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March 2020 Canal Boating Times 3

NEWS ON THEWATERWAYS

A defibrillator has been installed at White Mills Marina on the River Nene in Earls Barton, thanks to funds raised by the site’s boaters over a nine-month period.

The device, situated at the entrance to the marina, is available for use by the general public in life-threatening emergencies, including boaters, walkers, cyclists and runners along the river, as well as those taking part in sports events on the nearby playing fields.

Operations manager for White Mills Marina, Gary Butcher, said, “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by people’s generosity. To achieve our fundraising target in just nine months is terrific news. Of course, the defibrillator is not just for the benefit of our boaters but for the wider community too, which is really important to us. We are really thrilled, so thank you to everyone.”

Defibrillator training sessions are being carried out at the marina – contact Gary Butcher on 01604 812057 for more information.

River Nene marina install defibrillator

Gary Butcher, operations manager at White Mills Marina, with the newly installed defibrillator.

Mercia Marina on the Trent & Mersey Canal in Derbyshire has achieved gold status for the ninth year running under the David Bellamy Conservation Awards in recognition of its work to protect and enhance the natural world. The mooring facility and visitor attraction has also been awarded a Woodlands Badge, been declared a Honey Bee Friendly Park, and has become one of the first recipients of the scheme’s new Going Green Together badge.

Professor Bellamy, who passed away in December 2019, co-founded the awards scheme in conjunction with the British Holiday & Home Parks Association. Bronze, silver

and gold accreditations are given out following analysis of the site, taking into consideration everything from planting schemes and wildlife management to waste recycling, light pollution and the cleanliness of toilets.

Furthermore, Mercia Marina has again achieved five-star grading and a gold award from Visit England, marking its continuous commitment to improvements and standards for holidaymakers visiting or staying at the marina in a holiday lodge or on a boat.

Commenting on the marina, the Visit England report stated: “The strengths of this park are its comprehensive range of home,

leisure, shopping and facilities, coupled with a year on year investment programme to enhance the customer experience.”

Tony Preston, sales and marketing manager, said: “Our commitment to encouraging wildlife is just one

of the reasons why Mercia Marina has become one of the top tourist attractions in the East Midlands. We are also pleased that the work of our volunteers to boost the honey bee population has been recognised once again.”

Wildlife and tourism awards for Mercia Marina

An aerial view of Mercia Marina in Derbyshire. Photo: Nathan Anderson-Dixon.

The Canal & River Trust has secured funding to improve the towpath along the Trent & Mersey Canal in Staffordshire. The project, which will be delivered in two parts, will see work carried out from Leathermill Lane to the A51 bridge on the Rugeley Bypass, adjacent to the Ash Tree public house – a distance of 1¼ miles. The towpath

will be widened to create a level, pothole- and traffic-free route.

CRT is working in partnership with Staffordshire County Council, Cannock Chase and Lichfield district councils and Brereton & Ravenhill Parish Council. The project will cost £437,240 and is due to be completed by March 2020.

Peter Davies, clerk to BRPC,

said: “The Parish Council, which originally put forward this scheme, is delighted that our long-term aim of upgrading the towpath so that it is suitable for less-able walkers, cyclists and those who use wheelchairs or pushchairs will soon be achieved. The improvement will make the canal towpath a real asset for our community.”

Funding secured for towpath improvements in Staffordshire The National Waterways Museum

has been awarded a share of a £353,000 award from the Arts Council England. The grants are going to unspecified projects in various museums in the north of England to help develop knowledge and understanding of their object collection, and NWM is to get around £33,000.

The money comes from the Designation Development Fund,

a part of the National Lottery that supports projects to ensure their long-term sustainability and maximise public value.

Graham Boxer, head of collections and archives for the Canal & River Trust, said the grant of £33,000 “would unlock hidden stories in the museum collection and share how these have impacted and influenced work today in looking after our waterways”.

ARTS COUNCIL GRANT FOR NATIONAL WATERWAYS MUSEUM

4 Canal Boating Times March 2020

Canal Boating Times is published by Waterways World Ltd, 151 Station Street, Burton-on-Trent DE14 1BG, England.

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Overwater Marina, near Audlem on the Shropshire Union Canal, is celebrating its tenth birthday this year with a ten-month programme of competitions.

The 230-berth marina in the Cheshire countryside was built by Land & Water Services for the

Maughan family; opened in spring 2010, it has since become an award-winning mooring site.

To celebrate the anniversary and to thank its customers, the marina has announced ten months of giveaways. Manager David Johnson says: “This is a fantastic way to celebrate ten

years in business. Every customer who has a mooring registered with us on a monthly, quarterly or annual contract will be in with a chance of winning a prize each month, culminating in a star giveaway – a year’s free mooring for one lucky customer.”

Overwater Marina on the Shropshire Union turns ten

in 2020.

The Canal & River Trust is now providing ‘Trust Aware’ permits to boaters who have been granted an adjustment to their cruising requirements under the Equality Act 2010. This follows feedback at a series of meetings held with disabled boaters over the past year.

The trust supports disabled people and those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act by making ‘reasonable adjustments’ to their cruising requirements to ensure that they can use the waterways. Currently there are around 240 boaters with approved adjustments, and a further 140 applications in the process of being reviewed.

The permits, suggested by the boaters themselves, are intended to let other people know that CRT is aware of their situation and that they have permission to overstay at moorings or move in a limited range, for example. Although distributed automatically to all boaters with agreed adjustments, CRT is not making it a requirement for the yellow permits to be displayed.

Matthew Symonds, national boating manager at CRT, said: “We are committed to supporting all boaters and it is important to understand the needs of all, including disabled boaters who may find some elements of boating a bit more challenging.

“In our recent meetings with disabled boaters we’ve heard that a sign to let other boaters know that we are aware of a boat’s situation would be helpful. We recognise that this is a personal choice and some boaters would prefer not to display anything. Following discussions, we are pleased to offer an optional Trust Aware permit for those boaters who wish to put them in their windows.”

Overwater Marina celebrates ten years

CRT offers yellow awareness stickers

The Baldwin Trust, which operates community trip-boats on the River Soar and Grand Union Canal in Leicestershire, is fundraising for a new narrowboat – the second in two years.

The charity has a fleet of three accessible narrowboats, the newest of which, Halseyon Days, was launched in August 2019. However, the trust is having to replace its founding trip-boat, St Clare, which has been retired from service after 31 years due to repeated mechanical failures and high repair costs.

Called ‘Put a foot in the water for the Baldwin Trust part two’, the appeal is asking for organisations and individuals to fund a small proportion of the £75,000 still required to commission a new craft. It’s hoped that construction of the boat will start at the end of the year, with the aim of it being ready for operation for the 2021 season.

Catherine Johnson, Baldwin Trust secretary, explains: “A new trip-boat will allow us to continue to provide a valuable recreational activity for the community and remove uncertainty from our operation as we strive for self-sufficiency in the future.

“Plans for our new boat include

BALDWIN TRUST LAUNCHES NEW BOAT APPEAL

additional and improved equipment for physically and mentally disadvantaged users. We are also considering the use of more environmentally friendly forms of power and doing our bit to protect our environment while, at the same time, providing sensory facilities and improved handling techniques to cater for the more severely disadvantaged clients and users. We

are working hard to build up our links with local organisations and would like to increase our reach with new contacts with dementia and stroke associations during the coming year.”

More information, including how to make a donation, is available at baldwintrust.co.uk, or can be requested from [email protected].

The Baldwin Trust’s latest appeal is to replace its trip-boat St Clare.


