Towpath Talk

FESTIVE FUN and lots of community spirit!

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November 3, 2025

THE Cotswold Canals Trust is looking ahead and preparing for welcoming families aboard its Santa Cruises. Every child will receive a special gift from Father Christmas. The cruises run on Saturdays and Sundays throughout December, with tickets priced at £7 per adult and £10 per child. “These trips aren’t just about festive fun – they…
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AWARD WINNING South Yorkshire Community Barge ‘Lights Up’ the Ghost Ships of Doncaster Fund Raising Event.

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November 2, 2025

For the first time this year, the Ethel Trust’s community barge ‘Pearl’ has supported the Ghost Ships of Doncaster fund raising event. The Trust’s volunteers, holders of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, decked out the barge with lights, skeletons, witches’ cauldrons and all things ghostly, to support the community raising funds for the…
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BRIDGE REBUILT with help from group volunteers

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November 1, 2025

The restoration of the Cotswolds Canals has taken a vital step forward following the completion of a years-long project.THE Cotswold Canals Trust is celebrating the completion of Weymoor Bridge, a vital crossing point in the ongoing restoration of the Cotswold Canals, thanks to the tireless efforts of Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) volunteers. The new bridge,…
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NEW CHAIRMAN takes the lead in boosting fundraising support

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October 31, 2025

THE Friends of the Montgomery Canal has welcomed a new chairman. Elected member Brian Williams, who has a lifelong love of canals, has stepped into the role for the membership section of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust, “In April this year, I retired as a Shropshire county councillor after 20 years of service,” he said.…
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CHARITY BOAT TRIPS: Cleaner and quieter…

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October 30, 2025

Popular boat trips are cleaner and quieter thanks to a generous grant for an electric engine. THE Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust runs two boats, The Mary Archard and Damselfly, which raise much-needed funds for the charity by carrying hundreds of passengers at special events every year. These…
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MONTGOMERY CANAL: Interactive audio trail launched

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October 29, 2025

An audio trail telling the story of the rich heritage and wildlife of the two-century old Montgomery Canal has been created. VOICES of the Canal is the work of schoolchildren and members of the local community who have come together to create the trail for people to enjoy while exploring the canal or from home.…
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ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL for boat building

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October 28, 2025

The Princess Royal has visited the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis to meet students past and present and learn more about its work preserving and promoting the craft – as a campaign is being prepared to secure its future. PRINCESS Anne enjoyed tours of the academy’s workshops, meeting students of the 40-week boat-building course…
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BRING BACK the boats!

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October 27, 2025

For almost three years, visiting boats have been unable to moor at Trevor Basin, near Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, on the Llangollen Canal. The Inland Waterways Association’s Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch have been campaigning to correct this. “WE have been in the ridiculous situation where visiting boats cannot moor at Trevor Basin, in the heart…
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10TH ANNIVERSARY for waterways calendar

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October 25, 2025

BLACK Country-based waterways photographer Kev Maslin is determined that the current water crisis will not curtail his activities any time soon. He has been busy on our waterways taking images for his next calendar, which features familiar locations up and down the country. “I really feel for boaters and, in particular, waterside businesses that rely…
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SPOOKTACULAR Halloween events to scare your socks off

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October 24, 2025

Things are getting very spooky around Halloween on Canal & River Trust’s canals in Yorkshire, with frightening family-fun Halloween events to scare even the most intrepid ghost hunter. The waterways charity, in association with Huddersfield Canal Society and the North of England Centre for Music & Arts, is inviting brave souls to discover the spookier side of…
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UK’S BIGGEST-EVER river pollution legal claim filed at High Court

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October 23, 2025

A LEGAL claim challenging river pollution in the Wye and Usk catchment areas has been filed at the High Court. Almost 4000 people have joined the action, making it the UK’s biggest-ever environmental pollution lawsuit. The court action is against industrial chicken production firms Avara Foods Limited and Freemans of Newent Limited, as well as…
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WATER in the publishing spotlight

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October 22, 2025

THERE’S plenty of fresh material on offer for avid readers at the moment, as new publications join the growing library of waterways books available for those who love to read. The UK’s inaugural Canal Laureate, Jo Bell, has written Boater – A Life on England’s Waterways. After decades of calm aboard England’s historic canals, a…
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GEORGIAN TOWN at heart of canal-connected county

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October 21, 2025

LINCOLNSHIRE historian Stuart Sizer, an expert on the county’s canal network, has published his latest book. Louth Ships – The Story of Louth Navigation offers insight into the variety of cargoes brought into and out of the Georgian market town’s canal from 1770 up to its demise. Bulk goods ranged from iron, coal and building…
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FREIGHT: A wee spark of an idea

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October 20, 2025

When an immaculate, one-third scale Clyde Puffer showed up on the moorings beside me at Bowling, on Scotland’s Forth & Clyde Canal, I’m afraid I just couldn’t help myself! Jonathan Mosse reports… AS commercial carriers, Puffers have undoubtedly had their day – and then some – but the presence of this perfect replica was more…
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