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Hello and welcome to the June edition of the newsletter.
As I write this, the UK has experienced a heatwave over the last week with temperatures peaking over 33 degrees Celsius (91 F).
I know some overseas readers will scoff at this being "hot" but trust me, in the UK this is like a furnace, and on the canals, doubly so.
You'd imagine the water would keep things cool but in reality, long metal tubes (narrowboats!) exposed to direct sun turn into ovens and it can be quite unpleasant, and dangerous for any pets aboard.
Naturally, next week is scheduled to be much cooler and rain all week; such is our climate.
Hopefully we might actually get some nice cruising conditions at some point!
Cheers
David |
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*** News from the canal world. Send press releases (about canal topics!) to newsletter@cruisingthecut.co.uk *** |
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Argy Bargy
A dispute between the Environment Agency and the Canal & River Trust has been highlighted as the "single biggest threat to the canal network".
The issue is being discussed by the Inland Waterways Association in the latest update from its Navigation Committee.
The CRT is soon to renew its water abstraction licences from the EA but says the effort and cost of doing so, along with the risk to supplies from onerous conditions being imposed means the future of the canals is at risk.
Such conditions are partly to do with the amount of water that can be taken but also requirements for fish screening (placing fine mesh screens across water pipes to stop fish going up them).
The CRT has described this as a very concerning situation which will be replicated across the network and will impose extra costs on the CRT running into millions of pounds.
The feeling from the canals side is that the EA is prioritising rivers over other aquatic environments despite canals legitimately needing to take water for environmental benefits of their own.
The concerns have been taken up with DEFRA (the government) and now the IWA is hoping to add pressure to the EA to ensure the issue can be resolved without a burden to the canals.
See https://waterways.org.uk/about-us/news/iwa-navigation-committee-news-2605 for the full detail, along with many other interesting updates from IWA.
Top of the Pops
Construction has started on a higher-capacity spillway at Hill Top Reservoir, known locally as Slaithwaite Reservoir, which feeds the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Image of Slaithwaite Reservoir by the CRT
The crucial importance of spillways that can cope with overflows caused in modern day weather conditions was highlighted in 2019 when the reservoir at Toddbrook nearly collapsed, which would have been a disaster for the village below (see last month's newsletter for an update on the works there)
Now, the CRT is undertaking a huge programme of checks and engineering to ensure all its reservoirs comply with current legislation, spending £27m last year across 19 sites.
Slaithwaite reservoir was built 225 years ago and holds up to 300 million litres of water. The new spillway will have greater capacity to safely overflow excess water.
Image of crane at Slaithwaite Reservoir by CRT
Other improvements at the site include upgrades to the dam, new stone cladding, and access and fencing improvements.
For more, see http://www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/slaithwaite-reservoir
Scarecastle
The original entrance to the first Harecastle tunnel is being restored ahead of the Trent & Mersey canal's 250th anniversary.
Constructed under the direction of pioneering canal engineer James Brindley, the tunnel was completed in 1777 and was a landmark achievement of the early Industrial Revolution, dramatically improving the movement of goods between the Potteries, the Midlands, and the Port of Liverpool.
Canal boats now use a later tunnel built by Thomas Telford, with Brindley's original having closed in 1904 due to mining subsidence.
Image: North Portal of James Brindley's Tunnel today, by CRT
Working from scaffolding, volunteers will use hand tools to remove the wall‑grown vegetation to reveal the portal’s original brickwork.
Where possible, native canal plants such as spleenwort and hart’s‑tongue ferns will be removed and replanted elsewhere along the canal.
These plant species are typical of damp, shaded brick and stone structures on historic waterways and contribute to local biodiversity by providing habitats for insects and other wildlife. Relocating them will help preserve the ecological character of the canal.
The volunteers will then carry out small masonry repairs and repointing using traditional lime‑based materials, finished with a coat of limewash to help protect the masonry just as the tunnel was originally built.
Record breakers
A record number of volunteers have donated their time to the canals in the past twelve months.
8,043 volunteers supported the Canal & River Trust in the year to April 2026, up from almost 5,500 volunteers the year before.
For the first time, they collectively donated over three quarters of a million hours.
Volunteers are integral to the charity’s work, with tasks including repairing canal locks, removing invasive plant species, working the locks to help boaters and many other roles.
Deep Thought
The deepest canal lock in the UK has had a party to celebrate its 30th birthday.
Tuel Lane Lock on the Rochdale Canal was built in 1996 to replace two original shallower locks dating back to the early 1800s, and has a rise/fall of 19 feet, 8.5 inches (6 metres)
Image: Tuel Lane Lock (photo by Gemma Mason)
With the canal having been abandoned in 1952 due to disuse, Locks 3 and 4 were removed during subsequent road-widening works.
Thus the restoration of the canal, which began in the 1970s, needed to replace the missing locks with a new way to raise and lower boats; Tuel Lane lock was the answer.
Because of its depth, the turbulence when filling is substantial, so the lock is only permitted to be operated by trained keepers rather than boaters themselves.
Image: Sowerby Bridge Town Square celebrates Tuel Lane Lock's 30th birthday (photo by Gemma Mason)
The lock's birthday was marked on Saturday 24th May with celebrations in Sowerby Bridge Town Square including live music, stalls, and information boards about the canal. |
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My recent videos
I appear to have outdone myself last month with four videos published rather than the usual three, though truth be told this was due to the late publication of the last April video rather than any extra effort on my part!
But what a month it was, starting with two videos aboard my narrowboat, which I had taken out of the marina for a weekend, not travelling particularly far but more just enjoying being aboard and getting a couple of small jobs done while moored on the towpath rather than on a pontoon.