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Towpath users can expect to benefit from a formal commitment from the Canal & River Trust to work alongside the walking and cycling charity Sustrans to make canalsides more accessible.

The organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January, which, although not legally binding, outlines key areas where they promise to collaborate in future, including identifying third-party funding streams, promoting the pedestrian-priority Towpath Code and working to manage interaction

between different towpath users. The latter, both parties agree, will ensure the needs of people using the waterspace – for example, boaters and anglers – are given precedence.

They will also work together on the enhancement of Sustrans’ National Cycle Network where it runs over the trust’s towpaths, addressing accessibility and increasing community involvement.

CRT chief executive Richard Parry said: “We have worked closely and effectively with Sustrans in various ways over many years, and

I’m pleased to have renewed our relationship.

“Towpaths are fantastic places for walking and – where we have been able to improve their standard – for cycling, provided it is done responsibly, connecting places for free and accessible sustainable travel in the hearts of cities and countryside. By creating more opportunities for everyone to enjoy these green and attractive traffic-free paths, more people will come to the waterways and discover the physical and mental benefits of being by the water.”

There are currently around 500 miles of

National Cycle Network routes on towpaths.

The Canal & River Trust has issued another plea to drivers after a bridge spanning the Wyrley & Essington Canal at Pelsall suffered severe damage in a two-car collision.

The crash, which happened on 9th January, saw York’s Bridge temporarily closed to traffic while CRT evaluated the repairs required on the parapet. The towpath was closed, although navigation was still possible on the canal.

CRT estimates that fixing the damage will cost “anything up to £30,000” and took the opportunity to remind motorists to exercise due care and attention when crossing canals.

A spokesperson said: “Each time a bridge is hit a small bit of history is lost and it is heartbreaking for us to spend so much time and money caring for these amazing structures

just to see them so carelessly damaged. It’s also massively frustrating for local people who

want to use the road. “In the last year we’ve had to

spend over £1m across the country

repairing bridges hit by drivers, and that’s money which could be better used maintaining and looking after

the region’s canals. “If motorists just slowed down

a bit and took more care and attention then they would save themselves and us a lot of cost and aggravation, and protect the nation’s important canal heritage.”

Last year Walsall Council revealed plans to replace York’s Bridge, which dates back to the mid-19th century. It is currently part of the busy B4154 Norton Road, but has a 7.5-ton weight limit, plus speed and width restrictions. The council’s plan is to keep the old bridge for foot traffic and build a modern full-weight bridge alongside.

While the structure is owned by CRT, the trust’s only obligation is to maintain a bridge over the canal; it is not obliged to ensure suitability for the traffic requirements of the road.

CRT AND SUSTRANS SIGN ‘GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT’

Motorists scolded after Pelsall bridge crashYorks Bridge on the Wyrley &

Essington Canal suffered major damage to its parapet in January.

Silver Propeller additions shine spotlight on northern waterwaysBoaters looking to pick up points towards the Inland Waterways Association’s Silver Propeller Challenge have seen the net widened to encompass two new destinations.

The scheme, which IWA launched at the start of 2018, champions lesser-explored waterways by asking participants to check off 20 locations from a list on the association’s website.

It was expanded in December to include the River Foss (Wormalds Cut) in York, and Stainton or Mattisons Bridge 168 on the Lancaster Canal’s Northern Reaches. The latter is only accessible by portable or trailable craft, or on the trip-boat operating from Crooklands, the venue of IWA’s 2019 Trailboat Festival.

A spokesperson for the association said: “Both locations have been chosen for campaigning reasons, primarily to promote increased use of two very under-used sections of waterway, in line with the overall intentions of the Silver Propeller Challenge. The addition of the isolated section of the Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal will help to promote the restoration of the canal up to Kendal, while the River Foss in York is accessible again with a new team of IWA volunteers coming together to operate Castle Mills Lock.”

You can find more details about the challenge, plus a full list of Silver Propeller locations, on IWA’s website: waterways.org.uk/silverpropeller.

The ‘Blue Bridge’, built in 1895, carries York’s riverside walkway across the mouth of the Foss.


WATERWAYSWOMEN

International Women’s Day takes places on 8th March. We take a look at some of the pioneering women who have made a name for themselves on the inland waterways

WOMEN OF THE WATERWAYS

“She was the First Lady of the English canals,” claimed her close pal and president of the Canal Society of New York State, Tom Grasso. Few would argue otherwise.

Sonia Mary Fleming South, to use her full maiden name, was an aspiring actress before conflict broke out in 1939 and changed everything, as it did for so many people. Compelled to sign up for war work, she and two friends responded to an advert in the Times for female volunteers to work narrowboats on the Grand Union Canal. Sonia later recalled: “We were all quite physically fit and thought we could manage it. We didn’t know anything at all before we went to be trained. I don’t think any of us had even seen a canal.”

She was to see a lot more of

the waterways over the course of her long life. When peace was declared in 1945, there was a gap of just two weeks before Sonia was back on the canals – this time as the wife of working boatman George Smith, whom she married on 1st September that year. The relationship was, at first, a happy one, and Sonia saw herself not only as an equal to George in terms of the work they did, but also as a vociferous campaigner for better working conditions on the cut.

It was in this role that she was invited to join the committee of the newly formed Inland Waterways Association in 1946. She would go on to marry its co-founder Tom Rolt, and for the rest of their 23 years together both continued to champion Britain’s industrial

heritage. Their first major project was saving the Talyllyn Railway.

After Tom’s death in 1974, Sonia continued the work they had started alone. For the next 40 years she was, among other positions, a vice-president of IWA, president of the Commercial Boat Owners Association and a patron of Mikron Theatre Company. Away from the canal, she was actively involved with the Preservation of Ancient Buildings, the Landmark Trust and the National Trust.

These astonishing contributions were formally recognised with an OBE in 2011. By then too frail to walk any distance, she attended the investiture in a wheelchair, quipping afterwards: “I blame it on my seven years on the boats. I was never brought up to do that.”

SONIA ROLTWWII VOLUNTEER CANAL BOATWOMAN AND WATERWAYS CAMPAIGNER

STEPHANIE HORTON MANAGING DIRECTOR, RIVER CANAL RESCUE

Sonia sitting on the stern of Warwick with George Smith

(behind her) and Michael Streat (left centre).

Sonia steering Warwick on an IWA members’ cruise along the

Regent’s Canal about 1948.

Born in Scunthorpe, Stephanie maintains that engineering was in her genes from the start. Her grandfather was a ship’s engineer and, as a child, she spent happy hours in his garage and shed, tinkering with equipment and interrogating him about how things work. Her mother shared an equal passion for the subject, and her ‘hands-on’ approach to problem solving inspired not just Stephanie, but her sister Tushka (who works in RCR’s parts department) and her brother Kerry (the firm’s engineering manager).

Aged 20, Stephanie moved to Folkestone to be with her partner, Trevor, who was working on the Channel Tunnel. Her own engineering career came later

when, following several years juggling nursery work with being a full-time mum, she enrolled on an access-to-engineering course at a local college. Such was Stephanie’s aptitude, she was encouraged to apply to university and was offered a scholarship at Loughborough University, where she completed a degree in electro-mechanical power engineering in 2000.

It was while at university that the idea for RCR was developed. Having bought their first boat, Trevor realised he could fix most things (he worked with engines and, as a diagnostic engineer, was much in demand). He wondered how people without such experience managed to fix their boats, and from

here the foundations of the business were laid.

