FEATURES:
LAYOVER - Volunteers use their special skils on canal trust's hedgerows to beat birds’ nesting deadline
ME AND MY BOATS - Delays selling their house, followed by the arrival of Covid, weren't enough to keep Paul and Kay from their electric dreamboat
HERITAGE SPOTTER: SPLIT BRIDGES - Spotter Martin tracks down bridges which feature a gap for a boat's towrope - and which terrified him as a child...
BOAT TEST: BRAYZEL NARROWBOATS - Holiday companies report a surge in bookings, we look at a sponsored boat that manages to square the circle of being suitable for an owner with a disability while at the same time providing a good holiday boat for hirers -with style
LIVEABOARD - Young liveaboard Emma endures another lockdown, but is thankful she's moored in a handy location for services - although she really wishes it would snow
CRUISE GUIDE: GRAND UNION PART 2 - On ourtrip downthe ‘backbone’ of the southern canals, we follow the central section through long tunnels and classic canal villages like Braunston and Stoke Bruerne
CRUISE GUIDE EXTRA: A CALL TO ARMS - Turn off the Grand Union Main Line and take the Northampton and Aylesbury arms - you won't regret it
SPONSORED BOATS - We consider the pros and cons of sponsoring a hire boat -and take a detailed look at several examples of sponsorship
DECK CRAFT - Helen makes her own face flannels and invents the reusable ‘unpapertowel’
HOLIDAY GETAWAY - Planning a waterway 'staycation'? We help you choose a route - with an emphasis on the quiet 'get away from it all’ canals
BOATERS BREAK - Rootop gardening, The Big Sky, and try your hand at our cunning acrostic puzzle
BACK CABIN:
ALL CHANGE - Kay exchanged the life of a university lecturer for a new career as a roving trader painting 'roses and castles' canalware
ASK THE EXPERTS - A squealing engine; ballasting a Springer; overcharged batteries; and how much power can you sensibly take from your batteries using an inverter?
REGULARS:
EDITORIAL - With bookings bursting and hire companies ready to roll, it could be a glorious season
NEWS - Canals go back into lockdown; Crick show organisers look to a summer slot; stoppages under way; Aire & Calder Breach, and we discuss prospects for 2021 with hireboat operators
WILDLIFE - As spring arrives, so do the wild daffodils, the lamb's tail catkins on the hazel trees - and the first butterflies of the year
GALLEY GRUB - Shake up the Sunday roast with this delicious Moroccan style lamb dish
USED BOATS - A selection of second-hand craft to suit all budgets
THIS MONTH’S COVER: This month’s test boat from Brayzel, pictured on the Lancaster Canal by Andy R Annable