This was followed by the very long-awaited "glueing" (with fibreglass resin) of a new wood core into my project boat Twiggy, although at the time of writing this update, subsequent fibreglassing over the wood remains on the "to do" list.
And the most recent video is Part 1 of a three-day cruise from Wigram's Turn marina down to Cropredy marina, both on the South Oxford canal. This is the first time I've travelled down the South Oxford so it was fun to do.
Click the links below to watch the videos (or go direct to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@CruisingTheCut/videos). |
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What am I up to?
If you read the above summary of my recent videos, you'll know the project boat "just" (!) needs its new transom core covered over with fibreglass and technically speaking the boat would be ready to float again.
That fibreglassing is my goal roughly around the time this newsletter gets published, depending on the weather.
(It's been rather frustrating of late that until a week or so ago, temperatures in the UK were still too chilly for optimum fibreglassing, then last week it went entirely the other way and got too hot. I am hopeful that a mid-point will be reached - and without rain! - such that the work can be done)
The next plan for filming was to take the narrowboat even further down the south Oxford canal, all the way to Oxford and back, although I ideally need to complete this in about 6 days which would mean 7-hour cruising days without any pauses.
That's not really my preferred style of cruising (which is to amble along with plenty of stops) but the conflicting nature of needing to film videos along with certain time constraints, results in a packed schedule if the task is to be completed.
Unfortunately, that pesky weather is playing its hand again with my plan to do the trip in the first week of June now likely scuppered by a forecast of daily drizzle.
And yes, I'm fully aware it's possible to boat in the rain but, quite simply, I don't enjoy it, plus it's awkward to film in, and it's also rather more dangerous doing the locks single handed when everything is slippery.
So the south oxford trip will hopefully still happen in June but exactly when remains to be seen. There will be many videos arising from it though! |
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Canal-themed events this month
An 'Ell of a time
The National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port celebrates its 50th birthday this month with a weekend of celebrations on 13th and 14th June.
Organisers say there'll be live music and 70s-themed activities; historic narrowboat lock demonstrations; trails, tours and hands-on activities; traditional heritage skills including needlework, paintwork, roping and lacing; and costumed living history characters bringing the docks to life.
Plus the anniversary also marks the opening of a brand-new exhibition, "Making our Museum", telling the story of how a derelict canal dock became the National Waterways Museum you see today.
See https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/events/canal-events-canal-festivals/2026-06-13-50th-anniversary-celebrations
'Eds Up
For boaters in Scotland, the annual Edinburgh Canal Festival is once more scheduled for Saturday 20th June, with events taking place between Lochrin Basin and Harrison Park, largely following the format of last year's show. That included boat trips, a raft race and lots of canalside entertainment.
See https://edinburghcanalfestival.org.uk/
Not David
The "biggest free festival in Hounslow" takes place on the canal at Brentford, on Saturday 20th June. A non-profit event, it "offers opportunities for Hounslow’s diverse cultural groups to come together through music, dance, water sports and food."
See https://brentfordcanalfestival.co.uk/
Feeling ancient?
Another of the major annual canal boat events is scheduled for June, namely the Braunston Historic Boat Rally.
Featuring lots of very old narrowboats, the type that used to actually haul goods up and down the canals for trade, it's the 22nd time this has been run and there's always a good turnout.
Mark the 27th and 28th June in your diary and have a gander at https://www.braunstonmarina.co.uk/historic-boat-rally for more info.
Ware in the World?
Just sneaking into this month's schedule as it starts on June 30th (and continues for a week) is the Ware Boat Festival.
Attracting around 50 boats from the local area, this is on the upper reaches of the River Lee, with a boat handling competition, a themed parade - and plenty of cakes and ice cream no doubt.
It should be jolly good fun. See https://waterways.org.uk/support/ways-to-get-involved/events/ware-boat-festival
Feeling Festival
As usual through the summer, there are various floating markets and local canal festivals across the country. It's best to have a look at the Roving Canal Traders Association website for all the schedules: https://www.rcta.org.uk/markets-festivals-and-events/#!event-list |
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Into the dusty archive...
With the Braunston Historic Boat Rally scheduled for the end of this month (see Captain's Log, above), I think this month's lurch into my old videos should be Vlog number 50, "Golden Oldies" which documented the same rally back in 2016.
If you like old canal boats, this one's for you:
https://cruisingthecut.co.uk/2016/07/04/vlog-50-golden-oldies/ |
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I'm diverting slightly from my usual format this month in that I'm not recommending a YouTube channel to you but rather a specific video to be found there.
Sent to me (thank you!) by Bill Donnelly in Melbourne, Australia, this is a lovely bit of archive from the BBC in 1973.
Named "A Dirty Weekend by the Canal" (it's not what you're thinking!!), it's about the early pioneer volunteers of canal restoration.
Have a watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAszByoXroY
The same YouTube channel also has a good selection of other canal-related pieces, which are a delight to sit back and enjoy. |
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Final Thoughts
At the risk of ending on a bit of a low note, watching that BBC archive film and compiling the news items this month has put me in pensive mood about the state and future of the canals.
I am wondering whether it might be worth, if I can get suitable people involved, to compile a video of people's thoughts about this and try to make a snapshot of what's going on.
It would in one sense be a dull video pictorially (largely talking heads of the interviewees) but hopefully of interest in terms of the content.
If you have any opinion on this idea, please do let me know by replying to this email and maybe I'll proceed or otherwise depending on your feedback.
Thanks for reading. Cheerio!
David |
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