February 2022 issue
On the cover of the February 2022 issue... rural cruising on the Mon & Brec Canal.
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New Boat Review: Bespoke hybrid
New boat review
Aqua’s latest narrowboat is built for a couple intending to undertake serious cruising while also accommodating visiting family. And its high- spec fit-out includes hybrid propulsion. Mark Langley takes a look...
Back on the boat, back on the box
Canal Boat Diaries
Robbie Cumming discusses his new series of Canal Boat Diaries and his passion for the waterways of north England
Discovering the Shroppie’s sister canal
Waterways Profile
As well as being a contemporary of the Shroppie, the Tame Valley Canal offers the same deep wooded cuttings and high embankments. Andy Tidy profiles this overlooked stretch of the BCN and provides advice on cruising it
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
WW Guide
Contained almost entirely within the Brecon Beacons, and isolated from the main network, this Welsh waterway is among the most beautiful in the UK. James Francis Fox explores it in full
On the Way to the Thames
Hire-boat Holiday
The Wey Navigation provides a peaceful hire-boat holiday that can be augmented with a trip on the Thames to Teddington. Peter Hills recalls a sociable week cruising this route
Waterways heroes on film
Looking Back
A 1963 TV documentary, available to view online, includes rare interviews with canal characters and restoration pioneers, including Robert Aickman and David Hutchings. James Francis Fox takes a look...
Fitness afloat
Liveaboard Life
It’s New Year’s resolution time and, for many of us, that means getting in shape. Former personal trainer Tony Jones explains how he stays fit while continuously cruising.
Working in winter part 2
Looking Back
We take another look back on the working era of the waterways, when boating had to continue through the harshest of conditions
Ring of hire
Hire-boat Holiday
After 30 years, former liveaboard boater Fliss Davidson finally fulfilled her aim of cruising the Cheshire Ring – on an incident-filled, three-week hire-holiday last autumn
Boating etiquette
Boating Advice
As with every community, canal culture has its own set of unwritten rules. Liveaboard boater Tony Jones talks us through his top boating-etiquette tips.
HVO Special
Green Boating
We answer your questions on the new generation of biofuel
Welcoming women onto the waterways
Last Word
When Vickie Hunter began a series of DIY jobs on her narrowboat, she expected at least a bit of lad-banter from the engineers and enthusiasts she asked for advice. Instead, she recieved lots of encouragement and support
