By the time itwasnationalised in
1948, thecanal’s importancewas
dwindlingas trucksand railways
tookover. Shippingwasendedat the
Regent’sCanalDock in 1969.
Today, though, thecanal isseeing
adifferentkindof renaissance,
particularly in thesectioneastof
King’sCross.Cafésand industrial-
chicbarshavepoppedupon the
walkway,whilepropertiesalong
thecanalhaveexploded invalue
–onehouseboat-dwellingnews
Peopleontheboats
sellantiquebooks,
vintageclothesand
icecream–there’s
sometimesevena
floatingcircus
Thevolunteers
Every Thursday, Robert Preece, Travers
Ellison andNigel Shindler (
picturedbelow,
left to right
) volunteerwith theCanal &
River Trust, a charity that looks after the
waterways inEngland andWales.When
the trio aren’t drinking coffee, telling jokes
and talking about cricket, theyman the
busy locks at Camden, fromwhich tourist
boats chugwest up the river to the zoo
and LittleVenice, aswell as fishing litter
from thecanal, weeding andpainting the
lock gates.WhilePreece and Shindler are
both long-timeboat ownerswhowanted
to give somethingback, Ellison got a taste
for volunteeringwhenhewas part of the
drugs squad at the LondonOlympics.
“We’rebasically here tomake it all work
and looknice, and tohelppeople,” says
Travers. “You get tourists by themillion, as
well as a very colourful bunchof people.
Wedo get theodd angry boat owner or
cyclistwho refuses to get off his bike, but
mostly it’s very civil.”
canalrivertrust.org.uk
cameramanwe interviewed for this
piecewasastonished to lookata
“miniscule”studio flaton thecanal
selling for£400,000 (NOK40m).
Yet thehousingbubblehas
led tomoreandmoreLondoners
choosing to liveon thewater itself.
According to theCanal&RiverTrust,
acharity that looksafter thecanal,
thisyear therewere2,964boatson
theRegent’sCanal,up from 1,907 in
2008–and they’reacolourful lot.
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