It’s been nearly 18 months since I took over management of the Society website, and a very busy time it’s been too! The Society had invested wisely, and the website had already been developed to a high standard. Alongside social media, the website is one of our main online “public-facing” facilities and it should reflect what the Society is doing today as well as what it has done during its long history, so we embarked on a project to create a good balance to meet different readership interests.

Fast forward to today and the improvements are ongoing. We have improved our membership account area so that members can log in and access their subscription information and newsletter, as well as membership benefits such as shopping discounts and free boat trips. Volunteers can access training material and our central “intranet” where we store documents and images.
The Boat Trip section has been updated improving the way we search for and present boat trips, with information about how to book and what to expect. We have brought Fundraising to the fore so that visitors to the website can see what projects we are undertaking and how we spend the money we raise for our charity. Projects like the “Replace Kitty” campaign which has already raised thousands of pounds. The Online Shop has been tweaked and products like downloadable gift vouchers for boat trips and membership. Sales of all products have gone through the roof! Important news items are front and centre on the home page of the site, regularly updated with images and links to articles. We also keep the website up to date to meet our legal responsibilities with a comprehensive privacy policy and terms & conditions for sales.
Our latest venture is the new “Activities & Wellbeing” section which was launched on 1st March 2022. The project was led by one of our website admins, Helena Nguyenova and a small team with the purpose of showing all our website visitors what fun can be had on and around the canal. With colourful, vibrant images this section really brings the environment to life and informs about healthy activities such as walking, paddling, exploring, camping etc. We’ve also got a list of every pub in the vicinity of the 32 miles of canal!! Click here to look around the new section. You can also send us ideas for activities, clubs etc via our contact page by clicking here.



Work to improve and maintain the website continues with the help of our development partners, Treefrog in Woking without whose support and patience we would not have such a fantastic facility.
Come and visit the website – join as a member, volunteer, book a boat trip, donate to our charity or just find out where the nearest pub is! Everyone is welcome!
Mel Lewis
Website Manager