Picturing the Past
Traffic through Thames Lock
Chris M. Jones looks at a series of images relating to traffic between the Port of London and the River Wey Navigation
This is our free-access sample article from the Autumn 2026 NarrowBoat
From the Archives
A Pointer to the Past
Andy Tidy uncovers unusual canal-related photos from the 1950s and finds out more
Last Traffic
Blue Line
David Blagrove looks through Terry Putnam’s colourful photographs of boats carrying coal from Atherstone to the “Jam ’ole” at Southall, the last regular long-distance narrowboat traffic on the canals that ceased in 1970
Working the Waterways
Boating Hazards
Chris M. Jones explores some of the numerous difficulties that could beset a cargo-carrying trip
Art of the Waterways
Livery Variations on Narrowboats
Christopher R Jones, assisted by Christopher M Jones, looks closely at ‘rose & castle’ painting from the southern Grand Junction Canal
Last Traffic
Wheat to Wellingborough
In a series featuring some of the last regular cargoes on our waterways, John Pyper recalls the narrowboats that brought grain from London to the Nene until the last load in 1969.
