggle in Lancashire. The experience…
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SUPERBUGS spread from swans?

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April 11, 2025

A STUDY by university scientists has shown that swans living in urban waterways could host deadly bacteria that could be harmful to humans. The study by the University of Galway revealed swans in Dublin and Co Kildare frequently carry antimicrobial resistant bacteria in their guts similar to those that cause difficult-to-treat infections in humans. The…
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ON TOUR: The River Project

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April 10, 2025

Lucy Wood reports… FALLING Stars Theatre has created an immersive, interactive theatre performance for primary school-aged children based on the banks of the River Aire. Supported by The Aire Rivers Trust, The Wild Trout Trust and the Salmon and Trout Conservation, The River Project imagines a host of memorable characters on the banks of the…
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