The couple spent six months researching whether the venture was viable, before finally launching in January 2001. Since then it has become the UK’s largest national breakdown, rescue and recovery services provider for boaters using the inland waterway system. The firm operates on a 24/7 basis, covering a network of some 3,600 miles and responding to an average of 150 call-outs per week.

What started with just two engineers and one office-based worker has now grown to a staff of over 30. RCR aims to respond to every call-out within four hours and alongside its breakdown, rescue

and recovery services, the business provides maintenance support, courses, route-planning tools, personal boat transportation, access to a range of marine engineering service providers, specialists to help boaters manage insurance claims and recover costs following an emergency, an online chandlery and finance options.

Equally impressively, it looks like Stephanie is keeping the engineering expertise in the family. Son Jay is operations manager at RCR, while Aaron was an engineer there too. There are hopes that some of Stephanie and Trevor’s five grandchildren may also have inherited those handy engineering genes...


Prunella, together with her husband Timothy West,

campaigned for the reopening of the Kennet & Avon Canal.

She split our sides as Basil’s domineering spouse in Fawlty Towers, and now she’s been back on the small screen since 2014 – but breaking our hearts – in Great Canal Journeys.

The Channel 4 travel series proved a surprise ratings hit, not just for the picture-postcard waterways scenery but the disarmingly honest portrait of Prunella’s battle with Alzheimer’s, and husband Timothy West’s struggle to adapt to their new relationship.

Long before Prunella started raising awareness of this disease, however, she was bringing public attention to an altogether different

plight – the state of Britain’s waterways. In particular, the couple campaigned long and hard for the Kennet & Avon to be reopened and, in 1990, theirs was the first boat in 42 years to travel its full length.

Prunella’s interest in boating began much earlier when she, Tim and their young family borrowed a friend’s narrowboat for a two-week holiday along the Oxford Canal. Tim recalls: “We knew nothing about canals, nothing about narrowboats, but we thought we’d give it a try. In fact, it was the best fortnight’s holiday we’ve ever had. The weather was wonderful. It was 1976, the long hot summer, and the kids were small

but just old enough to be able to work the locks and lift-bridges and they had a wonderful time. They got so tired that they were flat out by six o’clock and Pru and I could open a bottle of wine and just sit and look at the sunset.”

The trip inspired the couple to buy their own boat, which they used as a liveaboard during spells of acting work in Bath, Bristol and, for three months, in Leeds. In more recent years, Prunella has lamented not being able to use the boat as much, as work gets in the way, but the couple steal the odd few days aboard and still regard it as “a home-from-home”.

PRUNELLA SCALES GREAT CANAL JOURNEYS PRESENTER AND LONG-TIME WATERWAYS RESTORATION CAMPAIGNER

There must be few people on the cut today who can match Beryl McDowall’s breadth of boating experience. As well as being a liveaboard boater for over 50 years, she has operated trip-boats, carried cargo, practised waterways art, restored boats and helped build a narrowboat from scratch.

Even in retirement, waterways continue to occupy much of her time. A former chairperson and secretary, of the Residential Boat Owners’ Association, she is the editor of its bi-monthly magazine, Soundings, and represents residential boaters on various Canal & River Trust

groups and committees. She also provides talks at waterway events promoting a realistic view of living afloat – “If you’re thinking of doing it as a way of cheap living, don’t!”

Beryl first came to boating in 1966 when she acquired a two-seater canoe with her then husband. A few years later, she had moved onto a historic narrowboat – quite literally, living on board an old Clayton butty called Poyle while teaching at Hemel Hempstead – “My mother thought I was mad,” she recalls. Looking for a career break, she was inevitably drawn to the canals, and in the early 1970s began running trip-boats on

BERYL MCDOWALL LONG-TIME LIVEABOARD AND FORMER WORKING BOATER

the Worcester & Birmingham and later the Shropshire Union.

Beryl was also among the last people to undertake regular cargo-carrying work on the inland waterways as in 1973 she and her husband began transporting lime juice from Brentford to Boxmoor with a pair of narrowboats. “We did two round trips a week as regular as clockwork, transporting nearly 100 tonnes in total.” And the work didn’t stop in winter: “Some days your hands were so frozen you couldn’t feel the paddles.”

After becoming pregnant in 1975, Beryl ran camping boats from Sawley

for a while, before returning to the lime juice run the following year, with a new crew member, Andrew, on board. Indeed, Andrew’s entire upbringing was on Beryl’s boat, and her assertion that “it never did him any harm” is born out in fact. Having studied marine engineering, he is now senior design engineer at Babcocks in Plymouth.

In the summer of 1976, Beryl swapped lime juice on the GU for gravel on the River Soar, and lived on board a 30ft narrowboat for much of this time. The latter craft was eventually superseded by a Blisworth Tunnel tug replica that

she helped research and build. One incident from this time gives an insight into both Beryl’s tenacity and boating skill. “The first time we did the run, they’d never seen a woman on this kind of job... I went to turn the boats around at the winding hole and all the blokes of the plant stopped work to watch me, thinking I would mess it up... I kept my fingers crossed, all went well and the chaps went back to work disappointed.”

Beryl continues to live on board a narrowboat beside her own beautiful ¾-acre strip of canalside land at Mountsorrel.

Beryl transporting lime juice on the Grand Union Canal in the 1970s.


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A TO Z OF WATERWAYS

4A relaxed, rambling route takes the canal the 3 miles or so to Leighton Lock, beyond which it creeps into the twin towns of Linslade and Leighton Buzzard, where you’ll find a useful selection of canalside supermarkets and stores. Beyond the two settlements, the GU climbs slowly at the rate of roughly a lock a mile. Having now crossed the border from Bedfordshire into Buckinghamshire, a sense of remoteness settles over the countryside, with villages keeping their distance.

1Our Grand Union journey starts in Milton Keynes. Until the 1960s, this area had a flat, featureless landscape but since the town was constructed it’s now home to over 230,000 people and an excellent range of high-street shops, restaurants and amenities. Also on this stretch is Gulliver’s Land, a children’s theme park that is ideally located if you are looking to keep young ones amused.

3Now into the countryside, there are pleasant views to Stoke Hammond Lock and its fairytale-cottage-like pump house. Keeping its distance from the village of Stoke Hammond, the GU passes a golf course en route to the picturesquely set Soulbury Three Locks. The Three Locks pub is handily placed for those in need of food and refreshment before the lock-wheeling work begins.

SECTION ONE: MILTON KEYNES TO MARSWORTH 16 MILES, 16 LOCKS

SOUTHERN GRAND UNION CANAL

2The first lock for 10 miles is Fenny Stratford, which marks the commencement of the Grand Union’s climb up towards the Chilterns and the summit level at Tring. Although the town doesn’t have a great deal to offer, there is a handy array of facilities on the canal, including water, an Elsan point and rubbish disposal.

The best way to see the Chilterns and Home Counties is by canal. We explore the GU mainline from Milton Keynes to London

Soulbury Three Locks.

Three Locks pub.


A TO Z OF WATERWAYS

SECTION TWO: MARSWORTH TO RICKMANSWORTH 20 MILES, 43 LOCKS

1Marsworth, or ‘Mafers’ to the working boatmen, marks the spot where the Aylesbury Arm leaves the canal – a 6¼-mile diversion to the county town of Buckingham where you’ll find a good array of facilities. From Marsworth Junction the Grand Union quickly climbs 42ft 3in on the seven-lock flight to its summit at Tring. Over to the right are the four Tring Reservoirs, built between 1800 and 1838 to supply water to the canal, which are popular with anglers.

