TPT September 2023

Historic Stourport is third Heritage Inland Port

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Mark Lancaster

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September 28, 2023

HERITAGE Stourport was formed through a partnership of organisations and individuals who saw the benefit of applying for Heritage Inland Port status. They included Stourport Forward, Stourport Civic Society, Stourport Yacht Club, S&W Canal Society, Inland Waterways Association, several town councillors and other interested local people. Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire will celebrate its Heritage Inland Port…
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Tackling one of IWA’s Silver Propeller challenges

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Web Editor

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September 27, 2023

IT IS rare to have a passage enquiry more than 60 days ahead requesting a specific day and time – it has sometimes been less than 60 hours, writes IWA and River Foss Society member Peter Hopwood. However, on May 17 skipper Mike Wright confirmed his 57ft long, 6ft 10in wide narrowboat, Uz Boat, would…
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New guide to electric boats published

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Web Editor

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September 26, 2023

IWA is pleased to announce the publication of its new guide An Introduction to Electric-Drive Narrowboats. It believes that it is vital for members of the inland waterways community to make their contribution to a more sustainable environment. IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group has been looking at how inland waterways leisure boating can become more sustainable…
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HS2 Select Committee report acknowledges IWA route concerns

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Web Editor

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September 22, 2023

Amy Tillson reports THE HS2 (Crewe-Manchester) Bill Select Committee has published its First Special Report (19/7/2023). It covers responses to individual petitioners, some traffic and design issues, and a major section on ground conditions in Cheshire. IWA’s correspondence on the subsidence risk to HS2 and the Trent & Mersey Canal is referenced several times in…
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Lichfield Branch fundraiser turns a profit

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Web Editor

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September 21, 2023

Amy Tillson reports.. THE Lichfield Branch of IWA recently held a fundraising ‘lock wind’ event at Barton Turn Lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Branch members assisted boaters through the lock, in order to raise awareness of the organisation, and held a cake sale, raising more than £100 for the branch. #towpathtalk #canals #canalsandrivers…
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Training trainers on the Droitwich canals

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Web Editor

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September 19, 2023

Ralph Barber reports… AT TIMES it felt like learning a new language. In short, this organisation is a charity that runs boat projects for the benefit of the community somewhere in the country. This is the definition of the NCBA, or should I say the National Community Boats Association. It’s been going since 1985, when…
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Work starts on Cromford Canal extension at Langley Mill

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Web Editor

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September 18, 2023

THE much-anticipated start on the extension of the Cromford Canal at Beggarlee, Langley Mill, has begun with preparatory work to pipe two gullies. One of these will pass underneath and across the new canal extension which has been one of the principal objectives of the Friends of Cromford Canal which was established in 2002. Connecting…
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Volunteers sought for society’s plant and projects

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Web Editor

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September 14, 2023

GRANTHAM Canal Society is seeking volunteers to join its team which keeps its boats and plant in working order. The maintenance department is struggling to keep the society’s ever-increasing fleet in tiptop condition and any plant out of action impacts funds coming in as well as delaying restoration and repairs. Volunteers are also being sought…
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Canal trust shop first birthday

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Web Editor

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September 13, 2023

THE Cotswold Canals Trust charity book and music shop celebrated its first year of trading in Stonehouse on August 5. Located in Queens Road, the shop spreads over three units and is laid out perfectly for shoppers to find their perfect book. There’s a children’s section and a sofa to sit and relax or snuggle…
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Characters of the Cut – Giles Williams!

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Web Editor

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September 7, 2023

Alice Griffin caught up with Giles Williams – your helmsman! WHEN Giles Williams found himself recovering from illness in early 2016 and looking for work that would take him into the open air, he could not have foreseen that an initial job as towpath ranger for the Canal & River Trust would lead him on…
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Day in the life of a licence ranger

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Web Editor

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September 5, 2023

llegally moored boats, boats without licences and even a boat sinking – it’s all in a day’s work for one of the Canal & River Trust’s licensing rangers, as author Andy Griffee discovered when he went out on towpath patrol with one of them. ONE of the first things I notice about Steve Broad’s ranger…
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Flower the budding boat horse!

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Web Editor

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September 4, 2023

THE Shropshire Union Main Line near Norbury recently saw a Shropshire Union fly-boat hauled by a horse, perhaps the first time there for 100 years. This rare and wonderful sight was the well-known Saturn, hauled by Flower, an eight-year-old mare. David Ray of Norbury Wharf Ltd said: “Flower did really well. She is usually ridden…
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Schoolhouse Bridge takes shape

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Web Editor

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August 31, 2023

AFTER more than six years of planning and fundraising Schoolhouse Bridge is taking shape. Contractors recently craned the bridge sections into place and there is once more a Bridge 86 over the Montgomery Canal. Schoolhouse Bridge was the last highway blockage on the Shropshire section of the Montgomery Canal. It is believed that in the…
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Innovation at lock gate workshops

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Web Editor

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August 30, 2023

THE Canal & River Trust’s lock gate workshops, at Bradley in the West Midlands and Stanley Ferry in Yorkshire, are bringing forward several small changes to lock gate production to increase speed and efficiency. With more than 1500 locks across the trust’s canal network, and a working life of typically 25 years, there is a…
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