December 2021 issue
On the cover of the December issue… Cruising into Castlefield Basin, where the Bridgewater and Rochdale canals meet.
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New Boat Review: Crick show-stopper
Boat Review
Sixty-foot narrowboat Larkrise picked up the Favourite Boat in Show award at this year’s Crick – a real feat, given that it was builder Oakums Narrowboats’ first time at the event.
A race against time
Cruising the Waterways
Richard and Lucia Holdsworth were cruising to Gloucester in time for the birth of their first grandchild. But would they make it for the big day? Tony Jones went along for the ride
Power struggle
Green Boating
What’s the green future of inland boat propulsion? The question was heavily discussed in a sustainable boating seminar at August’s Crick Boat Show
Bridgewater Canal
WW Guide
The pioneering Bridgewater might not represent a boating challenge – but there’s plenty to see on this lock-free canal. James Francis Fox cruises its length…
Testing Tiger on the Warwickshire Ring
Looking Back
In the summer of 1967, James Billingham took his self-built boat Tiger on its first proper outing – an extensive holiday cruise with his family. Using notes from his original log, he recalls the experience
A stellar Somerset canal
Explore Bridgwater & Taunton Canal
Can the Bridgwater & Taunton ever attract the attention and investment it deserves? Andrew Denny appreciates this small and beautiful outlier of the network
The Expense of Upgrades
Second-Hand Boat Ownership
When you buy a second-hand boat, how much can you expect to pay when making important improvements? After two years with cruiser Tardigrade, Mark Langley made some calculations
Bruce almighty
Looking Back
Diminutive cruiser Bruce was the only craft to navigate the entire Ashton Canal in a protest cruise of 1961. Joseph Boughey recounts its difficult journey
Floating Library
Art on the Waterways
RV Furor Scribendi is a 57ft narrowboat ‘sculpture’ housing a vast collection of short story books. Launched in May, it recently visited Coventry City of Culture where Paul Miles hopped aboard…
A major sticking point
Last Word
When Peter Major sent his 52ft vintage narrowboat to be re-bottomed and have the sides brought in, he wasn’t expecting it to end up even wider. He tells WW how the sickening discovery, some 16 years later, means the narrow canal system is now out of bounds...
