Canal Boat — February 2018

From any other angle, this would just look like a set

of sticks, all supporting individual small swan

motifs, and stuck in the ground by the disused

Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Nob End Locks,

near Bolton. But stand in exactly the right place, and

they all form up into a single large image of a swan.

The artwork was designed by artists Liam Curtin

and Emily Hooker. It was erected close to the

(permanently installed) ‘Meccano Bridge’ – a canal

footbridge built a couple of years ago out of giant

replica construction kit pieces, also designed by

Curtin. It was a temporary artwork to test whether

the idea was workable in practice, but the

Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal society – which is

campaigning to restore the canal – hopes to find

funding for a permanent artwork, to help raise

awareness of the canal.

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat February 2018 13

NEWS

MANCHESTER BOLTON & BURY

Swan? What swan?

The Nenescape landscape

partnership scheme, which

supports projects around the

River Nene, has been boosted

by a £2.6m grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund.

The scheme brings together

partners including local

authorities and other bodies

along the river from

Northampton to Peterborough,

and is led by the River Nene

Regional Park. And while much

of it will not be of direct interest

to boaters (covering for example

fishing, wetland ecology,

archaeology and meadow

restoration), one of its 16

projects entitled Enabling

Access from Waterway to Land

offers the possibility of improved

access to the river and links

with local communities; more

navigation facilities including

short stay moorings and

sanitary facilities; interpretation

and information for boaters

about local attractions; and

promoting the river as a

destination, through events and

activities.

See our Cruise Guide feature

on the River Nene on page 47.

Lottery win for Nene

TOWPATH

TELEGRAPH

IWA APPOINTMENTS

Following the appointment of Ivor Caplan

as its new Chairman (see CB January), the

Inland Waterways Association has named

two deputies. They are Rick Barnes,

Waterway Recovery Group volunteer and

IWA nominee on the Cotswold Canals and

Paul Strudwick, the Association’s London

Region Chairman. IWA said that “Rick’s

long experience of hands-on restoration

and Paul’s championing of lesser-used

waterways will ensure the organisation

moves forward to succeed in the delivery

of its ambitious plans”.

THAMES TIDEWAY CONCERNS

An increase of over 40 percent in the

number of recreational boating incidents

on the Thames tideway has been

highlighted in a report by the Port of

London Authority. The PLA believes most

of these could have been avoided by

following its regulations and guidance for

recreational users, which are available on

its website pla.co.uk. The authority has

also pointed out that under recent changes

to international rules there is now a formal

requirement for boats to be appropriately

prepared for tidal conditions and for

mariners to check all manual functions are

fully operational before getting under way.

MORE RINGS ON THE RING...

The Inland Waterways Association’s

Cheshire Ring Mooring Ring Project has

now added a total of over 220 new

mooring rings on the popular north west

cruising circuit. The latest additions

involved a team of volunteers installing a

set of rings at Fools Nook on the

Macclesfield Canal. More are planned:

contact [email protected] if

you want to join the volunteers.

...AND IN MK TOO

To mark the 50th anniversary of Milton

Keynes new town, the Canal & River Trust,

whose head office is in the town, has

installed 50 new mooring rings. The new

rings are situated at the popular stopping

point in Campbell Park.

THIS signboard unearthed in a Canal & River Trust
building and donated to the London Canal Museum
has presented the museum with a couple of puzzles.
The sign, advertising some early public boat trips,
was found at Adelaide Dock near Southall, and is
believed to have been taken there from a former
facility at Norwood. From the dates painted on it, the
sign was last used in 1961 – but other than that,
little is known.
The museum plans to have the sign cleaned up (as
far as is possible while conserving the historic fabric)
and restore the missing lettering – but what did it
say? “Scheduled trips by motorboat from this...”
what?
That’s the first puzzle. The second is where did the
trips run from and to? It’s thought to have almost
certainly been somewhere in London – but probably
not on the popular Camden to Little Venice route, as
that would have merited more than a Sundays-only
schedule. Perhaps from Little Venice westwards

along the Paddington Arm? Or somewhere

completely different?

The aim is to hang the sign on the wall of the

museum – ideally accompanied by a picture, or at

least some information about where the trips ran. If

you can help, get in touch either directly with the

museum, or with Canal Boat and we’ll pass the

message on.

For more about the museum, see our history

feature on Page 41.

A sign of the times?

RIVER NENE