The Accessible Waterways Day, London 2024
10:30am – 6:00pm • 5 October 2024
UCL East, Marshgate Building, 7 Sidings Street, London. E20 2AE
A fun and informal day with a purpose, for anyone who enjoys our inland waterways! Come along and meet like-minded people, chat, discover and share. Hear about what is happening to help make our waterways more accessible for all. Browse the exhibitor stands and come away enthused. Book your free entry ticket. Lunch and refreshments provided.
Index:
Booking Links
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- Attendees:
Admission to the Accessible Waterways Day London 2024 is completely free by ticket only. Please complete our registration form here.
Attendee Registration - Exhibitors:
A limited number of exhibition spaces are available free of charge. Please complete our exhibitor registration form.
Exhibitor Registration
- Attendees:
About the Day
The day is being run by the Accessible Waterways Association (AWA), and is being hosted by UCL East. It is aimed at anyone with accessibility needs or an interest in making our waterways more accessible. You do not have to be a boater – just anyone who wants to enjoy the environments of our canals and rivers.
We will start from 10:30am with registration and refreshments. The main programme commences at 11:00am with Tracey Clarke, founder of the AWA, giving a brief talk outlining the day. This will be followed by a relaxed agenda of speakers. The agenda allows plenty of time to mingle, chat and investigate stall holders exhibiting how they are working towards making our Inland Waterways as accessible as possible.
It will be an opportunity to discuss the things that are important to you. Issues such as the condition of towpaths – are they easily accessible? Do you know of any particular areas that need improvements? This affects all towpath users – not just boaters. For boaters, are there access issues getting to services, problems with locks, etc? Do you have a problem accessing the health care you are entitled to? Is there something that would make your boat more accessible for you if only you knew where to turn to get it made? If you have a particular issue you wish to discuss, please let us know in advance.
Key Canal & River Trust (CRT) personnel discuss some of their accessibility initiatives. This includes Dick Vincent, National Towpath Advisor, and Marcus Chaloner introducing the new accessible moorings including the prototype Accessible Mooring Bollard being developed in consultation with the AWA and disabled boaters. We will have feedback from an exciting recent project meeting with the Environment Agency (EA) with regards to accessible mooring, and hope to also have a speaker from the EA.
Others, including the Waterways Chaplains, have also been invited to speak and we are awaiting final confirmations.
The last part of the day will be a time for Q&A, informal discussion and feedback.
A buffet lunch will be provided.
Please note, the programme and exhibitors are yet to be finalised.
There is no charge for attending this event, but any donations would be appreciated. Please click on this link to donate via our GoFundMe page.
Please get your booking in early, as places are limited and will be on a first come first served basis.
UCL East, Marshgate Building, is conveniently located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. There are excellent public transport links, and a handy large multi storey car park. Please see “How to get there” at the bottom of this page. We also have access to a small number of spaces nearer the venue. These can be booked on a first come first served basis for those who need them.
Speakers
Tracey Clarke – Founder AWA
Tracey is registered Severely Vision Impaired and is a live-aboard continuous cruiser with her husband Tim, guide dog Loki and hearing assistance dog Ozzie. They are Roving Traders, selling healthy dog treats – and more.
She set up the Inland Waterways Accessibility Forum (IWAF) on 1 October 2019 in response to the need for a discussion group for disabled boaters. As a result of this, regular meetings with Canal & River Trust (CRT) ensued, encouraging dialogue and awareness. In March 2020, she was co-opted onto the CRT Council as the Disabled Boaters’ representative.
Realising a more formal structure was needed, along with opening up discussions with other waterways authorities, Tracey founded the Accessible Waterways Association (AWA), becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC) on 21 August 2023.
Ian Watkins – Waterlife
Having spent his whole life on or around the water, Ian has a vision of creating a world where anyone, whether boating enthusiasts or not, able or not, can enjoy the benefits of a life on the water. Ian has been leading the UK’s Houseboat industry for many years, and campaigns for more space to be made available to help solve the challenges we face.
His unwavering passion for living more sustainably drives his manufacturing partners to continually seek cleaner materials and processes. His own experiences with his young grandson, Harry, who has severe mobility issues, has caused him to think carefully about how Harry will also be able to have the opportunity to spend time on the water in the future.
Bruce Boats
Fully accessible boating – and youth boating – on the Kennet and Avon Canal.
Self-drive holidays – Crewed day trips – Skippered youth weekends – Training
Lorraine Newman – Waterways Chaplaincy
Lorraine Newman has served as a Waterways Chaplain for 12 years. She oversees the South East chaplaincy team, and serves all users of the towpath on the rivers Lee and Stort. There are chaplains throughout the waterways system, and she is looking forward to telling you about ways in which we have been able to serve people with a wide range of disabilities on our waterways and share some of our stories with you.
Chaplains are volunteers from local churches who regularly visit the waterways, offering help, companionship and a listening ear to individuals and businesses. They are interested in whomever they meet, be they boaters, cyclists, walkers, runners, anglers or canal workers.
Dick Vincent – CRT National Towpath Advisor
Dick Vincent has worked for Canal & River Trust for over a decade, mostly on projects encouraging people to be mindful of others when using towpaths. There are over 2,000 miles of towpath in the UK and are for everyone to enjoy. Dick lives on a boat himself and has travelled most of them – not least completing a John O’Groats to Lands’ End trip in 2018 using towpaths for around 50% of the journey.
Towpaths are easily some of the loveliest routes we have in England and Wales, connecting almost every major city via unique, historic green and blue paths – rich in nature and vital to the communities they touch. Mostly built over 200 years ago for horses to pull boats, they now offer relaxed traffic free routes which are especially appealing to those that are less confident or those that just want to get away from busy streets. This is, perhaps, why towpaths are more popular than ever and why we feel it is even more important that when people visit them, they Slow Down and Stay Kind.