2Immediately beyond the top lock is Bulbourne Junction, where the short Wendover Arm (currently undergoing restoration) heads off to the right. Around half of the 3-mile Tring summit is through Tring Cutting, which reaches a maximum depth of 35ft and took the best part of two years to dig. Past Cowroast Lock, you begin your descent towards the Thames with a steady procession of locks along the valley of the River Bulbourne.

4Keep your windlass at the ready for the ten locks on the stretch towards Hemel Hempstead – a charming town with some excellent shops and attractive streets. You’ll also need a Canal & River Trust key for the swing-bridge at Winkwell. The canal then skirts past central Watford and heads through the large, pastoral environs of Cassiobury Park. This is a pleasant place to moor and relax before the final stretch towards London.

A TO Z OF WATERWAYS

3The affluent commuter town of Berkhamsted comes next with its handy supermarket between locks 53 and 52 and a cluster of pleasant canalside pubs. The ruins of the Norman Berkhamsted Castle lie just a short stroll from the canal, and be sure to look out for the town’s famous totem pole on the water’s edge.

Marsworth Top Lock.

Marsworth church.

Bulbourne workshops near Tring.

Bulbourne Dry Dock.

Boating through Cassiobury Park.

Grove Bridge, Cassiobury Park.


SECTION THREE: RICKMANSWORTH TO BRENTFORD18 MILES, 19 LOCKS

A TO Z OF WATERWAYS

1Rickmansworth is a fairly typical Home Counties town, with a good range of pubs and restaurants, as well as a high street that provides a welcome selection of independent shops. If you don’t get into the town, there is a supermarket between bridges 173 and 174. The annual Rickmansworth Festival takes place on 16th-17th May this year at the Aquadrome Park and on the towpath between Batchworth and Stocker’s locks.

3For London-bound boaters, Cowley Lock is the last of the trip. A short way beyond, past Packet Boat Marina, the Slough Arm slinks off on its 5-mile journey to the town. Continuing on the mainline, after 5 lock-free miles passing the indivisible towns of Yiewsley, West Drayton and Hayes, the canal arrives at Bull’s Bridge Junction, where the Paddington Arm heads east into central London.

2With a fall of 11ft, Denham Lock is the deepest on the canal and marks your imminent emergence into the compact outer suburban belt of London. Nevertheless, Uxbridge Lock, which follows, has an attractive setting, made up of its lock cottage, turnover bridge and nearby flour mill. Uxbridge itself is a thriving commercial town with shops aplenty.

4Once through the seven Hanwell Locks, the canal follows the meandering course of the River Brent into Brentford Lock. Just before Brentford Gauging Lock is a facilities block with showers, toilets, a laundry and pump-out. Beyond here, passage onto the River Thames can be arranged with CRT.

Rickmansworth Festival.Photo: Len Kerswill

Bull’s Bridge Junction.

Looking down the Slough Arm.

Cruising near Uxbridge.

Uxbridge Lock.


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L ocated at Barton-upon-Irwell near Manchester, Barton Swing Aqueduct carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. The unique, iron structure was built in 1893 but is not the canal’s original

solution to traversing the Irwell Valley.

Stone structureDesigned by James Brindley, the Bridgewater Canal initially crossed the old Mersey & Irwell Navigation, a ragbag of short canal cuts and river sections, on a stone aqueduct. His decision to build an aqueduct 40ft high, rather than locking down and up again, saved water but was widely derided. It was the first such navigable structure to be built in England and Brindley famously demonstrated the concept to a parliamentary committee using a round of Cheshire cheese. Opened in July 1761, it proved to be his first great engineering triumph and justly attracted many visitors.

When construction of the MSC obliterated the Mersey & Irwell Navigation, Brindley’s arches were too constrained to admit the ocean-going ships that would ply the new canal. It was unceremoniously demolished – roughly the equivalent of knocking down the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct today to build a new motorway underneath. Still, the replacement was ingenious enough for Robert Aickman to name it a Wonder of the Waterways.

Rotating replacementThe Barton Swing Aqueduct was designed by Edward Leader Williams, the engineer better known for the Anderton Boat Lift, and built by Andrew Handyside, a Derby-based iron founder. It uses guillotine gates to seal off water at both ends of the aqueduct so that it can be rotated through 90° around a central pivot based on a purpose-built island in the middle of the MSC.

Williams and Handyside were also responsible for Barton Road Swing Bridge, which is of a similar design and opened on 1st January 1894. Since the towpath was removed from the aqueduct for safety reasons, the road-bridge has provided walkers with a safe route across the MSC. When both crossings are open, the two bridges line up along the man-made island either side of the valve house from where they are controlled. Declining traffic on the MSC means that the aqueduct and bridge are rarely swung for tall ships these days, but remain in good working order with regular test swings.

WONDERS OF THE

WATERWAYS

This Bridgewater Canal structure was one of the original Seven Wonders of the Waterways selected by IWA founder Robert Aickman in 1955. We take a look at why it’s still as impressive today

BARTON SWING AQUEDUCT

The aqueduct (left) and road-bridge from above.

VISITING BARTON-UPON-IRWELL There are plenty of retail opportunities in the outskirts of

Manchester, and the largest of these, the Intu Trafford Centre, is just a 15-minute walk from the aqueduct.

Sports fans can catch a match at the nearby Old Trafford stadium, Manchester United’s ‘Theatre of Dreams’, or Old Trafford Cricket Ground, test match venue and home to Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The Quays is a sprawling entertainment complex on Manchester Ship Canal’s waterfront at Salford. Passage along the MSC is subject to restrictions and fees set by the waterway’s owner, Peel Ports Group, but there are regular trip-boats into Manchester from here.

Worsley Packet House is considered one of the highlights of the Bridgewater Canal and is located less than an hour’s cruise or walk from the aqueduct. A clutch of eateries, including the popular Secret Garden Tea Room, reward your efforts to get there.

Brindley’s original stone aqueduct.

The road-bridge and aqueduct swung open.

Photo: William-Starkey CC-BY-SA-2.0

The aqueduct is controlled by the brick-

built valve house.

Cruising across the aqueduct.

The iron structure was built in 1893.


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David’s expertise led to a collaboration with Viking Cruisers and the company is now the boat-builder’s Midlands agent for both new and second-hand models.

ExpansionOver the years David has expanded the company, most significantly adding narrowboat sales into the mix. “In 2014 the company took over the full boat sales area at Nottingham Castle Marina. At this point a good friend Chris Pallett joined me, bringing with him a wealth of experience in narrowboat sales,” said David.

“In the last six years, the sales of both motor cruisers and narrowboats have grown well, and quite often if one part of the business is a little quiet the other side is busy. They have different customer bases, although fairly frequently customers start with one type of boat and move to the other.”

Having taken on a mixture of full- and part-time staff, David now has a team of seven who work in the boatyard and sales office. This includes young people just out of college who bring enthusiasm and new talent to the business, and experienced staff with many years of expertise.

RefurbishmentsThe brokerage service for motor cruisers involves refurbishment of

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Further to this, David and his team can undertake specialist alterations to cruisers on site. A few years ago, David designed a unique cockpit-side lift-off section to lower the entrance point on a centre-cockpit cruiser by 12in, making it easier to board for a buyer with restricted mobility.

“We initially designed this for a gentleman with a prosthetic leg who needed an easier way of getting on and off a cruiser,” explained David. “It has become a much-requested alteration from customers needing accessible boats or for those with pets. It’s so popular that we carry out the work on many of our motor cruisers as standard now.”

David has up to 30 boats available at his base in Nottingham.

