Canal & River Trust

WATERWAY WONDER gets a celebratory lift

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February 13, 2025

IT WILL be a year of celebrations for the Anderton Boat Lift as it marks 150 years since its opening. And it is hoped the anniversary will boost a massive £15m restoration project to ensure the engineering marvel’s future survival. The world’s first commercial boat lift opened in 1875 and the Canal & River Trust…
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THE END for itinerant boaters?

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February 3, 2025

THE National Bargee Travellers Association claims a new review into licensing could see the end of travelling life on the UK’s waterways. The association, which represents 2000 boat owners who travel the waterways but don’t have a home mooring, believes the Canal & River Trust’s (CRT) new independent review of licensing may try to remove…
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DRONES USED for swing bridge inspection

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January 28, 2025

ENGINEERS used specialist drones to inspect the Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge in Cheshire as part of plans for summer repairs. The Canal & River Trust swung the bridge, which crosses the River Weaver, open twice during the inspection to allow engineers to see all parts of the bridge. Engineers used specialist drone equipment to help…
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£1.1M UPGRADE for Towpath

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January 10, 2025

Work is under way on a project to improve a four-mile stretch of towpath on the northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal and make it more accessible for residents and visitors. Lucy Wood reports… THE Canal & River Trust worked with the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership and Westmorland and Furness Council to secure funding for…
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MULTI-MILLION UPGRADE for reservoir

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January 8, 2025

Lucy Wood reports… HILL Top Reservoir, known locally as Slaithwaite Reservoir, is being upgraded by the Canal & River Trust to meet safety standards and withstand climate change. Situated in the village of Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, the reservoir was opened 225 years ago. Renowned engineer Benjamin Outram built it to supply water…
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SAVED: ‘At risk’ Aqueduct

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December 31, 2024

AN AT-RISK aqueduct has been saved from falling into disrepair after Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales, stepped in. The Grade-II Listed Aberbechan Aqueduct on the Montgomery Canal has had extensive repairs which should ensure its survival for the next 200 years. The aqueduct carries the canal over Bechan Brook, a tributary…
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CLIMATE CHANGE: £85m bill

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December 28, 2024

THE Canal & River Trust spent £85m in the last financial year on waterway maintenance and repairs, emergency works following floods and storms, and upgrades to reservoirs. In its annual Boater Report, the charity revealed it spent a total of £208.6m in 2023/24 out of income of £237.3m. That included £49m on maintenance and repair…
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DREDGING: Completed by canal charity

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December 24, 2024

BOATERS on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal should find navigation easier thanks to the completion of a six-week dredging programme by Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales. The work saw in the region of 300 tonnes of sediment removed from four different locations along the canal. It is part of a comprehensive…
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POEM & ARTWORK inspired by canal

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December 18, 2024

Lucy Wood investigates… THE Canal & River Trust charity and The Poetry Society have announced details of a new collaborative arts project inspired by the historic Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. Canal Works is a crowd-sourced poem by acclaimed poet Warda Yassin, and it has inspired a striking new installation by Sheffield-based artist Grace Visions, which…
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CANAL NETWORK: Education for kids

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December 16, 2024

A NEW website aims to educate children and adults alike about the UK’s waterways. The Explorers programme provides a range of free material for primary school-aged children, parents and teachers. Funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery, it will encourage children to connect with nature and enjoy the physical and mental well-being benefits of outdoor learning,…
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HAUNTED TUNNEL: Safety check carried out

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December 2, 2024

ENGINEERS braved the spooks and spectres to inspect the Harecastle Tunnel in Staffordshire to ensure it is safe for thousands of waterway users to navigate. Officials from the Canal & River Trust inched along the Harecastle Tunnel, one of the longest canal tunnels on Britain’s historic canal network, to carry out a vital inspection of…
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AWARDS: Celebrate volunteer excellence on nation’s canals

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November 28, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… DEDICATED teams and individuals who give their time free to the Canal & River Trust have been honoured. Recognition has been given to those who work on the CRT’s 250-year-old navigable network in the charity’s annual volunteer awards, which reflect the diversity of achievements made to keep these waterways open and alive.…
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GET RID of plastics and shout about it!

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November 27, 2024

YOUNG volunteers did their bit to keep the waterways plastic-free with a massive half-term clean-up. Families were out and about across the canal and river network, picking up rubbish to keep the towpaths pristine – and sharing their work on social media. And the organisers are hoping families, and especially youngsters, will keep up the…
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MILLIONS: To be spent on West Yorks. reservoir upgrades

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November 26, 2024

THE 225-year-old Hill Top Reservoir (known locally as Slaithwaite Reservoir) in West Yorkshire is due for a multi-million-pound restoration in 2025 to ensure it can cope with the pressures of climate change and hold more water. The Canal & River Trust held a consultation into the works, which are yet to be finalised, to ensure…
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