The Canal & River Trust

  • FOXTON LOCKS: Car park improvements

    FOXTON LOCKS: Car park improvements

    by

    THE Canal & River Trust has been improving car parking at Foxton Locks in Leicestershire, making it easier for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to visit the historic site. As part of the proposed upgrade, the charity is installing an ANPR system, which will enable people to park their vehicles and pay when…

    Continue reading »

  • REPLACED: Ageing safety gate

    REPLACED: Ageing safety gate

    by

    A £50,000 project has seen a deteriorating safety gate on the Shropshire Union Canal at Knighton make way for a handcrafted replacement. The Canal & River Trust carried out the work at the historic wharf in June, replacing the ageing gate with one made in the charity’s specialist workshop. Between 1911 and 1961, Cadbury’s used…

    Continue reading »

  • EASENHALL CUTTING: Now open

    EASENHALL CUTTING: Now open

    by

    EASENHALL Cutting on the Oxford Canal has reopened to navigation while a major repair project by the Canal & River Trust continues. After a period of intense rainfall in early February an estimated 4000 tonnes of the 18m cutting slipped into the canal. Trust teams worked through difficult conditions, with continued wet weather saturating the…

    Continue reading »

  • CANAL RESTORATION: Underway in Staveley

    CANAL RESTORATION: Underway in Staveley

    by

    THE Chesterfield Canal Trust celebrated the start of its latest phase of restoration with a groundbreaking ceremony at Staveley. Lee Rowley MP, Toby Perkins MP and Coun Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and vice-chairman of the Staveley Town Deal Board, were joined by Tony Mitchell, a director of O’Brien Construction Ltd and Peter…

    Continue reading »

  • COSTLY! Bridge repairs prompts ‘slow down’ plea

    COSTLY! Bridge repairs prompts ‘slow down’ plea

    by

    MOTORISTS are being urged to slow down and take more care when crossing historic hump-back bridges that span the canal network.  The call comes as the Canal & River Trust completes a £100,000 project to repair the latest damage to the parapet of Barrow Bridge in Derbyshire when brickwork was knocked into the Trent &…

    Continue reading »

  • Volunteers’ Week spotlight on Wilts & Berks Canal

    Volunteers’ Week spotlight on Wilts & Berks Canal

    by

    A WILTSHIRE volunteer is supporting a national campaign that encourages people to get more involved in their communities. Howard Wilson, from Semington, is a member of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust which aims to restore the former waterway through the local countryside. He joined the Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the charity seven years ago…

    Continue reading »

  • Three-month recovery high and YouTube rescue videos

    Three-month recovery high and YouTube rescue videos

    by

    Unprecedented rainfall levels, water surges and numerous flood warnings resulted in River Canal Rescue (RCR) responding to more major incidents in the first three months of this year, than it did for the whole of 2023. Between January and March, its teams responded to 155 major incidents (emergency situations either involving submerged, partially sunken or…

    Continue reading »

  • Black Sluice Lock marks 15 years in service

    Black Sluice Lock marks 15 years in service

    by

    THE Black Sluice Lock in Lincolnshire has now been in service for 15 years since its official opening on Friday, March 20, 2009. Following the demolition of the old lock and the fixed sluice, a new lock was constructed on the River Witham tideway at the south end of the Black Sluice complex, marking the…

    Continue reading »

  • Boaters march on CRT office in licence fee protest

    Boaters march on CRT office in licence fee protest

    by

    HUNDREDS of boaters took to the towpath of Paddington Basin in London to demonstrate against the Canal & River Trust’s licence fee increases. They were also protesting at plans to introduce differential pricing based on mooring status. Activists from the boater community were joined on Easter Saturday by members of other groups in solidarity, including…

    Continue reading »

  • More of the Monty takes shape

    More of the Monty takes shape

    by

    WITH parts of the UK having had their wettest winter since records began in 1836, work on the Crickheath Tramway wharf wall was delayed despite prolonged pumping to reduce water levels. So the main focus of a recent work party was to crack on with lining and blocking just south of the wharf. This section…

    Continue reading »

  • Accessible picnic area opens at Saul Junction

    Accessible picnic area opens at Saul Junction

    by

    WHEELCHAIR users will be among visitors able to appreciate the benefits of spending time by the water at Saul Junction with the creation of a new picnic area. Volunteers from the Canal & River Trust have spent eight months building the area, which has been designed to provide space for up to four wheelchairs at…

    Continue reading »

  • Spring launch for Sharpness 150 landmark

    Spring launch for Sharpness 150 landmark

    by

    CELEBRATIONS to mark 150 years since the opening of Sharpness New Dock in 1874 were launched with an exhibition at Sharpness Sports and Social Club. Aimed at bringing people from the community, surrounding areas and visitors together to participate in and enjoy exploring the past, present and future of Sharpness Dock, anniversary events will continue…

    Continue reading »

  • Health check for ‘stream in the sky’

    Health check for ‘stream in the sky’

    by

    THE Canal & River Trust recently emptied Pontcysyllte Aqueduct of water to check that the 307m long structure is in good working order. Nicknamed the ‘stream in the sky’, the aqueduct was built in 1805 by Thomas Telford to carry the Llangollen Canal across the Dee Valley 38m below and was granted World Heritage Status…

    Continue reading »

  • Restoration team springs into action

    Restoration team springs into action

    by

    THE eagerly awaited start of lining and blocking the Montgomery Canal route at Crickheath South got off to a flying start. Tom Fulda, restoration project manager for the Shropshire Union Canal Society, said that the team had been delayed by the wet weather over the winter but pumps were being used to reduce water levels…

    Continue reading »