Each year an intrepid group of boaters carries the Fund Britain’s Waterways banners around the country to raise awareness of our canals and rivers and the threat to them from inadequate funding.

Two short campaign cruises have already happened, to Walsall in March and Woolwich in May. The main cruise this year is heading to north west England to highlight the problems on the waterways there. But it has taken some time to fix the route, because of problems in other areas as well – which just shows why we need to campaign.

The first group of boats finally set off from Doncaster on 12th May on the main cruise and made their way to Stoke-on-Trent for the Etruria Canals Festival, where they were joined by groups from Hinckley and Birmingham. They will now be heading to Ellesmere Port, with a diversion to Stalybridge for some of the boats to attend the Russell Newbery Register Rally in Stalybridge from 24th – 28th June. The flotilla will gather in late June at the National Waterways Museum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, before crossing the tidal River Mersey to Liverpool Docks.

As the boats progress across the country they will be visiting boat clubs and events along the way to help spread the word. Please do go along and meet the campaigners if you can – they will be delighted to see you. You can find all the details here.

The Fund Britain’s Waterways message is spreading quickly, but we need to keep pushing to show government how much our waterways matter.

Could you please take a moment to help keep the momentum going?

Please do as many of these as you can

1.       Please send the petition to as many people as possible (friends, family, neighbours, colleagues etc) – the link is https://chng.it/5bKTjLhvy2 

2.       Can you share the petition on social media? Even if you’ve already done it, please do it again. Often people need to see a message several times before they take action. The link is https://chng.it/5bKTjLhvy2 and please use the hashtag #FundBritainsWaterways

3.       Can you write to your MP, Mayor or councillor? Tell them about the benefits of canals and rivers, the threats they face, and the increased funding that is needed – and above all, how important they are to you and how many people care about them. Guidance and template letters are available at https://waterways.org.uk/campaigns/waterways-for-today/lobby-your-mp

4.       Follow Fund Britain’s Waterways on social media: Facebook, X, Bluesky and LinkedIn 

5.       Have a look at the new, updated and improved Fund Britain’s Waterways website and share it with your friends https://fundbritainswaterways.org.uk/

Thank you for being part of Fund Britain’s Waterways.