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 will run special Pirate Trips over this Easter (Good Friday to Easter Monday).
After that, we will run 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 especially during the school holidays.
Please click here to make sure the boat is running and see where the trip starts in Uppermill.
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.
February 2025 update on Huddersfield Canals
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is currently closed at Lock 11W following damage to the supporting embankment resulting from the heavy rain on 1st January 2025. The problem originated with the culvert near Wagon Road Bridge, which erupted into the canal, sending a surge of water downstream, bypassing Lock 12w before overtopping Lock 11w. It looks as if the bank failure may have been compounded by the River Tame eroding the base of the embankment, causing it to slip away from the lock.
The Canal Society is grateful to Duncan Roberts for allowing us to publish these two pictures taken soon after the bank failed. Duncan retains copyright of both pictures.
Canal & River Trust is committed to carrying out repairs to the embankment during the coming months but is faced with the challenge of gaining access through tje woodland on the opposite river bank.
Lock 11W in happier times during the Pennine Explorer cruise of June 2022. Photo by Alan Stopher
In view if the inability to traverse the Narrow Canal fully during this lengthy stoppage we understand that Canal & River Trust is considering promoting up and back visits from the east side including Standedge Tunnel passage both ways whne the tunnel reopens before Easter.
On the east side there is still a towpath closure in place between Lock 4E at Longroyd Bridge and Stoney Battery. Though CRT has reported that negotiations with Network Rail regarding working under Longroyd Railway Viaduct continue and before work can commence. Sadly it is unlikely to mean reopening of this important section of towpath until Spring 2025. This closure has no impact on boat movements.
Elsewhere on the canal there are a number of winter maintenance works ongoing.
• The Maintenance team is continuing to work on east side vegetation clearance every Friday fortnight. Various tasks have been undertaken including installation of missing milestones in 5 locations, vegetation cutting back, wall and fencing repairs and painting of lock gates and spindles.
• 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 42nd Quarterly Draw are:
£72.00 1st Prize to John Donnelly
£36.00 2nd Prize to Michael Levy
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.
