A couple of old ceramic jugs have come to my notice lately, one very collectable, the other quite common, but both perhaps offering something to canal history and the folk arts of the canals in particular. ...More
A personal and thought provoking angle on a wide range of waterways topics
Off The Mainline by Tony Lewery
Tony Lewery
is a well known waterways author, a regular contributor to
the waterways press and acknowledged expert on canal art and heritage.
For over ten years Tony has been writing these 'Off The Mainline' features for Canal Junction, taking a personal and thought provoking angle on a wide range of waterways topics and events, all accompanied by his own original photographs or artwork. They are intended to encourage discussion and Tony is pleased to hear your views.
Some Irish waterway discoveries
For personal reasons quite unconnected to canals I recently travelled by car across the middle of Ireland. However, being the waterways nerd that I am I took the opportunity to take a bit of a detour to look at bits of the Grand Canal on the way. ...More
The Launch of the Canal and River Trust
The Canal and River Trust launch event for our area was at the Ellesmere maintenance yard in Shropshire which is an architectural gem of a particular idiosyncratic organic order. ...More
Wonderful Wappenshall
Wappenshall junction is where the ‘new’ line of the Newport branch of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal joined the old line of the Shrewsbury canal in 1835, all shortly to become part of the Shropshire Union conglomeration. ...More
Taylors Yard Chester
A transformation is taking place at Taylors Yard in Chester. The old Shropshire Union Canal Company dockyard has at last been let to a new tenant by British Waterways and a long overdue restoration and reclamation has begun.Good news then? ...More
Art on the Canals
There are eighteen separate pieces of art sited around Ellesmere at present with more to come later this year. They all, therefore, impact on the canal environment in some way and therefore have relevance to those of us whose prime concern is with the historic canal heritage. ...More
Looking back on a canal life
Tony wonders if canal restoration has worked. "In the sense that the water channel for pleasure boat use has been preserved and extended then canal restoration has been a great success.". ...More
The beginning of the Llangollen Canal
This trip was a highspot for Saturn in two separate ways. It was the first she has made to Llangollen since she was a hotel boat butty behind Jupiter back in 1987 which seemed significant to us. ...More