December 2023 issue
On the cover of the December issue… 60ft narrowboat Aalin, which is the focus of our six-page boat test this month
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A new take on Tradition
Boat Review
With styling cues borrowed from working craft, 60ft narrowboat Aalin is a real headturner. But there’s a lot more to its original design, as Mark Langley discovers…
Pioneering leisure boaters of 1860
Looking Back
One of the earliest accounts of a holiday on the inland waterways follows a four-man crew over 400 miles, taking in the Severn Estuary, a host of now unnavigable routes and a swimming elephant. Alison Cannon reveals all…
From Salt to Still Waters
Profile
Roy Fletcher swapped the open seas for the serenity of the canals and established a boat training centre on the Leeds & Liverpool. In conversation with Lynne Crook, he describes his eventful journey
The Lee and Stort
Cruising Guide
From London’s East End to the affluent Essex and Hertfordshire countryside, these river navigations provide a unique cruising experience. Steve Elliott heads out from Limehouse
In at the Deep End
Boat-Ownership
After the expense and challenge of fitting out her boat, Emma Culshaw-Bell anticipated relaxed cruising. Her early forays on the Lancaster Canal proved anything but...
Murder on the Rochdale Canal
Looking Back
In the aftermath of the famous Christina Collins murder case, the reputation of boaters reached an all-time low. In an extract from her new book, Susan C. Law examines the media’s fascination with crime on the cut in the 1840s
Winter is Coming
Boat-Ownership
With cold weather fast approaching, many boaters are rekindling their love for their onboard heating system. Tony Jones discusses the multitude of options
On the Fly
Explore the Shropshire Union Canal
Following in the footsteps of Shroppie fly-boatman Jack Roberts, Andrew Denny compares canal cruising today with the express service of times gone by
The Three Idle Women
Around the Waterways
Bobby Cowling looks at the talented trio soon to be touring canalside venues with their own brand of waterways-inspired folk
A Floating Green House
Reader's Boat
Continuous-cruiser and roving trader Katie Wales took to the waterways to live off-grid and own her home outright
The Thames at Oxford - part 2
Explore the Upper Thames
Continuous-cruiser Howard Davies continues his slow, serene cruise along his favourite section of the royal river
IWA in Crisis
Last Word
WW publisher and former IWA Marketing Committee Chair Peter Johns says the organisation needs to embrace change
