Towpath Talk

NEW: Passenger boat for East Midlands waterway

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Web Editor

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October 24, 2024

A NEW narrowboat designed to carry passengers up and down the River Slea in Lincolnshire will launch next spring. The £50,000, 30ft Benjamin Handley will take 12 people between The Hub in Sleaford and Cogglesford Watermill as part of history trips which will deposit guests so they can explore the market town. The boat was…
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Win GO Windlass Ratchet Windlasses

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Alex Bestwick

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October 24, 2024

To enter GO Windlass are giving away two of their reversible Ratchet Windlasses with polycarbonate revolving handles which normally retail at £94.99. These are pump action windlasses that allow boaters to raise lock paddles at the most optimum angle and stance for the boater and layout of the lock at hand. The GO Windlass also…
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SIXTY YEARS: AWCC Anniversary

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Web Editor

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October 23, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… A FLOTILLA of boats from all over England paraded in a rally to mark 60 years of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs. The rally, hosted by Lichfield Cruising Club on August 10/11, was officially opened by chief executive of the Canal and River Trust Richard Parry, who joined more than 100…
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LIVING AND WORKING: Floating home & workspace

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Web Editor

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October 22, 2024

Couple’s floating home is their workplace. Sally Clifford reports. IT WAS a chance find; the forlorn-looking narrowboat was lying against a hedge when Colin Wood spotted it. He’d previously made a career out of buying, restoring and selling cabin cruisers and could see beyond the boat’s then sorry state. Colin knew it had potential and…
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WATER FREIGHT: Natural Road Bypass

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Web Editor

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October 21, 2024

Jonathan Mosse reports… WITH the recent appointment of Lord Peter Hendry of Richmond Hill CBE as rail minister – until recently chair of Network Rail – the ongoing fracas surrounding safety at Euston Station has again been drawn into the spotlight. Upheld in one memorable tweet as ‘a Petri dish of chaos’, we are reminded…
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CRISIS! Cruisers urged to adopt as pet charities struggle

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Web Editor

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October 19, 2024

Two of the UK’s largest pet rescue organisations have called for boaters to give desperately needed homes to dogs in their care. Tim Greenfield reports… THE RSPCA and Dogs Trust – who have hundreds of pets needing new homes – both say they are keen to see more waterways users adopting canines. They say it…
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CHARACTERS OF THE CUT: Ken Norman, Flock Comedy

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Web Editor

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October 18, 2024

Alice Elgie reports… IT WAS a school narrowboat trip back in 1977 that first piqued cartoonist Ken Norman’s interest in living aboard. He was then aged just 15, and along with his now wife, Kate, it turned out to be just the beginning of their adventures together on the water. Fast-forward 44 years, and taking…
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BOATING CHILDREN: Education access issues

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Web Editor

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October 17, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… Calls are being made for the creation of a charter to protect the right of the children of constant cruisers to a reasonable journey time to school. It comes as a mass survey of water users revealed that hundreds of boaters are missing out on access to vital services such as healthcare…
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BRIDGE: Opening causing concern

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Web Editor

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October 16, 2024

THE IWA has written to Network Rail to express concern about the ongoing problems with the opening times of the Vazon Bridge over the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. The Vazon Sliding Railway Bridge works by sliding open to allow boats on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal to pass, before returning to its original position, enabling…
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GOVERNMENT: CRT asks to ‘properly support’ vital work

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Web Editor

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October 15, 2024

Tim Greenfield reports… THE Canal and River Trust is hoping to form a positive partnership with the new Labour Government to secure its long-term funding and halt the possibility of canal closures. It is hoping ministers will see the benefits of the waterways and agree to support its maintenance and renovation programme to stop them…
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WINTER RENOVATION: Dozens of sites targeted

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Web Editor

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October 14, 2024

Tim Greenfield reports… WORKERS from the Canal and River Trust are poised to start a massive programme of renovation work next month. The organisation is planning repairs and conservation projects across the waterway network from November to March and is hoping there will be minimal disruption to boaters. Work, which includes installing new lock gates…
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ALE SALES lead to canal restoration donation

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Web Editor

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October 12, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… Shropshire Union Canal Society volunteers have raised a glass to celebrate a successful fundraising partnership with a local brewery. MONTY’S Brewery, based in Montgomery, has sold more than 20,000 pints of its Navigation Pale Ale, and each pint has resulted in a donation towards the restoration of the Montgomery Canal. The 4.0%…
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DIVERS NEEDED for lock repair

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Web Editor

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October 11, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… Divers were brought in by the Canal and River Trust to help make repairs to the Grade II listed Weston Lock, on the River Avon just outside Bath. The lock, which is almost 300 years old, is one of 104 between Bristol and the River Thames at Reading which make up the…
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SAVED: Historic canal boat horse trophy

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Web Editor

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October 10, 2024

A 124-year-old trophy awarded to the best canal boat horse has been saved from the furnace and once again was competed for at a recent event. The West Bromwich Horse Show, Canal Boat Horse Class, trophy was saved by Staffordshire engineer and boat builder, Roger Fuller, who spotted it for sale on eBay. “It appeared…
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