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w davidmawbyboats.co.ukm [email protected] David Mawby (motor cruiser sales) 07721 382619v Chris Pallett (narrowboat sales) 07799 216704

Find out moreDavid Mawby Boats

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READER’S BOAT

F or 28 years I worked on the railways and I’d often see narrowboats as I travelled around the country. The canals always looked like they offered

a really relaxed lifestyle. My circumstances changed dramatically before I became a boater; my wife sadly died and then I lost my job, so I made the decision to retire early, sell the house and buy a boat. When I told my children, who are all adults, they all encouragingly said “Go for it, Dad”. I spent the next year or so researching what size of boat I would need to get around the network, and travelling around looking at craft no more than 57ft long, 6ft 8in wide, and with a draught under 3ft.

Although I viewed many boats, the moment I stepped on board Borderline I got a ‘this is the one’ feeling. It’s a bit like when you’re looking at houses and your instincts suddenly click in. In the end, I didn’t think about the boat’s dimensions – I just liked it. Conveniently, Borderline is a 52-footer with the right width and draught, and, as I’m over 6ft tall, the headroom is good too.

Built in 2003, Borderline had three previous owners, and I later found out that one of them lived in the street next to mine – it really is a small world. I think that boats, like cars, should have an official log book so you can trace their history.

TRENT TREPIDATIONOnce I’d purchased Borderline, my life as a boater could begin. My first problem was that I’d bought it in Nottingham and needed to transport it up to York. While I was doing my research, I went on a three-day helmsman course so I knew some basic boat-handling skills, but the River Trent was a pretty daunting prospect. I recruited my best friend Danny, who’d been up the Trent on a boat before, to come with me and we completed the journey in three days.

On that first trip I never once asked myself if I was doing the right thing – my intuition reassured me. I was really looking forward to my new adventure, albeit learning as I went along. The next year or so I spent banging and crashing Borderline about a bit, but we understand each other now and get on very well.

BOATING BENEFITSI have loved every minute of being a continuous cruiser, travelling around this beautiful country and finding out about its wonderful heritage. My eldest son Nathan bought me a camera and showed me how to upload pictures onto the internet – “so I know where you are”, as he put it. I now have over 2,000 photographs on Flickr. As well as making an album for each canal, I have written a bit about every photo – ‘every picture tells a story’, as they say. I’ve never really been interested in history but I’ve learned so much on my travels, not only about the waterways but the country as a whole.

My average year’s cruising is around 650 miles and 340 locks. Sometimes I do a round trip but usually it’s a case of ending

up wherever the water takes me – that’s the beauty of my lifestyle and I appreciate that I am very lucky to have it. One thing I must say is that it keeps me really fit. The most locks I have done in a day is 36; I went down the Tardebigge Flight (30 locks) on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and, having got my second wind, I did the bottom six Stoke Locks as well. Just the thought of doing that now tires me out.

WINTER IN THE SOUTHI spent last winter on the Kennet & Avon Canal having been down the Oxford Canal and then up to Lechlade on the Upper Thames. I wanted somewhere to chill out over the colder months. I met some lovely local boaters who advised me that the best

MAN ON A MISSIONHaving done 5,619 miles and 2,860 locks in eight years, Jon Reynolds is well on his way to boating the entire inland waterways network. He tells us about his journey so far

All pictures by Jon Reynolds

Hurleston Junction, where the Shropshire Union meets

the Llangollen.

Borderline in a lock on the Basingstoke’s

Deepcut flight.


place to stay would be above Caen Hill locks, which would be closed for three months for annual maintenance. I stayed on the ‘long pound’ between Wootton Rivers and Devizes, which gave me 15 miles of lock-free canal to cruise, as well as facilities, shops and transport links. It was sound advice.

With the Caen Hill flight back open, I headed down to Bristol – what a place! I really loved it there and I cruised along the Floating Harbour to get a selfie with the SS Great Britain. Easter was spent in Bath, which I found very much like York – full of tourists. I then started the long trip back up to Reading where I picked up the Thames and headed south again. The Thames is so very different to everywhere else I’ve been. Everything is so big – not only the river

itself, but the bridges, houses and boats too. It was a great feeling having so much water underneath Borderline – a world away from the canals.

SUMMER TRAVELSSomething I have come to learn is that people will always tell you about a canal according to their own experiences. For example, I was heading for the Llangollen Canal when I got talking to another boater who said: “Oh, I wouldn’t go up there – there’s no water and you just drag along the bottom.” I thought it was a brilliant, beautiful canal and I loved it. I encountered some shallow water in Chirk Tunnel but apart from that I had no trouble at all. So I make up my own mind – everyone’s boats are different and circumstances can change.

Here are some of my highlights from the summer of 2019:■ The Wey Navigation was hard work or, to be more precise, the locks were. That was partly my fault, though. It’s run by the National Trust and as I stopped at the first lock to pay my dues (it’s all pay, pay, pay on the southern navigations!), I was offered an extended windlass but I declined – big mistake! The winding gear on the locks is really hard work. The canal is pretty past Guildford when the surrounding countryside is all open meadows down to Godalming where the navigation terminates. Godalming is a smashing little place with lots of history.■ The Basingstoke Canal is a beautiful, must-do canal but requires careful planning as there are sometimes issues with the water levels.

It’s run by the Basingstoke Canal Authority (owned by Surrey and Hampshire county councils) with which you book your passage. The staff are all very nice and really helpful.■ The Paddington Arm links the Grand Union Canal to London. It’s 13 miles long and there are no locks – there’s nothing to get too excited about. The nearer you get to London the more boats there are… hundreds of them.■ Little Venice is a little oasis where the Regent’s Canal and Paddington Arm meet – a very picturesque basin.■ Paddington Basin: wow! Located just off Little Venice, it has the best moorings in London, surrounded by a very modern complex of high-rise apartments, bars and restaurants. Visitor moorings are limited but you might get lucky – I did, twice. While there I managed to get a video of the Rolling Bridge in operation.■ The Regent’s Canal is about 9 miles long and has 13 locks. It links Little Venice to Limehouse Basin, passing London Zoo and through King’s Cross, and you always have an audience at Camden Town locks.■ The Hertford Union Canal is a nice little shortcut linking the Regent’s Canal to the Lee Navigation, and is just over 1 mile long with three locks.■ Limehouse Basin is really impressive. From here you can either drop through the lock

Sharing Shepperton Lock on the Thames.

The weed-ridden Slough Basin.

Jon spent last winter cruising the Kennet & Avon Canal down to Bristol.

The Rolling Bridge in operation in Paddington Basin.


READER’S BOAT

onto the River Thames or pick up the Lee Navigation/Regent’s Canal. ■ The Lee Navigation flows up to Hertford and is nearly 30 miles long with 19 locks. The nearer I got to Hertford, the nicer it became, and the town itself was pleasant.■ The Stort Navigation is a mixture of river and canal – very pretty and worth the trip. Bishop’s Stortford at the end of the route is really nice and has everything a boater needs – plenty of shops, a launderette, sanitary station and, of course, a Wetherspoons… my needs are few.

RETURNING NORTHNathan and Danny met me at Limehouse Basin for the trip up the Thames through central London, which was awesome, especially going under Tower Bridge. Apart from the big washes caused by the Clipper water buses, which go incredibly fast, Borderline took it all in its stride, as it were.

Back on the Grand Union Canal, I took a detour along the Slough Arm to tick it off my list. Five miles, no locks, and an abrupt end at the basin, which is just a winding hole full of reeds. It’s not the most inspiring of canals but I’ve done it; that’s about all I can say.

It was another great summer’s cruising, and although I’m a canal man I loved the Thames. For all there was going on, I found the upper reaches very relaxing. London was just too busy for me, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.

