Staff and volunteers at Cotswold Canals Trust (CCT) are celebrating a successful summer of boat trips, this year setting off from Wallbridge, near their Visitor Centre in Stroud, as well as Ebley and Saul Junction.
Depending on the weather, the trips from Wallbridge to Bowbridge will continue until the end of September.
CCT volunteer David Jowett told Stroud Times: “This year, for the first time since 1986, regular summer boat trips returned to Wallbridge.
“The crew worked hand-in-hand with other CCT volunteers from Wallbridge Visitor Centre who handled check-in from online bookings and dealt with last minute walk-ins. Footfall in the centre has benefitted and the trip boat crew has been able to rely on the Visitor Centre staff so they can concentrate on providing a great trip for passengers.
“Trips will wind down when the weather turns though Santa Trips will return in December. Over the years, trip boats have also operated at locations such as Bowbridge, Ryeford and Eastington.
“Today, charters can be booked at Saul Junction, Ebley and Lechlade so there are lots of locations to choose from when considering getting afloat with the CCT.
“As ever, all profits are used to further the restoration of the Cotswold Canals.”
The Trust is looking for more volunteers: “There’s a very wide range of volunteer roles on the website showing you all the different areas where we need volunteers – working in the Visitor Centre, through to maintenance,” explained Ian Nie, Canal Trip Boat Manager.
“If people like mixing cement and mucking in there’s lots of that sort of thing to do. We do training on excavators and diggers and our boat crews are also trained for operating the tugboats, which move all the boats around the canal, the work boats and also our trip boats.”
For more information about the boat trips, as well as volunteering, visit: https://cotswoldcanals.org
Pictures and video by Matt Bigwood
