News

WIN a place on an RCR maintenance course

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October 3, 2025

To celebrate River Canal Rescue’s 25th anniversary, managing director Stephanie Horton is giving away prizes every month, throughout the year. In October, 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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DAM OVERFLOW spillway due to be finished by Christmas

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October 2, 2025

A THREE-YEAR construction project to create a new overflow spillway structure at Toddbrook Reservoir, Whaley Bridge, is expected to be finished by Christmas. Construction of the new dam spillway is key to bringing the reservoir back into use after the former auxiliary spillway on the dam wall was damaged in the summer of 2019 following…
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IRELAND to host UKILN Conference 2025

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October 1, 2025

THE UK & Ireland Lakes Network (UKILN) Conference 2025 will take place on October 14/15 at the Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa, Co. Kerry. Hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Ireland), the two-day conference, with the theme; Mirrors of Change: Reflections on Irish Lakes Past, Present and Future, will unite individuals and organisations passionate…
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PILOT BOAT TOUR to link two counties in unique heritage experience

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September 30, 2025

THE OFFICE of Public Works (OPW) has announced a collaboration with the Rose of Innisfree Boat Tours to create a pilot tour to Parkes Castle on Lough Gill, linking the two counties of Sligo and Leitrim, and inviting visitors to step into a living story of Ireland’s northwest with a unique heritage experience. Every Wednesday,…
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TRADERS FEELING THE HEAT of drought-stricken network and ‘devastating’ winter forecast

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September 29, 2025

Towpath Talk editor Lucy Wood reports… WATERWAYS businesses are expressing growing concerns as low water levels and stoppages are set to continue into the autumn following what was officially declared the hottest summer on record, leading to calls for an urgent rethink on water management in the UK. As predictions are made that the country’s reservoirs may not fully recover until at least December and possibly the spring, with swathes…
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BALSAM BASHERS tackling invasive species

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September 27, 2025

As summer issues its last hurrah, working parties around the country have been busy removing Himalayan Balsam from our riverbanks. Lucy Wood reports… The non-native species is damaging to the environment and illegal to spread under UK law, and every summer teams of hardy volunteers gather to fight the perpetual threat. In Lincolnshire, the East…
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IMPROVEMENT WORKS along popular towpath route complete

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September 26, 2025

WORKS to improve a popular walking and cycling route along Edinburgh’s Union Canal are now complete. Scottish whin stone paving between Leamington Lift Bridge and the boundary of Edinburgh Quay has been laid to create a new smooth surface to improve accessibility for all users. New lighting has also been installed to increase safety for…
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FLOATING ECOSYSTEMS installed to attract more wildlife

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September 25, 2025

A series of planted coir rolls have been installed on the Nottingham & Beeston Canal as part of a drive to encourage more wildlife into the city centre. The project is designed to soften the edges of the canal walls and attract more birds, bugs and watery wildlife. The ecosystems are made largely of coir…
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RESTORATION: Grade II-listed pumphouse

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September 24, 2025

The historically important pumphouse at the National Waterways Museum, in Ellesmere Port, is to be repaired and restored thanks to a grant from Historic England. The £252,282 award will enable the Canal & River Trust to renovate and conserve the structure and access bridge so they can be reopened to the public and enjoyed for…
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IWA Calls on Government to Back Green Future for Britain’s Leisure Boaters

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September 23, 2025

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), through its Sustainable Boating Group, has made a Submission to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Call for Evidence on Decarbonising Smaller Vessels. It has looked at propulsion and the use of domestic energy on leisure boats. The Group has a clear strategy to decarbonise this sector, so a submission has…
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DRAMA ON THE THAMES: Mikron Theatre’s Narrowboat Crane-Lifted for First Time in Nearly 50 Years

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September 22, 2025

MIKRON Theatre Company, which specialises in performance art by canal, river and road, was forced to crane its narrowboat Tyseley onto land for the first time since 1976 because it was unable to continue travelling on the drought-stricken River Thames. A crane was hired to winch the vessel out of the river at Reading and…
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FUNDING BOOST to care for Montgomery Canal

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September 20, 2025

A RESTORED stretch of the Montgomery Canal, near Welshpool, will be maintained thanks to a £250,000 grant from the Nature Networks Fund. It will help Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, to protect rare plant and animal species by removing areas of silt and dense vegetation growing over the channel, improving water…
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ROCK LEGEND reopens canal centre

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September 19, 2025

TAPTON Lock Visitor Centre has been officially reopened by renowned musician Dave Berry. The centre is owned by Derbyshire County Council and was previously run by its Countryside Service. Much to the dismay of many canal towpath users, it was closed in May after many months of only opening for a few days a week…
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HANDLESS Tug Skipper…

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September 18, 2025

Jonathan Mosse talks ‘Johnny-no-hands’… FROM early childhood I clearly remember the overwhelming feeling of wonder, in the run up to Christmas, when a packet of festive greetings cards would arrive in the post. Nothing out of the ordinary there… except that the card designs had all been painted by either the artist’s mouth or one…
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