Waterways

All the exhibitors for Electrika 2025 are now signed up and it is all set to be a great show. With everyone from Electrika 2024 returning and a whopping 14 new exhibitors and 10 showboats, the show has really stepped up a gear. The event should provide attendees with a comprehensive selection of boatbuilders, engines…

We’re carrying out dredging on the Ashby Canal as part of vital works to help ensure boaters can continue to use the centuries-old waterway. The dredging, which is due to continue until 20 May, will see the charity remove around 7,000 tons of sediment at various locations on the canal between Sutton Cheney and Market Bosworth,…

We’ve completed a five-month programme of works to refurbish Royal Oak Swing Bridge, which carries Woodhouse End Road over the Macclesfield Canal in Oakgrove. Royal Oak Swing Bridge reinstalled With the repairs requiring a road closure, the bridge reopened on 25 April. Time taking its toll The increased weight in vehicles over the years had…

We’re investing £4.5m over the next five years to upgrade and standardise elsan points, pump-out facilities, and water points across our canal network. Over the coming months the Trust will be developing detailed plans for where the additional investment will be used, ahead of the five-year upgrade programme beginning this winter. Improving services The investment…

Foxton Locks is set to host a weekend-long canal festival celebrating the pivotal role that Leicestershire’s waterways played in the renaissance of the nation’s canal network 75 years ago. The event The festival, taking place on 7 and 8 June, is being organised by the Leicestershire branch of the Inland Waterways Association with local partners…

We’re looking for more volunteer lock keepers to join their team in 2025 to help look after the Gargrave stretch of the UK’s longest canal. Located on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, Gargrave is close to the summit of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Dating back 250 years, the nation’s free-to-visit canal network, cared for by us,…

We’re urging the canal-loving public to show their support for the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal – the 35-mile canal that wends its way through the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in south Wales. Llanfoist Wharf A legacy of the nation’s industrial past, the canal is one of the most picturesque across our canal network and a…

Families looking for things to do with the kids could net a great catch with one of our Let’s Fish! events. With free events taking place over the Easter holidays, the UK’s most popular programme of angling events offers local people the opportunity to pick up a fishing pole and enjoy spending time by the…

We’ve completed our annual programme of winter repairs and conservation work to protect the historic Kennet & Avon Canal for boaters, local communities and visitors. The 87-mile canal, which links London with the Bristol Channel, is over two centuries old and requires year-round maintenance work by the charity. Larger-scale repairs take place between November and…

A Northamptonshire canal volunteer is celebrating after receiving recognition in the Heritage Heroes Awards, organised by the Heritage Alliance. Kathryn Dodington, who has volunteered with us since 2014, has been selected as a runner up in the Lifetime Achievement category of the awards, which recognise the invaluable role that volunteers play in protecting and celebrating…