27/06/2025
The sun’s out, the ropes are cast off, and the Summer issue of NarrowBoat Magazine is ready to cruise once more through the fascinating past of Britain’s canals and rivers.
This season, Andy Tidy explores the legacy of Keay’s of Walsall, the last traditional wooden-boat builders on the BCN, while Chris M. Jones takes us onto the Upper Thames, where grain, granite and coal once flowed in steady traffic. We uncover the lost central stretch of the Derby Canal, trace trade to Gainsborough in the 1960s, and meet the Rudkin family – boat-builders of Leicester whose craft helped shape the waterways of the East Midlands.
We also step into the final years of working cargo with rare photos and stories of transition, resilience and reinvention, from coal-carrying to hotel-boating and beyond.
As ever, our readers’ letters section is packed with insight, rare photos, and thoughtful reflections – including memories from those who lived this history first-hand.
Pick up your copy of the Summer 2025 issue today – https://shop.waterwaysworld.com/current-issue/nb
