BOATS TRIPS IN MARSDEN AND UPPERMILL
We now run trips in both places for much of the year. Each boat carries up to 12 passengers and is operated by trained unpaid volunteers. No fares, we just ask for a donation with cash into our red bucket or one tap of your contactless card, Apple Pay or Google Pay on our card reader. You can also donate online. We are a registered charity relying 100% on donations to keep the boats running, so please be as generous as you can.
MARSDEN SHUTTLE BOAT TRIPS
We run a regular shuttle service between the lock by Marsden Station and the Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre. The trip lasts 12 to 15 minutes each way. No timetable, but we leave Marsden Station (Lock 42) or the Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre around every 30 minutes.
We plan to run every day during local school half terms & holidays and every weekend between Easter and the end of October. (We are closed during the winter holiday.) Please click here to make sure the boat is running and see where the trip starts in Marsden.
On this route we use our new all electric craft built in 2022. It is quiet & spacious and incorporates a wheelchair lift to aid accessibility.
UPPERMILL TRIPS IN OUR LITTLE BLUE BOAT
We now run round trips from outside the Saddleworth Museum & Gallery going up the canal past the park & turning just before the first lock. The trip lasts around 15 minutes so there is never long to wait for the next one.
We plan to run each day over Easter (Friday to Monday) and then every weekend up to the end of October. If we manage to recruit & train sufficient local crew, we will run the boat on more days.
Please click here to see where the trip starts.
This is a new venture which relies on volunteers so, if anyone local to Uppermill would like to volunteer to help us run the boat, please contact Mike by email on boating@huddersfieldcanal.org.uk. No previous boating experience is required as we will provide all necessary training.
Funding Britain’s Waterways
Huddersfield Canal Society has joined with over 100 organisations on the Fund British Waterways campaign. To find out more clock this link:
Fund Britain’s Waterways – Inland Waterways
Winter stoppages on the Huddersfield Canals 2023-4
This year the winter stoppages on the Huddersfield canals are all focused on the early part of 2024 allowing passage in November and December 2023 during the period when there are closures on the Rochdale Canal. The latter should then be open in its entirety in early January 2024 for boaters wishing to cross the Pennines.
Three stoppages are planned for the Huddersfield Broad Canal as follows:
- Washwall repairs between lock 5 and bridge 9
- Lock landing repairs at Red Doles Lock 9
- A four day and a subsequent 2 day closure to work on the railway bridge next to Colne Bridge Lock 1. These will also mean closure of the towpath
On the Huddersfield Narrow Canal the following is planned west to east:
- Repairs and relining of the bottom lock gates at Lock 3W between Ashton and Stalybridge
- Masonry, leakage, fender & access repairs to Stalybridge Aqueduct and bank protection works at Bridge 103. This will also involve towpath closure
- Repairs to top and bottom gates at Lock 7W Stalybridge
- Lock gate refurbishments at locks 32W, 31W and 30W on the Diggle flight as well as replacement of the damaged lock bridge on lock 31W
- installation of a concrete foundation and wash wall rebuild above Lock 32W. This will also involve towpath closure
- Culvert bed valve and washwall repairs at Shaw Carr Dam Lingards Wood, West Slaithwaite
- Replacement of the bottom gate and carrying out of general repairs at Lock 21E below Slaithwaite
After the fantastic public reception on 2nd May 2022, the new electric Marsden e-Shuttle has been running regular trips between Marsden Station and the Standedge Visitor Centre.
Recently our boat took a musical sheep through Slaithwaite then up to Standedge as part of the Project HERD – Kirklees Year of Music 2023.
We’re retaining the original craft, now nicknamed the d-Shuttle, for the time being and indeed it was at the Stalybridge Festival in June and we are now running weekend trips in Uppermill until the end of July (assuming we get sufficient volunteers to crew the boat.
Please check our online trip calendar for dates when the boats are running.
In addition:
• The Maintenance team is continuing to work on east side vegetation clearance every Friday fortnight. Painting of lock gates has ceased for the winter.
• The latest newsletter was issued to members in September 2023 and another will be published in the New Year.
• The office is now unattended so the best way to contact us is by email.
** Best wishes to all our members, supporters and friends **
The results of our 39th Quarterly Draw are:
£70.40 1st Prize to John Donnelly
£35.20 2nd Prize to Derek Walker
Congratulations to the prize winners!
(If you want to join in – details are in the Members’ Area.)
The Huddersfield Canal Society was formed in 1974 by a group of enthusiasts with the ambitious aim of restoring the then derelict Huddersfield Narrow Canal to through navigation and improving the Broad Canal.
After 27 years of campaigning and restoration, led by Canal Society volunteers, the Narrow Canal was re-opened in May 2001 and gained Royal approval with an official ceremony by HRH Prince of Wales in the September that year.
Funding for removal of the final set of major blockages, amounting to £30 million, was received from the Millennium Lottery Fund and English Partnerships, with contributions from the Society, Tameside, Oldham and Kirklees Councils and the former British Waterways. Click here to download Keith Gibson’s historical summary of the restoration and follow this link to see how the major blockages were removed.
Transhipment Warehouse, Wool Road, Dobcross, Oldham, OL3 5QR
The Society’s members and volunteers help protect and promote the canals so the years of hard work and investment can continued to be enjoyed by all.
