Towpath Talk

  • CANAL could run dry

    CANAL could run dry

    by

    THE Canal & River Trust in Wales, Glandŵr Cymru, has secured an emergency short-term supply of water from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) for the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. But it says there may not being enough water to keep the canal open for boaters during the coming months. In its website Boaters’ Update, the…

    Continue reading »

  • NAVIGATION DREAM edges closer with £20,000 boost

    NAVIGATION DREAM edges closer with £20,000 boost

    by

    A RESEARCH project which aims to uncover the history of the Melton and Oakham waterways – and ultimately reopen it to boats – can continue its work thanks to a £20,000 grant from the National Lottery. The Melton & Oakham Waterways Society (MOWS) will use the money to finance an 18-month project for further research…

    Continue reading »

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

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

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • FREE CAKE for volunteers

    FREE CAKE for volunteers

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • FREIGHT on the waterways update

    FREIGHT on the waterways update

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • HELP COMPILE a national picture of waterways heritage

    HELP COMPILE a national picture of waterways heritage

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • PUBLIC ASKED to share memories of West Midlands canals

    PUBLIC ASKED to share memories of West Midlands canals

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • WIN A PLACE ON AN RCR MAINTENANCE COURSE

    WIN A PLACE ON AN RCR MAINTENANCE COURSE

    by

    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,…

    Continue reading »

  • SCHOOL STUDENTS tackle climate change and flooding head on

    SCHOOL STUDENTS tackle climate change and flooding head on

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • May 2025

    May 2025

    by

    Towpath Talk features everything you need to know about boats, marinas, wildlife, conservation, heritage and superb days out.

    Continue reading »

  • LOUTH CANAL: Vegetation cut back

    LOUTH CANAL: Vegetation cut back

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • CRICK WATERSIDE & Marina launches residential moorings

    CRICK WATERSIDE & Marina launches residential moorings

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • BUCKET LIST TRIP: UK’s longest, deepest, highest canal tunnel

    BUCKET LIST TRIP: UK’s longest, deepest, highest canal tunnel

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »

  • SUPERBUGS spread from swans?

    SUPERBUGS spread from swans?

    by

    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…

    Continue reading »