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Rescued from Obscurity – Edition 2 of the Book now available!

David Bick, writing in 1979, described the Hereford and Gloucester Canal as being more ‘lost in obscurity’ than any other major navigation in England.

This book tells how much has changed in the last 35 years. This waterway, running through some of the most beautiful countryside in England is now the subject of one of the leading canal restoration projects in Britain spear-headed by the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Trust.

In this richly illustrated book a former Chairman of the Trust tells the story of the building and operation of the canal, not as a textbook of industrial archaeology but as a narrative drawing on the words of those involved with the Navigation Company itself or watching from the side-lines.

In the second half of the book Dick Skeet describes how the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Society and later the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Trust has set about the enormous task of restoring the 34 miles of this historic canal, reconnecting two ancient Cathedral Cities.

A 210 page paperback book with over 200 illustrations and photographs.

The first edition of Rescued from Obscurity is now out of print.

October 2023 Update

Author Dick Skeet has been hard at work and the new, updated second edition is now available. 

The first chapter has been rewritten to focus more on the barge traffic on the Wye which was superseded by the canal, and soon after, by the railway. 

The second part of the book updates the progress on restoration, especially in Gloucestershire where there has been considerable progress.

There are some additional chapters that fill in some gaps in the first edition. There is a new chapter about some of the accidents and crimes which occurred during the operational life of the canal, another on commercial and environmental sustainability and another important chapter that focuses on the increasing use of the canal by the community.

We are confident that the updated book will be a really good read for anyone interested in the Hereford and Gloucester Canal, its history and ongoing restoration.

The new book costs just £12.00 plus £3.00 P&P (UK only).

Please click the button to order. 

Please get in touch before ordering from overseas and we will quote specific P&P costs.

Canal Walks – A Series of eight Leaflets describing Guided Walks

A series of walks leaflets, now increased in number to eight, are available covering parts of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal through the two counties.

The series is proving very popular with both local people and visitors to the area.  Each walk is illustrated with photos of points of interest and a clear map of the route.

A set of all the leaflets is available in return for seven second class stamps and an SAE sent to 18 Coningsby Court, Coningsby Street, Hereford HR1 2DF, or alternatively, can be purchased online via our Paypal portal for £6.00 (including P&P to UK address only) by clicking the button below…

Your purchase will be dispatched by Royal Mail second class post.

Grand Holiday Draw 2024 - Online Ticket Sales

Grand Holiday Draw 2020 – Virtual Ticket Delivery

Tickets for this year’s draw have been circulated to our volunteers who are doing what they can to get them sold.  Additional tickets can be purchased directly from here by clicking on the Buy Now button opposite.

The process will need you to indicate how many tickets you require (sets of five), provide contact details to be added to the ticket stubs, and make a payment online through our Paypal portal.

On receipt of your request and payment, our team will add your details to draw ticket stubs held for this purpose and confirmation of the ticket numbers will be sent out to the email address provided. Please allow up to 7 days for confirmation to be sent out.  We will hold the physical tickets on your behalf and guarantee they will be entered into the draw.

If you have any queries regarding this opportunity please get in touch using our Contact Page and select “Mail Order Sales” on the form so your enquiry gets to the right person as quickly as possible.

Details of all prize winners will be added to this website following the draw on 19 September 2024.

Thank you for your support.

Summer boat trips on the canal at Over Basin

Want to do something different? Need some fresh air? Like to enjoy some time on the water? Learn something new and entertain the kids for a while?

Come to Over Basin and see how the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust are restoring the former Hereford and Gloucester Canal and take a twenty-five minute trip along a re-created section of canal.

You will be able to see our restored heritage narrow boats, other craft, wildlife, historic sites and our next stage of restoration on towards Hereford. On site is Over Lock which was used to link the canal basin to the River Severn close by.

Canal trips at Over Basin operate on our very own crewed trip boat Mister Maysey and our partner organisation Sailing4Disabled’s wheelyboat Sir Charles Morrison which can, as you might expect, accommodates wheelchairs.

Whilst the trips operate, we will be serving refreshments next to the water, or you could have lunch in The Lock Keepers, the award-winning bar and restaurant overlooking the river Severn, or perhaps explore one of several walks along the canal and the river in the surrounding area which are detailed in a range of leaflets produced by the Trust – see above.

Trips on each boat, crewed by RYA trained personnel, will operate at 30 minute intervals on a series of Saturday afternoons in 2024 including …

11 May,  8 June,  13 July,  10 August and  14 September,

… starting at 2pm with Mr Maysey and at 2.15pm with Charles Morrison – the last trip of the day will embark at 4:15pm. 

Tickets should be available for purchase at Over Basin on the day, but note numbers are limited to a maximum of eight on Mister Maysey and seven on Sir Charles Morrison.

We will be recommending that tickets be purchased online in advance.  However, please note our ticketing arrangements are currently under development – so please come back at a later date.