Towpath Talk

Traditional skills revive tramway wharf

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Web Editor

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December 1, 2023

IN A world stuffed with technology it’s great to see that traditional skills and methods are still being used to great effect. This is true at Grinshill Stone Quarry where masons are dressing large coping IN A world stuffed with technology it’s great to see that traditional skills and methods are still being used to…
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Vandals deface newly painted artwork

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Web Editor

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November 30, 2023

Within hours of its completion a beautiful canalside mural – designed to promote well-being – was defaced. Sally Clifford finds out more. WHEN the canalside mural he’d painstakingly spent a week creating was defaced, Jaydon Rowbottom decided to write those who’d done it a letter. Unconventionally, he didn’t put pen to paper; his medium was…
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Boat licence fees to rise by 6% in April

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Web Editor

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November 29, 2023

THE Canal & River Trust has confirmed an increase of 6% in boat licence fees from April 1, 2024, for both private boat owners and boating businesses. The rise is based on the latest Bank of England forecasts that inflation will remain at around 4.5% until then. Surcharges for boats without a home mooring and…
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Little Star canal trip for Wrexham schoolchildren

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Web Editor

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November 27, 2023

A CLASS of Year 4 and 5 pupils from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Wrexham recently enjoyed a 45-minute boat trip. They cruised along the Llangollen Canal and crossed over the World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on board Anglo Welsh’s trip boat Little Star. Teacher Rebecca Hughes said: “The children had a lovely time on…
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Canal crowdfunder launched for community space

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Web Editor

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November 24, 2023

THE Chesterfield Canal Trust has launched a crowdfunder appeal in association with the Aviva Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund to create new community spaces at Staveley, Derbyshire. Aviva is kick-starting the appeal with £500 and will give the trust £2 for every £1 it raises, up to a maximum of £15,000. This means that…
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CRT investing £50M in vital conservation work this winter

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Web Editor

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November 24, 2023

The Canal & River Trust is embarking on a programme of winter repairs along 2,000 miles of historic canals across England and Wales. Forty-seven different waterways will benefit, with 138 large-scale works to replace worn-out lock gates, inspect tunnels and aqueducts, repair centuries-old masonry and brickwork, and other important heritage and conservation tasks. Heritage and…
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NABO highlights Calor Gas supply shortages

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Phil Pickin

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November 23, 2023

FOR many in the boating community, the problems surrounding the availability of Calor Gas have become a part of daily life, something that the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) highlighted in its October newsletter. In the article, the association stated: “The small 3.9kg and 4.5kg cylinders are virtually unobtainable, and the 6-13kg propane are…
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December 2023

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Arianne Davey

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November 22, 2023

Regularly topping 100 pages, Towpath Talk features everything you need to know about boats, marinas, wildlife, conservation, heritage and superb days out.
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IWA welcomes HS2 cancellation

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Web Editor

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November 21, 2023

THE Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has welcomed the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2 as announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a, 2b and HS2 East will avoid major noise impacts on waterway users at numerous locations and remove the blight on several canal restoration projects. Phase 2a (Fradley to Crewe) was…
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Horseboating returns to the Chesterfield Canal

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Web Editor

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November 17, 2023

EVERY year since 2019, the Chesterfield Canal Trust has put on displays of horseboating in Worksop. Charlie, the horse, could be seen on many summer Sundays towing Dawn Rose along the canal from Shireoaks to Worksop and back. This always attracted crowds of people keen to see a spectacle which dates back 250 years to…
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Oxford Canal bridges get £650,000 lift

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Web Editor

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November 16, 2023

THE Canal & River Trust is carrying out a £650,000 upgrade programme on four of the Oxford Canal’s iconic wooden lift bridges. A familiar part of the Oxfordshire landscape for nearly 250 years, the bridges were built to allow local farmers and residents to cross the newly dug canal. However, with funding for the construction…
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Lord Mayor books a visit to barge

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Web Editor

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November 16, 2023

Word is spreading about the Marjorie R floating bookshop in Leeds, as Sally Clifford found out. MOORED in the trendy waterside setting of Leeds dock, Marjorie R remains oblivious to her global fame. Queues of visitors, some from abroad, recently flocked to see this 77-year-old former workhorse of the waterway after seeing TV and media…
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New green flags for North West waterways

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Web Editor

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November 14, 2023

MORE than two-thirds of the North West region’s canals have been given Green Flag Award 2023/24 status by Keep Britain Tidy. The designation of a further 33 miles of the Trent & Mersey Canal takes the regional total up to 268 miles of Canal & River Trust waterways in Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.…
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Characters of the Cut: RiverMouse – Laura Lee Tanner

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Web Editor

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November 14, 2023

Alice Griffin reports… IT WAS a bright November Sunday in 2021 when singer-songwriter Laura Lee Tanner would embark on her first step in the creation of the folk quartet, RiverMouse, that she now fronts. Strolling past The Fox & Hounds pub in Stony Stratford, close to where her narrowboat was moored on the Grand Union…
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