I’m in winter mode now and I’ve been

staying at 14-day moorings as I take my time heading back up the Grand Union Canal and visiting places of interest along the way. I often get asked what I’ll do when I’ve finished the canal network and, to be honest, I haven’t got a clue. I love what I’m doing and, who knows, it may take another nine

years to get back to York. I’ve always kept a log of my journeys (I’m on my fourth book now) so I have all the notes I need should I decide to write a book, and all my pictures are on Flickr. I feel very lucky to have been to some amazing places and met some truly lovely people on my travels.

A tight squeeze through Wast Hills Tunnel on the

Worcester & Birmingham.

Borderline cruising into central London

on the Thames.

Woodham Lock 1 – the first of 29 on the Basingstoke.

The pretty Stort Navigation.

See more of Jon’s waterways photography

on flickr.com – search ‘Jon Reynolds’.


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HNT continually asks for comments from passengers in order to improve the variety and scope of its offerings. In response to recent feedback, the trust’s volunteers have formed a plastic litter recovery group to help clean up the canals on its routes, making the environment even more enjoyable for its passengers and people in the local area.

REPLACING THE HARGREAVESThe Hargreaves is a fully accessible cruiser-stern narrowboat with exterior and interior ramps making it suitable for wheelchair users and those with limited mobility. It has low-level windows providing panoramic views of the countryside, an onboard kitchenette and disabled accessible toilets. However, at 43 years old, the trip-boat is showing its age and HNT’s trustees agreed that restoration would be uneconomical.

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w hargreavesnarrowboat.co.ukTo support Hargreaves Narrowboat Trust with a donation or to find out more about volunteering with the charity, email [email protected] or call 02476 374674. Trip-boat bookings for 2021 will be open from 1st April 2020.

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boat. It is anticipated that the new boat will be an all-electric craft designed to be reliable, maintainable and free from CO² and other polluting emissions. The diesel-free boat will be powered by roof-mounted solar panels connected to a propulsion system that can provide many hours cruising, plus a shore-line for topping up the batteries when moored. The boat will also meet the latest standards for disabled access and facilities, including innovative interior design work to optimise the onboard experience for passengers with vision impairments and colour-blindness.

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DREAM CATCHER £44,995Length 50ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 2005 by South West Durham Steelcraft, Abbey Class cruiser stern, powered by Beta Marine 35hp inboard diesel engine, Bsc Nov 2021, open plan main cabin with settee, 2 corner units, diesel Refleks stove with back boiler, galley with stainless steel sink & drainer, full gas cooker, fridge, microwave convector oven, breakfast bar, bathroom has shower, hand wash basin vanity unit, Thetford cassette toilet, bedroom has a fixed double with storage drawers below, overhead lockers, double wardrobe, corner cabinet, 12 & 240v electrics, twin alternators, 3kw inverter, 30amp battery charger, 4 solar panels, immersion heater, diesel central heating, front cratch & cover, rear pram hood.

ATTICUS £39,995Length 31ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 2008 by Sea Otter, aluminium hull, Cruiser Stern, powered by Nanni inboard diesel engine, Bsc new on completion, from the stern port side is a storage locker & access to electrics, starboard side is the bathroom with shower, hand wash basin set in cabinet, Thetford cassette toilet, galley with full gas cooker, sink & drainer, fridge, single dinette which converts to a single berth with an additional hammock berth above, drawer unit with shelving over & wall mounted TV, main cabin has fixed seating offering comfortable space which can be used as 2 single berths or 1 large double, 12 & 240v electrics, Truma heating system, galvanic isolator, tidy little craft, one owner, with low engine hours.

RILEY’S ISLAND £27,995Length 42ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 1980’s by Harborough Marine, Cruiser Stern, powered by Isuzu 35hp inboard diesel engine, Bsc May 2020, comfortable fixed seating both sides offering 2 single berths or 1 large make-up double, full size wardrobe, galley has units both sides, stainless steel sink & drainer, fridge, microwave, stainless steel gas cooker with 2 ring hob, oven & grill, main cabin has 2 captains chairs, 1 footstool, set of drawers, corner shelving with TV, 3 tier smoked glass table, solid fuel stove, bathroom with shower, hand wash basin with cupboard unit, porta potti toilet, 12 & 240v electrics, 1800w inverter, 30amp battery charger, pram hood.

VIKING 26 £14,995Centre Cockpit, ‘Beyond Brancaster’, Length 26ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 1993, 6 Berths in 2 cabins, LIFT OUT COCKPIT SIDE FOR EASY ACCESS, cooker, toilet, fridge, shower, hot and cold water system, WARM AIR HEATING, 12 and 240 volts electrics, NEW CREAM LEATHERETTE CABIN CUSHION COVERS WITH BLUE PIPING, NEW CABIN HEADLINING, NEW FLOOR CARPETS, solar panel, powered by a Honda 25Hp 4 stroke outboard engine, Bsc 2024, all original gelcoat (not painted), hull polished and new antifouling, includes new mooring ropes, clean fenders, etc, FREE DELIVERY within 250 miles or discounted mooring available.

VALHALLA £49,500Length 58ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 2006 by Reeves, fit-out Kate Boats, Trad Stern, powered by Beta Marine 43hp inboard diesel engine, Bsc August 2022, from the stern there are storage cupboards, washing machine & access to electrics, galley with units both sides with 4 ring gas hob, Vanette oven & grill, fridge, stainless steel sink & drainer, dinette giving comfortable seating and storage, also makes a guest double, main cabin has cushioned seating port side, cupboards & shelving on starboard side, solid fuel stove, cross bathroom, hand wash basin in corner unit, bathroom cabinet, heated towel rail, pump out toilet, bedroom has a fixed double with storage under, storage locker, double wardrobe, 12 & 240v electrics, twin alternators, 4kw inverter, 120amp charger, 4 x 260w walk on laminate amorphous solar panels, calorifier with immersion heater, Eberspacher diesel heating, bow thruster.

ATLANTA 24 £13,995‘Ayresome’, Length 24ft, Beam 6ft10ins, Built 1991, 4 Berths, cooker, fridge, toilet, shower, hot and cold water system, 12 and 240 volts electrics, NEW CANOPY, CREAM LEATHERETTE CABIN CUSHION COVERS, powered by Honda 15Hp 4 stroke outboard engine, Bsc 2023, all orignal gelcoat (not painted), hull polished and new antifouling, includes new mooring ropes,clean fenders, etc, FREE DELIVERY within 250 miles or discounted mooring available.

VIKING 20 WIDE BEAM £16,995‘Alana Lee’, Length 20ft, Beam 7ft4ins, Built 2007, 4 Berths, 4 ring hob, grill and oven, fridge, shower, cassette toilet, hot and cold water system, 12 and 240 volts electrics, excellent canopy, powered by a Mariner 25Hp 4 stroke outboard engine, Bsc 2023, all original gelcoat (not painted), hull polished and new antifouling, includes new mooring ropes, clean fenders, etc, FREE DELIVERY within 250 miles or discounted mooring available.

Boat WorkS at Lots AitJohn’s

Close to the junction of the Grand Union.

Slipway for narrow and broad beam up to 50 foot for Survey, Blacking, Anodes etc.

Tidal dock for in-water fi t-outs and other work.

DIY projects welcome.

