The Basingstoke Canal News (BCN) is the Society’s quarterly newsletter, available on-line and in printed form to members
Each issue contains news as well as other information and illustrated articles about the Canal and the Society. The current BCN editor is Elspeth Levi.
To receive your printed copy of the 24-page A5 colour magazine, please refer how to join the Society.
The first edition of what was then called the newsletter appeared in January 1967, shortly after the Society was formed. It had no pictures, and consisted of two single sheets of duplicated ‘foolscap’ size paper. The first editor was June Sparey. With no. 49 (Mar-April 1973) it appeared on the new A4 size of paper. Photographs first appeared in issue no. 54 (Jan-Feb 1974) and consisted of a double-sided sheet on the front of the text pages.
During this time a succession of editors worked on the newsletter, including Dieter Jebens, Mrs M Holmes, Natalie and Peter Jones, Janet and Chris Brazier, Chris de Wet, Margaret Insall, Sue Palmer, Brian Fox, Kathryn Dodington and Roger Cansdale who handed over to Elspeth Levi in 2023.
From 2006 it was published on-line and in hard copy as a black and white A4, 16 page PDF document. Later, colour PDF versions were available on-line to members. In 2011, Society members were consulted on the possible new formats for the printed document, in order to save costs. It was agreed that the magazine would be reduced to a more “handy” A5 version of 24 pages, and interestingly printing costs were such that the cover and some inside pages could appear in colour for the first time. The most recent transformation has been with the adoption of the new Society logo and “branding”, which appeared for the first time on the cover in early 2013.
Previous Editions Archive
All editions of the Basingstoke Canal News back to the first in early 1967 can be found in the BCN archive. They give a fascinating account of the Society’s early campaign, struggles and setbacks to get the Canal purchased as a public amenity. To access the BCN Archive with editions back to 1967, please click here.