MARSDEN SHUTTLE BOAT TRIPS
CLICK HERE TO CHECK IF WE ARE RUNNING TODAY
With our two boats 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 rely on volunteers to run the service, so please check the hours above before you leave home, to ensure the boat is running that day.
We carry up to 12 passengers. No fares, we just ask for a donation into the on board bucket. Be as generous as you like – it all helps to keep the boat running! You can also donate online.
We 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.)
See this map of where the trip starts.
STOP PRESS!
WEEKEND TRIPS NOW EXTENDED TO 17 SEPTEMBER
Every weekend to late September, our boat will now be running round trips in Uppermill lasting about 15 minutes from outside the Saddleworth Museum & Gallery (this is subject to our having sufficient volunteers to crew the boat). If this proves popular we will be back! We carry up to 12 passengers. No fares, we just ask for a donation into the on board bucket. Be as generous as you like – it all helps to keep the boat running! You can also donate online. We have stopped the weekday trips which were not proving popular enough outside the school holiday but we have been rushed off our feet during the weekend.
Please check our online trip calendar for dates when our boats are running.
If anyone local to Uppermill would like to volunteer to help us run the boat, please contact Mike by email to boating@huddersfieldcanal.org.uk.
Waterways in Crisis: Government announces reduced funding for the Canal & River Trust
The current Government funding agreement for the Canal & River Trust ends in four year’s time. The current annual grant of £52.6 million a year represents about a quarter of the Trust’s income, the rest coming mainly from user licences, mooring charges, income from land holdings and charitable donations. As the grant is fixed and does not increase with inflation, it is already causing financial problems for the Trust and we are already seeing indications of spending restraints despite increases in volunteers taking on many roles.
On 10th July the Government announced the funding for the next ten year period commencing in 2027. Although they accept that the Canal & River Trust has provided value for money since its takeover from the nationalised British Waterways in 2012 the Government states that the Trust should not need Government support and should seek other forms of funding. They have, therefore, said that the grant will be reduced to £50 million in 2027 and be cut by 5% each year after that. At the end of the period in 2037 the annual grant will have reduced to £31.5 million. In total this means that the Canal & River Trust will lose £320m. This comes as maintenance costs for ageing canal infrastructure – 200-year-old plus locks, aqueducts, reservoirs, embankments – is increasing due to climate change with more periods of drought and extreme storm events. Such a drastic decrease in funds will inevitably result in a decline in the overall condition of our waterway network, and, alarmingly, the possibility of canal closures. It puts at risk invaluable natural habitats, historic infrastructure and cherished public spaces.
The Trust believes that the substantial reduction in support will mean that maintenance will have to be cut back and there are likely to be canal closures. The Northern canals and navigations with their low number of boats and high maintenance costs are most at risk. As it stands we are facing an existential threat to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Please write to your local MP telling them how much you care about the canals and why they need to be funded properly. Urge the Government to reconsider their decision and protect our waterways for the future.
And how can you do it?
The best way is for you to email or mail your MP with your own thoughts. Personal representations are always best. Alternatively you can go to the Canal & River Trust website and follow the links here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/donate/our-campaigns/keep-canals-alive
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.
• It is some time since our last e-newsletter has been issued to members and another will be published soon.
• 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 37th Quarterly Draw are:
£72.00 1st Prize to Mrs Margaret Tylee
£36.00 2nd Prize to Tony Zajac
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.