We will be chatting with Dick on how the Trust manages towpaths as Shared Spaces with a Pedestrian Priority, and how he sees the way forward to making these historic spaces more accessible for all.
Marcus Chaloner – CRT Head of Placemaking and Design
Marcus is the mastermind behind the new “Accessible Mooring Bollard” which CRT intend to roll out across the system at designated accessible moorings. He will be discussing the new design and the intention is to have a prototype model available for study.
Exhibitors
Accessible Boating Association
We run trips, for all disabilities, in our day boat from Odiham along the Basingstoke Canal.
Accessible Waterways Association
Fully independent of all waterways authorities, the Accessible Waterways Association (AWA) has been set up to inform, represent, and assist people who live with disabilities, impairments or accessibility issues, and who want to enjoy the Inland Waterways and their surrounding environments.
Bruce Boats
Fully accessible boating
– and youth boating –
on the Kennet and Avon Canal
Self-drive holidays – Crewed day trips – Skippered youth weekends – Training
Canal & River Trust
We are the UK’s largest waterways charity, looking after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales.
Canal Dream
“Reviving the past, inspiring the future!: Animating historical canals with emerging arts.
Canal Dream (CD) is an award-winning non-profit arts and cultural organisation based in London. Established in 2023 it was founded by Chuntian Hu. CD began as Chuntian’s graduation project at the Royal College of Art.
CD’s vision is to animate historical canal with emerging arts.
CD’s mission is to build a waterway-based platform for cross-sector collaboration and innovation.
CD does this by using the waterways as maps, and boats as spaces, to organise site-specific multi-arts events, creating opportunities for creative practice, community wellbeing and canal regeneration.
Drake Marine Engineering
Joe Drake provides custom engineering solutions to aid accessibility for boaters. The main focus is to be able to make items for each individual’s needs. This includes the design work, as well as gathering feedback on certain items in order to develop the designs further. The end goal being products that the customers want rather than what a supplier thinks they want!
They have plenty of CAD drawn ideas etc, and would be hoping to bring them along to the exhibition, along with some fabricated prototypes too.
Most ideas for items have come from trying to make his dad’s boat more accessible for him as his Parkinson’s progresses. So far, he has made simple things such as lightweight engine hatches, custom steps and handrails, handles etc. He has also worked on more intricate projects, such as a tool to tension mooring lines without knots, manipulation of vibrations from engines to aid cramps etc, and a bed that folds to allow someone to sit down on it then lie down as opposed to just getting straight in.
Navigating the System
Joseph Cook is a boater and co-lead of the University College London project ‘Navigating the System’, which focuses on healthcare access challenges for boaters of no fixed address. For more information, and to see the digital exhibition, visit their website.
Rewilding Healthcare
Ahoy there!
Experience a mini adventure as metaphorical lifeboat crew, and find out more about our creative arts and health research project, based at Cody Dock in Newham. We are reimagining healthcare as an open ecosystem, using metaphors related to islands, sailing, and maritime themes to reframe healthcare experiences.
The project will end with an exhibition in Spring 2025 at UCL East. We would especially love to chat with you if you have experience yourself, or of being a carer for, someone living with a serious mental or physical illness.
Waterlife
Waterlife is all about making your time on the water as easy and accessible as possible. Our Waterlodge range of houseboats are probably the easiest craft on the water for accessibility.
We can make them even more so as each is built to customer order, allowing us to tailor each build to your requirements.
Waterways Chaplaincy
Waterways Chaplains offers support to those who use and live on the UK waterways and canals. Chaplains are volunteers from local churches who regularly visit the waterways offering companionship and a listening ear to individuals and businesses.
https://www.waterwayschaplaincy.org.uk/
How to get there
UCL East, Marshgate Building, is located on Sidings Street in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area of Stratford. This is a very new building, and the interior is immaculate and beautifully appointed; probably boasting the best accessibility provisions of any venue in the area.
By Public Transport:
Stratford is very well appointed for public transport. Click here for the TfL guide to bus and train services. Taxi ranks are available outside both the bus and rail stations. It is approximately a 20 minute walk from the bus and train stations and the Westfield car park.
- train:
UCL East is about 3/4 of a mile from Stratford Station, which is served by main line trains, the Central, Elizabeth and Jubilee lines and DLR.
Exit the station on the Westfield Shopping Centre side and head south west along Montfichet Road (with the railway on your left). Turn right into Carpenters Road and then left into Pool Street. Cross over the WaterWorks River, and UCL East is immediately in front of you. - bus:
Stratford bus station is alongside the railway station. Head towards the Stratford Centre (with the railway on your left), the cross over the bridge towards the Westfield Shopping Centre. There is a choice of stairs, escalators and lifts.
Once on the Westfield Shopping Centre side, go down to road level (again by stairs, escalator or lift) and head south west along Montfichet Road (with the railway on your left). Cross over the WaterWorks River, and UCL East is immediately in front of you.
By car:
UCL East, Marshgate Building, is conveniently located on Sidings Street. Please see the map for direction. There are two nearby public car parks: the Stratford Multi-Storey Car Park (E15 1NG), opposite the bus station, and Stratford Westfield Car Park (E15 2DU), off Roundhouse Lane. The recommended parking is Stratford Westfield.
Exit the car park and head to Westfield Avenue and turn left. Turn right into Stratford Walk (at the pedestrian crossing), continuing past the Aquatic Centre and cross WaterWorks River then turn immediately left. The Marshgate Building is on the right just after you pass the next bridge over the river.
Please note there is very parking available. However, it is possible to drop off close to the front entrance. Disabled parking for Blue Badge holders can be arranged, but must be booked in advance.
E20 2AE, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom