First 2020 charter trip was run on 1st August After a great deal of work and effort by many people, led by Dick King (Chairman of the Boat Company) and Simon Tudor (BCS HSE Director), together with the support of the BCA, we successfully ran our first charter trip from Odiham on John Pinkerton II […]
A look back at his tenure as Society Chairman by Philip Riley, who stepped down in July 2020 At the Committee meeting on 16th July I did not put my name forward for re-election as Chairman of the Society. I have been indicating to the other Committee members, for the last 2 or 3 years, […]
Accessible Boating Association is based on the Basingstoke Canal at Galleon Marine in Odiham. On 2nd June 2020 it became public knowledge that the Association had been granted the Queens Award for Voluntary Service. It’s a huge honour and acknowledges the efforts put in by all our volunteers for over thirty years of operating. Given […]
A Lengthsman’s Life A Lengthman’s life is varied and interesting. Not only do you learn to appreciate your little bit of the canal, there can be a gratifying sense of actually doing something about the maintenance of the canal and its environs. I combine my lengthsman’s duties with walking my Springer Spaniel Poppy; she’s now […]
Walking or boating down the Canal today it is hard to envisage a more bucolic, pastoral environment. With its overhanging green canopy of trees, lush vegetation along its banks and its meandering route through rural parklands, woods and fields the Basingstoke canal seems to be the epitome of rural isolation and charm. Far from the […]
We are all coming to terms with life in a Covid-19 global pandemic and the volunteers helping the Canal Authority have started to work on some tasks to help welcome visitors to the canal. These are on top of the routine Lengthsmen monitoring – though it is a sad point to note that there has […]
Exploring the Watery Wonders of the Canal by Kayak, Canoe or Paddleboard There has been a marked increase of usage of the canal during the Covid 19 Pandemic. While the towpath has been extremely busy from the start with people discovering the importance of this local asset on their doorstep. As soon as travel restrictions […]
Here is an update from Fiona Shipp, Canal Manager, at the BCA: While some places might have gone quiet during lock down this certainly hasn’t been the case at the canal. We have seen large numbers of local people using the towpath for walking, cycling and jogging and hopefully appreciating the value of the canal […]