UCL East hosts Accessible Waterways Day 2024

The event brought together a range of waterways authorities, charities and cultural organisations, as well as interested individuals and comprised stalls and a series of talks about topics related to making the UK’s inland waterways more inclusive and accessible to all those who want  to use them.

Co-founder Tracey Clarke opened the day with an explanation of why she and her husband Tim Clarke started up the AWA, and how the organisation hopes to develop into the future. All the directors of the AWA are themselves narrowboaters, with Tim and Tracey constantly moving their boat around the UK with Tracey’s guide dog Loki and Tim’s hearing assistance dog Ozzie.

The Canal and River Trust (CRT), the charity with responsibility for more than 2000 miles of waterways in the UK, including London’s Regent’s Canal and east London’s River Lea Navigation, were represented by Dick Vincent, the CRT’s National Towpath Advisor, and Marcus Falconer, the Trust’s Head of Placemaking and Design.

They presented a prototype ‘accessible mooring bollard’ designed to allow those in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues to safely and independently moor boats. Guests were able to test this out and provide feedback, which will be taken on-board as the design is finalised, with the first to be implemented next year.

Boating organisations who had stalls at the event included Accessible Boating, who run boat trips on the Basingstoke Canal for those with all disabilities, Bruce Boats, who rent out fully disabled-friendly boats on the Kennet and Avon Canal, Drake Marine Engineering, who have converted canal boats to be wheelchair accessible, and Waterlife who build tailor-made houseboats with accessibility in mind.

Speakers also included Lorraine Newman from the Waterways Chaplaincy, who are able to support those who use and live on the UK’s waterways in a number of ways, such as helping individuals without fixed addresses register for benefits or advocating for them to GP surgeries or waterways authorities.

Chuntian Hu, founder and director of Canal Dream CIC an award-winning arts organisation running events on London’s waterways, spoke about how they are trying to encourage new audiences to the canals, and UCL's Dr Sarah Yardley, a consultant in palliative medicine, and artist and occupational therapist Laura Copley had an arts activity as part of their UCL Trellis-funded Rewilding Healthcare creative arts and health research project.

Following the success of the AWA Accessible Waterways Day 2024 there are plans to make a series of podcasts focusing on different aspects of improving access to the UK’s waterways, featuring those with lived-experience of disability and those in positions of power able to make change happen.

The Accessible Waterways Day 2024 was funded by the UCL East Community Engagement Development Fund and is a continuation of a collaboration between UCL researcher and boater Joseph Cook and the AWA, which first began during the Navigating the System project and exhibition led by Joseph and fellow researcher Nura Ali. Navigating the System is focused on investigating healthcare access challenges for London’s transient boater community. 

Expect to see elements of the day on Channel 4 next year as Tim and Tracey’s story of developing the AWA continues to feature on Narrow Escapes, a series following the lives of canal boaters across the UK.

Watch an introduction to the Accessible Waterways Association

Images

• The AWA's team  (L-R) Tim Clarke, Teresa Tunnicliffe, Carl Jones, Tracey Clarke, Lindsay Sedge Joseph Cook (UCL) and Tim Sedge, alongside Ozzie and Loki.
• A guest trying to lasso a new 'accessible mooring bollard' with Marcus Falconer, the Canal and River Trusts Head of Placemaking and Design, and Dick Vincent, the Trust’s National Towpath Advisor.
• A Waterways Chaplain creating their own badge on the UCL Trellis-funded 'Rewilding Healthcare' stall with Sarah Yardley and Laura Copsey.