May 2022 issue
On the cover of the May issue... Cruising the Staffs & Worcs Canal near Stourport.
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New Boat Review: A Family Wide-Beam
New Boat Review
Saint George is a 65ft-by-10ft boat built to provide a permanent home for a family of four. Mark Langley pays it a visit at Diglis Basin
The Secret Sarthe
Hire-boating in France
Janet Gascogine combined her love of classic cars and quiet boating on a hire-trip along the River Sarthe from Le Mans
Guide to the Staffs & Worcs Canal
WW Guide to the Staffs & Worcs Canal
This delightful rural waterway celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. James Francis Fox cruises its 46-mile length
BoatLife Live
BoatLife Live
Andrew Denny and Rupert Smedley look over the new boats and products at February’s BoatLife Live event in Birmingham
Hiring half a century ago Part 2
Looking Back
Max and Edna Holgate continued their fortnight’s holiday of 1972 by heading south to Stoke Bruerne, before taking the north Oxford and Coventry canals back to base. Roger Butler follows their journey
All you need to know about Fenders
On the Waterways
Last month, Tony Jones visited Tradline at Braunston to learn about boat ropes. Now he turns his attention to fenders
The Bridgeguard Scheme
Looking Back
Ever noticed the number of brutalist canal bridges? Andy Tidy uncovers the story of a 1970s initiative to strengthen waterway crossings
Turning Pointer
Boat-Handling
Following on our account of winding using just ropes in last month’s WW, Tony Jones takes a look at how to do it with an engine
Foxes on the Thames
Explore River Thames
Colin Dobson-Fox continues his adventures on the tidal Thames through central London – this time, heading upstream from Limehouse to Brentford
The Hire-boat Pioneer
Looking Back
Before WW11, hire-boating on the canals started in a fitful way. But one man holds the claim to being the first to build dedicated hire-boats. Angela Clark tells the story of Canal Pleasure Craft, and its founder, her father, Holt Abbott.
Last word: A million to one
Last Word
Tony Jones recalls how, by a miracle, he narrowly avoided a boat fire