Lots Ait Boatyard on the Thames in Brentford, London

Please call John on 07875 000465 for further [email protected] | www.johnsboatworks.co.uk

Builders of Quality,

NARROW-BOATS DUTCH-BARGES

AND WIDE-BEAMS

Visit www.htfabs.co.ukTel: 0116 2761814

E-mail: [email protected]. Fabrications Ltd, 420 Thurmaston Boulevard,

Leicester LE4 9LE

Here at H.T. Fabrications Ltd, we do our utmost to start your dream moving in the right direction. We are capable of producing narrow-boats from 30ft to 60ft, shell or sail-away, Cruiser, Trad or Semi

Trad. Bespoke or our standard shell; we put quality fi rst.

We are now taking bookings for 2020.

Please contact for more details.

wharfhouse

.co.uk

Wharf House NarrowboatsAward winning builders of distinctive narrow and widebeam boats combining traditional craftmanship with contemporary design and technology

Contact Phill or Sue Abbott on 01788 899041 or by email to [email protected] House Narrowboats Ltd, Braunston Marina, The Wharf, Braunston, Northants NN11 7JH

WE HAVE MOVED

MARK EDWARDS MABSSE

BSS Examiner and Mobile Engineercovering Cheshire, Shropshire and North Wales

BSS remedial work carried out. Mobile engineering.

Boat repairs and engine servicing. All work guaranteed.

Phone 07970 384047 anytime

NRM LeisureBespoke Canopies X Plus Upholstery services

- -

Contact Neil on 0151 5239252 / 0771 5205922or email [email protected]

We have various sizes and normally cut to 12" length, which weigh 10-15 kilos depending on section. We deliver or you can collect ex West Midlands.

Steel Ballast – 300% heavier than bricks !

Ring Bill or Nigel Mann Buck Steels Ltd 01277 364344email: [email protected]

100s of happy customers, no sad ones!

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Em a il: sales@ goodwinplastics.co.uk W eb : www.goodwinplastics.co.ukW hy notvisitoursistercompany forallyouroiland grease

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Rubber seals and trims for the marine

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01425 617722FREE, fully illustrated cataloguePlease visit our website or call

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07770 730718 or 07507 552524w www.westlondonboatbrokerage.co.uk

[email protected]

SPECIALISING IN THE DESIGN AND SALE OF NEW WIDEBEAMS WITH SIZES FROM

45FT x 9FT UP TO 70FT x 13FTWE ALSO OFFER PART EXCHANGE AND A

REASONABLY PRICED BROKERAGE SERVICE

The Ferry Point Ferry Lane Shepperton TW17 9LQ

Dutch Barge built 1899 by HA Eltink 52' x 10'6" Ideal Live aboard

Full interior/exterior paint and survey September 2019 BSS Safety

Certificate » 6 Berth – 2 cabins Located on Thames

IRON LADY £89,950

Contact Don on: O 07836 518691or V 01516 086935

NARROWBOAT FOR SALE AT BRAUNSTON

‘HEPHZIBAH’ £18,500 o.n.o.

1990 30ft Springer Needs a little tlc Subject to a hull survey

CONTACT 07875 079821

BASIC BOATLIABILITY COMPANYUK’S NUMBER 1 MARKET LEADERIN BOAT LIABILITY INSURANCE

Third Party Liability No Excess£5M Level of IndemnityUpto £50k for Wreck Removal

THIS COMPANY IS PART OF HOWE MAXTED GROUPWHO ARE AUTHORISED AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY

03333 219 430www.basic-boat.com

PA727BB01

The original mail forwarding service – flexible, professional & friendly service 52 weeks a year.

Contact PO Box 400,Winchester. SO22 4RU

Tel: (01962) 868642or visit www.shiptoshore.co.uk

A mail forwarding, holding & scanning service for long

or short term travellers.

Contact PO Box 400, Winchester. SO22 4RU.

Tel: (01962) 868642 or visit

www.shiptoshore.co.uk

Ship2Shore_RYA_aut09.indd 1 17/07/2009 17:14

The boaters mail forwarding company.

Unique ‘Pay as you Go’ service.

boatmail.co.uk

07984 215873 • [email protected]

River Avon between Bristol & BathEasy access to K&A

Secure marina with all facilitiesNarrowboats, Widebeams, Cruisers welcome

Live aboard & non live aboard

www.saltfordmarina.co.uk

01225 872226 [email protected]

SA

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So call Sue or Richard on 01926 356200 for help and advice.Email: [email protected] www.mes-midlands.co.uk

Lister Petter Parts SpecialistsRebuilds, repairs, parts and advice for Lister, BMC and other mature

engines and gearboxes.

MARINE ENGINESERVICES (MIDLANDS)

Stephen Malpus BSS Examiner

Oxford Cruisers Ltd.,

The Boat Centre,

Eynsham, Witney, Oxon OX29 4DAPhone: 01865 881698

Fax: 01865 880056

Full range of boat re-fits and repairs, undertaken. Gas, electrics, engine rebuilds, welding, painting, crane and slipway.

Wifionboard provides 3–4G routers, WiFi boosters and UK manufactured antennae for canal and river [email protected] 666203

FULLY SERVICED CRUISING AND RESIDENTIAL MOORINGS AND

FULL BOATYARD SERVICESM [email protected] V 01753 651496

w www.high-line.co.uk

Customer Service Marketing Assistant Part-timeWorking in small but busy bookings office team where customer service and sales are paramount. Candidates should have good phone manner, IT marketing skills,

attention to detail, be committed and customer focused.

Located near Devizes in Wiltshire below Caen Hill Locks. We are a leading narrowboat hire and engineering company, with the above positions open for application.

On site moorings available for successful applicantsFor full job descriptions please

email: [email protected] or telephone: 01380 827803

Business Manager Full-timeAdministration of the daily activities in our busy

bookings office and boatyard. Candidates should have project management, people management and/or sales/financial background, ideally with experience

of IT and a knowledge of boating.

land on the thames for sale2 acre secluded riverside development site

(subject to PP) near Staines. Benefi ts from 300ft mainstream riverbank with potential for houseboat

moorings. Range of other possible uses. Private gated access drive.

Full Details ContactBrian Warren, Warren Property Matters

01753 625101 or 07860177756


THINGS TO DOMARCH

Mile End station for a 2.30pm start. £10, concession and student rate £8. IWA Towpath Walks, 020 3612 9624

Sun 22ndTrent & Mersey CanalDiscover how Middleport’s industrial history evolved along the T&M from Longport to Newport Lane. Booking required, £5 per person. Meet at Middleport Pottery at 9.50am. re-form.org/middleportpottery, 01782 499766

Sat 28thRegent’s CanalLittle Venice to Camden. Meet at Warwick Avenue station for 10.45am start. £10, concession and student rate £8. IWA Towpath Walks, 020 3612 9624

MARCH CRUISESSat 14thRegent’s CanalJoin the St Pancras Cruising Club for its Daffodil Cruise, a short, one-lock journey through Islington Tunnel, returning to the clubhouse for drinks and a communal supper. Booking required. St Pancras Cruising Club, stpancrascc.co.uk, [email protected], 07850 753633

Sun 22ndRiver WeaverCruise down the River Weaver on board trip-boat Edwin Clark before returning to the Anderton Boat Lift for afternoon tea. Booking essential, £25.99 per person. Canal & River Trust, Anderton Boat Lift, Northwich, canalrivertrust.org.uk/events

MARCH MEETINGSTue 3rdAlvechurch‘The Droitwich Fingerpost Challenge’ by Jennie Gash. Alvechurch Boat Centre, Scarfield Wharf, 7.45pm. Worcester Birmingham & Droitwich Canals Society, wbdcs.org.uk

