Regional Round-up North - November 2026

Celebrating a narrow victory

25 years ago, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Standedge Tunnel were reopened after what some dubbed an ‘impossible restoration’. In August, thousands of people gathered at Standedge Tunnel to celebrate this incredible milestone.

Opened in 1811, the canal was once a bustling trade route, carrying textiles, coal and timber across the Pennines. But with the advent of railways, canal traffic dwindled, and in 1944, it was abandoned.

In 1974, a group of local canal enthusiasts formed the Huddersfield Canal Society and set about the arduous task of bringing the waterway back to life. And, after decades of campaigning and fundraising, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and its iconic tunnel were finally reopened in 2001 by the now, King Charles III.

Today, it’s a popular route for boaters and a much-loved part of the local landscape, bringing people and communities together. In August, we celebrated 25 years since its grand reopening, with a weekend of boat trips, heritage activities, family fun, food stalls and live music.

There was a familiar face to kick off the festivities, with TV presenter Robbie Cumming arriving in style aboard the Huddersfield Canal Society’s shuttle boat to cut the ceremonial ribbon, before taking the tiller and heading into Standedge Tunnel.

25 years since it was restored to navigation, the Huddersfield Narrow Canal remains more than just a ribbon of water, winding lazily through the Pennines. It's a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when passionate communities, volunteers and supporters come together to save a waterway that many once believed was beyond restoring. With your continued support, we can keep it safe and accessible for many more years to come.

Keeping canals moving in Cheshire

In August, a section of the Llangollen Canal at Swanley, near Nantwich, suddenly gave way. As water poured into nearby fields, our engineers weren't the first to arrive on scene. A curious herd of cows quickly appeared to investigate the unexpected watering hole.

While the cows enjoyed a much-needed drink, our teams worked quickly to contain the breach. Initial investigations pointed to a failure in a small culvert beneath the canal, and a large fallen tree damaging the towpath. Once the canal was drained, engineers investigated the damage and planned a permanent repair.

In the meantime, contractors installed a temporary horseshoe-shaped dam around the damaged section, stopping the leak while allowing water to continue flowing towards Hurleston Reservoir. This fix is important, as the Llangollen Canal plays a vital role in the region’s water supply, carrying water from the River Dee to Hurleston, where it’s treated before making its way into people’s homes.

The Swanley breach was unrelated to the larger failure at Whitchurch earlier this year but incidents like this one highlight the growing challenge facing our waterways. Increasingly unpredictable weather is placing additional strain on infrastructure that, in some cases, has served communities for more than 200 years.

Our teams need to be ready to respond when something goes wrong and thanks to the support of Friends like you, we can act quickly when incidents happen to protect and maintain our waterways. In this instance, we made the necessary repairs and kept disruption to a minimum. And the cows, it was a chance to cool off on a hot day.

Keeping ahead of the storm in Leicestershire

Rather than waiting for winter to arrive, our teams at Cossington Lock have already begun essential maintenance work, adapting their approach to stay one step ahead of increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.

The River Soar is increasingly prone to winter flooding, but thanks to your support, we were able to bring forward essential lock gate replacement works and get the job done before the rains came.

Normally, we replace the two sets of gates as part of our winter maintenance programme, when fewer boats use our canals. But in recent years, flooding has often left work sites on the Soar underwater, so this winter we decided to get ahead of the weather and begin work in mid-September.

Our specialist teams have now lifted out the old gates and replaced them with brand-new bespoke oak gates, individually designed and assembled by skilled craftspeople at one of our designated workshops.

The work at Cossington Lock is another example of how we’re adapting the way we care for our historic canals and rivers, with extreme weather, like heavy rainfall and droughts, putting increasing pressure on our ageing infrastructure.

Your support helps us respond to the challenges of our changing climate, enabling us to carry out essential repairs and keep our canals safe, open and alive. So, while winter might bring more rain to Cossington, this year it won’t get in the way of our important winter work.