Waterways

Plans to open up to the public one of the canal network’s most historic working yards have received a boost with a development grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Ellesmere Yard, photo by Ian Roberts An important base Ellesmere Yard on the Llangollen Canal was built in 1806. It is an important operational base…

Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy Mete Coban and Deirdre Costigan MP join Southall community members to plant out a lockside community garden and launch a new wetland in Glade Lane Canalside Park. The Southall Grand Union Canal Wellbeing Way has reached another milestone towards completion with the opening of a new wetland in Glade…

We’ve created a warm welcome this week at Dobson Locks in Apperley Bridge, hosting a series of free special blacksmith’s forge demonstrations to celebrate this year’s Heritage Open Days. Thanks to our volunteer and former blacksmith David Wadsworth, and fellow volunteer Phil ‘bellow boy’ Bristow, we were able to reignite history and bring to life…

First look at the spectacular Looping Canal Boat Artwork by Alex Chinneck, on the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. The first artwork on water by Chinneck, the sculpture celebrates Sheffield’s historic waterways and industrial heritage. It takes the form of a full-size canal boat, whose body behaves in an extraordinary way, performing a six metre-high, gravity-defying,…

Hundreds of young anglers are coming to the West Midlands to take part in our National Celebration of Young People and Fishing. Held on 14 and 15 September on the Shropshire Union Canal in Staffordshire & Shropshire, the event is set to be the largest gathering of young anglers in decades. The Celebration is open…

We’ve completed a six-week programme of repairs to Sellars Swing Bridge, which carries Sellars Road over the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. With the repairs requiring a road closure, the bridge reopened on schedule on Friday, following our work. It is one of 18 swing bridges along the canal that are important for maintaining navigation, especially…

All aboard for the first ever Steampunk weekend festival to be staged at the Anderton Boat Lift in Northwich, on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September. Visitors and fans of the Victorian industrial fantasy fiction and design can enjoy free entry to a fabulous weekend of Steampunk exhibits, stalls, games, music and live entertainment. Our…

It is with much sadness that we announce that Robin Evans, our first chief executive, died suddenly last week after a short illness. Robin Evans was Canal & River Trust’s first, and British Waterways’ last, chief executive. Robin joined British Waterways in 1999 as commercial director, becoming chief executive in 2002. Alongside chairman Tony Hales,…

We’ve published a programme of winter repairs and conservation work to protect the nation’s historic canals. These vital winter works will also help to keep our important national infrastructure available for boaters, local communities, and visitors. The programme takes place between November and March when the canals are quieter, to minimise the impact on navigation.…

We’re inviting you to help the recovery of the canal and the wildlife it supports on the Walsall Canal following a toxic chemical spillage last week that saw a major incident declared. We’re acting to contain the spill and begin the long recovery of the canal and wildlife in the area. We’re seeking to raise…