Tue 3rd Bury‘Warrington Transporter Bridge and FOWTB’ by Margaret Ingham. Whitefield Garrick Theatre, Bury, 7.30pm. Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society, mbbcs.org.uk

Thu 5thSouthampton‘Lucy Houston: the Lady that saved a nation’ by Colin van Geffen. Chilworth Village Hall, Chilworth, Southampton. 7.45pm. Southampton Canal Society, sotoncs.org.uk, [email protected], 02380 675312

Thu 5thLondon‘Changes of level’ by Edwin Fasham. London Canal Museum,

New Wharf Road, 7.30pm. canalmuseum.org.uk, 020 7713 0836

Thu 5thOldbury‘From postman to paediatrician and the formation of WASUP’ by Rashid Gatrad. Titford Pumphouse, Oldbury, 7.30pm. Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, bcnsociety.com, [email protected], 07857 956900

Tue 10thEllesmere Port‘Mersey ferries Royal Iris and Royal Daffodil’ by Derek Arnold, plus branch AGM. Café, National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port, 7.45pm. IWA Chester & Merseyside, waterways.org.uk/chester

Mon 16thNottingham‘The Birdswood experience’ by Steve Adams. Ironville Church Hall, Ironville, 7.30pm. Friends of the Cromford Canal, cromfordcanal.info, 07976 764439

Wed 18thLichfieldBranch AGM and quiz night.

Discover the industrial history of Middleport on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Enjoy a cruise on the Weaver and afternoon tea at

the Anderton Boat Lift.

MARCH WALKS Sun 1st Regent’s Canal King’s Cross, Granary Square and Camden Meet at King’s Cross station taxi rank for a 2.30pm start. £10, concession and student rate £8. IWA Towpath Walks, 020 3612 9624

Thu 12thStaffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Milford and Two Saints Way. A 6½-mile walk with eight stiles on public footpaths, suburban roads and towpaths. Meet at the Barley Mow pub car park, Milford, Staffordshire, at 9.45am. IWA Lichfield, waterways.org.uk/lichfield

Sun 15th Regent’s CanalMile End to Haggerston. Meet at

Explore the Regent's Canal by foot and boat this month with IWA Towpath

Walks and St Pancras Cruising Club.


If you’re organising an event, rally, walk or talk, let us know – email [email protected].

Listings are free of charge.

The CBT Crossword Solution: February 2020

The anagram solution was: CAEN HILL LOCKS

A B I N G D O N K C L E A T S Across

P O R I N O C O A 1 ABINGDON

P A I N T M I C L 4 CLEATS

E A T O T 6 ORINOCO

T O L L B R I D G E A L P A C A 7 PAINT

I L I I 8 TOLL BRIDGE

S A P C O U C H M A N N R 10 ALPACA

E N E M O E 12 COUCHMAN

R T H R E A D P Q S 15 THREAD

S H C I U T C 18 CINEMA

O H R C I N E M A O 20 ESPRESSO

M N E S L N 22 DYADIC

A Y E S P R E S S O T G G 24 COFFERDAMS

N F I E 26 UMAMI

D Y A D I C C O F F E R D A M S 27 FLOODED

A R M S T 28 NOUGAT

R A O I U M A M I 29 ENVISION

I F L O O D E D ON O U G A T R E N V I S I O N Caen Hill Locks

1 2 3 4 5

6

7

ACROSS1. Telephone exchange (11)5. Poet and CRT’s inaugural Canal Laureate from 2013 to 2015 (2,4)8. Grey bird with long legs, commonly seen near water (5)9. Barrier around a boat or ship’s stern (8)11. A company’s symbol (4)12. _____ Valley Canal (4)13. River in the north of England, flowing from the Pennines to the North Sea (4)15. List of items or stock (9)17. A fast-paced, modern ballroom dance (9)20. Soft, steady light (4)21. Lawn flower with white petals and a yellow centre (5)25. Longest river in Africa (4)26. Sequence of processes, for example in industry or administration (8)28. Freight (5)29. A large isle, eyot or atoll (6)30. Common name of Filipendula ulmaria, a perennial herb with sprays of creamy-white flowers (11)

Title

Address

Initial Surname

Tel

Email

Please tick if you are already a subscriber to Waterways World and would like your subscription extended in the event of winning.Please tick to receive information and offers from Waterways World.Please tick to receive information and offers from carefully selected third party companies.

Anagram answer:

Post your answer to CBT Crossword, 151 Station Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 1BG

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN a 12-month subscription to Waterways World magazine, solve the anagram of the highlighted squares to name the meeting point of the Trent & Mersey and Caldon canals in Stoke-on-Trent (7,8). The winner will be drawn on the closing date of Friday 13th March 2020.

The CBT Crossword

Postcode

T L C N E U YN I L E A U C W O R K F L O W

O C A R G O E A ON I Y M Y D R

I S L A N D M E A D O W S W E E T

1 2 3 4 5 6

3 7

8

9 10 11

12 13

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17 18

19

20 21 22

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25 26 27

28

29 30

1DOWN1. Greek island, officially known as Thira (9)2. Avalanche (7)3. Coconut husk fibre – matting is used for erosion control on river banks and canalsides (4)4. Warm up again (6)5. Tropical rainforest (6)6. Shellfish, also known as Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn (11)7. _______ Scales, actress and boater who presented Great Canal Journeys (8)10. Artificial sweetener (9)14. Host city for this year’s IWA Festival of Water in August (9)16. Boatable inland waterways (11)18. Floating invasive weed that can grow up to 20cm a day (9)19. Queen tribute band performing at the Crick Boat Show in May (7)22. Sweet or savoury dish served rolled into a spiral (7)23. Calm and peaceful (6)24. Earnings (6)27. Lock companions (4)

Martin Heath Hall, Lichfield, 7.15pm. IWA Lichfield, waterways.org.uk/lichfield

Thu 19thMilton Keynes‘Connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, from early attempts to the modern Suez Canal’ by Roger Squires. Milton Keynes Irish Centre, Fenny Stratford. 7.45pm. IWA Milton Keynes, waterways.org.uk/miltonkeynes

Fri 20thStoke-on-Trent'Burslem Port' by Steve Wood. Red Bull Hotel, Church Lawton, 7.30pm. Trent & Mersey Canal society, trentandmerseycanalsociety.co.uk

Fri 20thCottingham‘The Pocklington Canal’ by Malcolm Slater, plus branch AGM. Methodist Church Hall, Cottingham, 8pm. IWA East Yorkshire, waterways.org.uk/east_yorkshire, [email protected]

Sat 21stBuckingham'Boats without water: the story of Edward

Hayes Boats of Stony Stratford' by Neil Loudon, plus AGM and wine and cheese social. Buckingham Community Centre, Cornwall Meadow, 7pm. Buckingham Canal Society, buckinghamcanal.org.uk, [email protected]

Tue 24thDerby‘The Foss Dyke’ by Ian Morgan. Coach & Horse, Draycott, Derby, 7.30pm. Derby & Sandiacre Canal Society, derbycanal.org.uk

Tue 24thGloucester‘A naval officer’s diary: HMS Drake, 1905’ by Peter Covey-Crump. Sabrina 5, National Waterways Museum Gloucester, 7.30pm. Friends of Gloucester Waterways Museum, friendsofgwm.co.uk, [email protected]

Thu 26thChorleyTalk by Carrie House, project officer for the Stainton, Hincaster & Sedgewick Project. St Chad’s Parish Centre, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley, 7pm. IWA Lancashire & Cumbria, waterways.org.uk/lancsandcumbria

Join the St Pancras Cruising Club for a journey through Islington Tunnel.

tel - Canal Boating Times

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