There is plenty going on at London Canal Museum. We have regular monthly illustrated talks in the evening, aimed at adults with an interest in industrial heritage and canals. We have a programme of towpath walks in spring summer and autumn, and summer boat trips through the long Islington Tunnel on certain dates. Each summer we welcome the Mikron Theatre Company for theatrical performances and we have occasional special days of activities for families or adults. In August we have a series of Childrens Activity Days. We also occasionally offer roses and castles painting courses, and other events.
Illustrated talks are held at 7.30 pm, on the first Thursday of each month except August. Most speakers illustrate their presentations with photographs. The museum is open 1000 to 1930 on the first Thursday of each month. Admission to talks and museum is £3.00. Students, senior citizens, members of the Canal Museum Trust, and unwaged £2.00. The programme is given below. In the event of any last minute changes to lectures or other events the site will be updated if sufficient notice is available.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4th March 2010 | Talk:The Macclesfield Canal - past and present by Tim Boddington. The Macclesfield Canal was planned by Thomas Telford in 1825 and opened in 1831. It linked the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove to the Peak Forest Canal at Marple. Tim Boddington is a member of the Macclesfield Canal Society as well as the Macclesfield Civic Trust. He will explain the many features of this remarkable scenic waterway. |
| 16th - 19th March | National Science and Engineering Week at London Canal Museum with a fantastic programme of workshops for schools. Must be pre-booked. |
| 1st April 2010 | Talk: Idle Women- results of further research by Mike Constable. The nickname "Idle Women" was given to canal boatwomen who worked on the canals in World War 2 to replace men called to the armed forces. They wore a badge with the letters "IW", for Inland Waterways. Their story has fascinated canal historians ever since and tonight we learn more about them. |
| 6th April 2010 | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 6th May 2010 | Talk: History Starts Here - Waterways in the 1960s and 1970s by Mike Timms. Mike Timms became interested in the inland waterways in the early 1960s and used his skills as a photographer to record the then present scene. Over the years since , he continued to record the waterways nationally. Tonight he shares with us those memories of those early sorties into the water byeways. |
| 14th May 2010 | Museums at Night - Music in the museum £5 after 1630 no concessions. |
| 15th May 2010 | Museums at Night - Visit by Night |
| 16th May 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 3rd June 2010 | Talk: London's More Important River by Jeremy Batch. The designation of the Lower Lea Valley area around the new Stratford International Station as the Olympic venue for 2012 created a new future for this sadly neglected area of London. Jeremy Batch has explored the history of the area and offers us an overview of the River Lea and the Lee Navigation, which includes the Limehouse Cut, the Bow Backs, Three Mills, the Olympic Site. |
| 6th June 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 6th June 2010 | Guided towpath walk to St. Pancras Water Tower, for panoramic views of the area. |
| 13th June 2010 | Ice Sunday. A rare opportunity to descend into the ice wells, escorted by our guide. Fit adults and older children only as the descent involves a climb. Other ice-related activities will be announced nearer the time. |
| 19th June 2010 | Live Theatre from the Mikron Theatre Company, performing "Striking the Balance". Tickets £9 in advance, £10 on the day. (Concessions £8 and £7) Online ticketing will be available. |
| 20th June 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 1st July 2010 | Talk: Lock and Weir Keeping on the Thames by Colin Reynolds. Lock keepers on the Thames are the custodians of that great river highway. Not only do they assist craft through the locks, they also maintain the water levels and take action to minimise the effect of floods. Colin Reynolds is one of those who have faced the floods as well as the impatience of some craft users. He outlines his work and recounts his experiences. |
| 4th July 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 18th July 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 1st August 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 3rd August | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 5th August 2010 at 1930 | Guided Towpath Walk to Camden Town, via Islington Tunnel west portal, exploring the history of the canal and the signs of its past that can be seen along the route. Depart 1930. Charge £5 adult, £4 child/senior/student. Advance booking not required or possible. |
| 10th August | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 15th August 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 17th and 24th August | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 29th August 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 31st August 2010 | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 2nd September 2010 | Talk: The Sleaford Navigation - past , present and future.by Steve Hayes. The Sleaford Navigation linked the market town of Sleaford to the River Witham. This still is a mainly agricultural area and is on the edge of the Fens. The story of how the navigation came into being, fell into decay. Steve Hayes of the Sleaford Navigation Trust recounts that history and tells us how it is now is being brought back to life as a leisure resource |
| 12th September | Guided towpath walk to St. Pancras Water Tower, with panoramic views of the area available from the top. |
| 19th September 2010 | Guided Tunnel Boat Trips from the museum through the long Islington Tunnel and back with commentary from a London Canal Museum guide. Advance booking is strongly reccommended. Departures at 1100, 1200, 1400, 1500, and 1600 |
| 7th October 2010 | Talk: The Droitwich Canals Restoration by Martin Ludgate. The restored Droitwich Canals are due for their grand reopening in 2010. It seems timely we should hear what has gone on behind the scenes to achieve that goal. Martin Ludgate is Deputy Editor of Canal Boat magazine as well as a keen "navvy". He is thus well placed to tell us how volunteers have played a key role in bringing the Droitwich Canals back to life. |
| 26th October | Children's Activities. The day involves a range of fun learning activities and a boat trip on the Regent's Canal for children aged 6 - 12. The other activities vary but include things such as making plaques; painting roses and castles or a treasure hunt in the museum. Price: £6 per child. Groups welcome by advance booking only. |
| 30th and 31st October 2010 | Halloween at London Canal Museum. A joint LCM/CCNA event. Spooky sights in the museum, ghost stories, and scary boat trips through Islington Tunnel. Pre-booking essential for boat trips. Museum visiting without boat trip need not be booked in advance. Late afternoon until mid-evening. |
| 4th November 2010 | Talk: The Cromford Canal past present and future by Patrick Morriss. The Cromford Canal and its branch played a key role in the development of the Amber Valley. It linked the mill town of Cromford to the main waterways network via a junction with the Erewash Canal . The upper section of the Cromford was restored, but sadly fell back into decay. The Friends of the Cromford Canal are seeking to revive the whole line, including the Butterley Tunnel. Partick will bring us up to date with their progress so far. |
| 2nd December 2010 | Talk: The Thames: The Royal River, by Derek Pratt. Derek Pratt is a renowned waterways photographer. His new book on the waterways of the capital, is expected to be published in 2010. We all have seen those pictures that fill the waterways press. |
| 6th January 2011. | Talk: Olympic Waterways and the Legacy by Mark Blackwell. Mark is the BW Manager for the Olympic Waterways in the Lower Lea Valley. He comes along to give us an overview of how the area has been transformed for the Olympic Games. More importantly, he outlines plans for the ' Olympic legacy' once the site is cleared. |
| 3rd February 2011 | Talk: The Full Monty by Runnalls Davis. Runnalls is no stranger to the Museum. On this occasion he offers us a personal account of his own journey along the Montgomery Canal, which is partially restored to navigation. It straddles the borders of England and Wales. He travelled the complete distance from Frankton Junction to Newport and offers us "the full Monty". |
| 3rd March 2011 | Talk: An update on the Bedford and Milton Keynes Link project by Paul Leech It is quite some time since Paul visited us to outline the B&MK Link plans. These have since made significant progress with the first sections of the Link appearing on the ground. Paul is on the speakers panel of the B&MK Trust and is thus well placed to give us the latest position. |
| 7th April 2011 | Talk:. Birmingham Canals, Past and Present by Eric Lewis. Eric tells us about this amazing network of waterways, dating back to Brindley. He describes how the former trade has now changed into leisure traffic. |
