TPT December 2024

VOTED: UK’s best marina

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December 19, 2024

A CHESHIRE marina is the best in the UK – according to members of The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA). Overwater Marina, near Audlem and next to the Shropshire Union Canal, was crowned TYHA Inland Marina of the Year 2024 at the Southampton International Boat Show (see more on the boat show on page 43). The…
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POEM & ARTWORK inspired by canal

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December 18, 2024

Lucy Wood investigates… THE Canal & River Trust charity and The Poetry Society have announced details of a new collaborative arts project inspired by the historic Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. Canal Works is a crowd-sourced poem by acclaimed poet Warda Yassin, and it has inspired a striking new installation by Sheffield-based artist Grace Visions, which…
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CRUISE IT or lose it?

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December 17, 2024

BOATERS are being urged to get cruising to the farthest parts of the UK waterway network as part of a challenge to keep waterways open. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) Silver Propeller Challenge aims to get cruisers out to some of the least-visited places on the canal and river network. The IWA believes by visiting…
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GREY HAIR: Too much on the canal?

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December 14, 2024

Phil Pickin poses a question that many groups associated with the waterways grapple with… what to do to overcome an ageing membership. DURING the IWA’s recent AGM in Leicester, the issue of membership came up. This was not unexpected, and the subject wasn’t discussed simply out of a desire to increase the number of IWA…
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FESTIVE SPIRIT: Safe Anchor Trust

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December 13, 2024

Sally Clifford meets the family helping to bring the festive spirit to the Safe Anchor Trust. CHRISTMAS comes but once a year and the McGurty family are among those helping to spread the festive cheer. In the warm and cosy confines of the cafe at Shepley Bridge Marina in Mirfield, West Yorkshire – home to…
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CRUISE with Claus

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December 12, 2024

CHILDREN and adults can cruise with Santa Claus from four different locations on the Chesterfield Canal this Christmas. For just £10, you will get to cruise with Father Christmas. Children will get a present and adults will get a drink and a mince pie. The Chesterfield Canal Trust will be running these cruises on all…
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VITAL WORK stops canal and river merging

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December 11, 2024

EMERGENCY repair work to the UK’s longest canal and adjacent river has prevented the two waterways from merging. Recent heavy rainfall meant flooding from the River Soar found its way into the nearby Grand Union Canal and the increased pressure on canal walls meant vital repairs were necessary. The remote location of the flashpoint meant…
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FREIGHT DEVELOPMENTS on inland waterways

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December 10, 2024

Jonathan Mosse’s monthly look at freight development on the inland waterways. IT IS my unshakeable belief that the fact that we still have a functional commercial inland waterways system is largely down to individuals and not to the people who are entrusted with running them – the navigation authorities. Wood, Hall & Heward (WHH: a…
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EXPLORING your canal ancestry

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December 9, 2024

In the latest in her family history series, Nicola Lisle looks at how you can trace ancestors who fell foul of the law… IF YOU’VE hit a brick wall with any of your ancestors – such as names suddenly disappearing from census returns – it’s possible they had strayed from the straight and narrow. Crime…
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CANOE RIVER CLEANER Jim Elliot

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December 7, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… An environmental campaigner is on a one-man crusade to make his local waterways cleaner – and educate people in the process. NATURE lover James (Jim) Elliott regularly takes to his local waterways in a canoe to clear litter and fly-tipping, conduct wildlife surveys and more, all the while promoting the well-being benefits…
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CHARACTERS OF THE CUT: Paddy Screech

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December 6, 2024

Paddy Screech – Word on the Water, The London Bookbarge By Alice Elgie WHEN Paddy Screech and his friend, Jon Privett, were moored together in Springfield Park, Hackney back in 2010, they found themselves discussing ways to ensure they would never have to leave the canal again. “It’s not enough to just live on a…
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IWA: Acclaimed journalist as chairman

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December 4, 2024

Amy Tillson reports… IWA is delighted to announce the appointment of Hugh Pearman as the new chairman of its Heritage Advisory Panel. As an experienced and celebrated journalist, editor and author, he brings a background gained in a distinguished career and a deep commitment to preserving the architectural and engineering heritage of Britain’s inland waterways.…
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NEW BOSS: For underground attraction

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December 3, 2024

A MIDLANDS tourist attraction which takes visitors on a unique underground waterway tour has welcome a new boss. The Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust, which hosts tours in a network of historic tunnels and caverns under the town, is now under the leadership of new CEO Paul Crofts. Mr Crofts said: “I am absolutely thrilled…
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HAUNTED TUNNEL: Safety check carried out

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December 2, 2024

ENGINEERS braved the spooks and spectres to inspect the Harecastle Tunnel in Staffordshire to ensure it is safe for thousands of waterway users to navigate. Officials from the Canal & River Trust inched along the Harecastle Tunnel, one of the longest canal tunnels on Britain’s historic canal network, to carry out a vital inspection of…
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