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Barge Spotting - The No. 1 Barge Spotting Site In The UK

Here at Eviser, our office overlooks the busy Leeds And Liverpool Canal, which is the longest canal in Northern England (and arguably the UK) at a massive 127 miles long!

In my luxurious corner office, I can't help but notice the wide variety of narrowboats that pass by, and so I decided to keep a log of the names and times of all the narrowboats that I see during the course of my working day. Some days there are 15/20 canal narrowboats whilst others there may only be 1.

I'll be updating this page daily (or try to) so return regularly to see if I spotted your narrowboat!

If you have hired a narrowboat and went through the town of Church then read the page below to see if I spotted you! If you contact me and let me know the time and date that you came past, I'll update the spotting and include your name. Any pictures would also be greatly appreciated.

Follow this link to Pennine Waterways to see the views of Church whilst on your narrowboat on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal (It's honestly nicer than the pictures suggest).

WANTED!

Two brave souls who were caught canoeing on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal on Friday 21st September

Thinking of Hiring a Barge and Having a Narrowboat Holiday?

If you are planning on a narrowboat holiday this year and you wish to learn a little about hiring a barge/narrowboat, and then please visit my Barge Hire In Lancashire page

Save Our Waterways

Please visit our Save Our Waterways page and ensure that you can enjoy your narrowboat holidays in the future!

Click here to download the British Waterways' 'The Boater's Handbook'.

Mark - Content Co-ordinator (and part time barge spotter!)

Friday 17th August - Barge Sightings

It was a bit of quiet day on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal today, only 3 barge sightings!!

10.12 a.m. - Elle's Belle

10.30 a.m. - Teal

12.20 p.m. - Nanshe

The Nanshe was the highlight of the day as it was a variation on the usual design of a barge, the controls were in the middle!

If anyone can tell me the name of this kind of barge, then please don't hesitate to contact me

Monday 20th August - Barge Sightings

Another quiet day, probably due to the recent bad weather

11.27 a.m. - OK Joe

15.39 p.m. - Red Amiral

16.32 p.m. - Drummer Boy

Tuesday 21st August - Barge Sightings

I was having a day off today, so no new sightings today, sorry.

Wednesday 22nd - Barge Sightings

The traffic is picking up a little now that the weather is becoming nice again and we're approaching a bank holiday weekend.

10.59 a.m. - Jasmine

11.33 a.m. - This one had no name, but it was a small, red barge with an elderly couple aboard and it returned at 13.34 p.m.

11.57 a.m. - The Moorhen

15.28 - Melody

Thursday 23rd August - Barge Sightings

The traffic is increasing today, as I said before, I think this is due to the sunny weather and the upcoming August Bank Holiday Weekend!

10.29 a.m. - Jasmine

10.35 a.m. - Bullfinch

11.19 a.m. - Bridie Bear

11.20 a.m. - Elle's Belle

14.22 p.m. - Intuition

15.49 p.m. - Izzyinn Two

16.36 p.m. - Mister Tom

Friday 24th August - Barge Sightings

09.25 a.m. - Gemini

14.11 p.m. - Elle's Belle

14.11 p.m. - Bridie Bear

14.23 p.m. - June

15.55 p.m. - Go Slow LiLew

I hope you all have a great Bank Holiday Weekend!

Barge or Narrowboat?

I would to like to thank Steve from Chester for his email explaining me the difference between a ‘barge’ and a ‘narrowboat’;

Hi Mark,

Love the site, extremely interesting. Just one small point; you keep referring to ‘barges’ but what I think you mean is ‘narrowboat’. A narrowboat is, as the name would suggest, for use on the narrow canals of the UK and since the decline of our waterways as a transport route for our nation's industry, they are now primarily used as holiday and recreational vehicles. A barge on the other hand, is bigger than a narrowboat and mainly used in the wide canals of mainland Europe, although still often on our shores as working vessels.

Sorry to be so pedantic, I hope this of help to you and your readers.

Keep up the good work,

Steve Middlebrook

Having been severely reprimanded by Steve, I shall now refer to ‘narrowboats’ NOT ‘barges’, unless of course I happen to see a barge!

If you have any news or information regarding narrowboats (or barges), please contact me and I will gladly respond and include your mailing in this blog.

Tuesday 28th August - Narrowboat Spotting

10.33 a.m. - Susan *

12.49 p.m. - Electric Blue

15.16 p.m. - * Susan returned!

15.17 p.m. - Fishers Of Men

I hope you all had a great weekend

Wednesday - 29th August - Narrowboat (And A Barge) Spottings

10.29 a.m. - Alice

13.45 p.m. - Linnet

14.27 p.m. - Severn

The Severn was (I assume from the above email) a barge, it was twice as wide as a narrowboat and looked to be a working boat.

Thursday 30th August - Narrowboat Spotting

11.48 a.m. - Gratvity

12.10 p.m. - Jemsabi

12.15 p.m. - Del Buoy

12.16 p.m. - Jupiter

We are reaching the end of the 'summer' holidays now, so I'm expecting to see only the dedicated narrowboaters out there from now on.

Make sure you contact me if you are planning a trip along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and will be passing between Blackburn and Burnley, we are based in the small town of Church.

Friday 31st August - Narrowboat Spotting

11.14 a.m. - Nene

12.11 p.m. - Sage

15.02 a.m. - Sextans

15.10 p.m. - Mimosa

Monday 3rd September - Narrowboat Spotting

16.42 p.m. - Proton of Thorne

Only one narrowboat spotting today, this is to be expected though with the end of the summer holidays.

Tuesday 4th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.34 a.m. - Twelth Night

10.41 a.m. - Lucy Anne

10.52 a.m. - Danae

13.41 p.m. - Devon

This is more like it! A few sightings today, and there were none of the local hire boats, just the few dedicated narrowboat enthusiasts as I suggested would be the case earlier in this blog.

Wednesday 5th September - Narrowboat Spotting

7.29 a.m. - Morning Glory

13.09 p.m. - Greenham Mist

15.26 p.m. - Kittiwake

15.30 p.m. - Ian's Drum

The Morning Glory very appropriately came past very early in the morning and was spotted by my Assistant Barge Spotter, Ben Ellis.

Thursday 6th September - Narrowboat / Barge Spotting

8.34 a.m. - Artic Skua

10.34 a.m. - Lytham Green

11.47 a.m. - Skipton

16.44 p.m. - Linnet

The Skipton was a working barge rather than a narrowboat. Thanks to the email from Steve for pointing out the difference to me.

Friday 7th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.39 a.m. - Y Knot

12.17 p.m. - Chianti

12.28 p.m. - Bluestone

16.46 a.m. - Louisianna

Monday 10th September - Narrowboat Spotting

8.44 a.m. - Stubbham Oak

14.10 p.m. - Hunter's Moon

Tuesday 11th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.08 a.m. - Flowin

09.09 a.m. - LRV II

09.27 a.m. - Black Prince - Hamlet

10.03 a.m. - Here There Anywhere

10.12 a.m. - Lucy Anne

14.10 p.m. - My Gosh

14.24 p.m. - Archa

It has been quite a busy day in post-summer Church, email me if I've spotted you on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Wednesday 12th September - Narrowboat Spotting

10.08 a.m. - Tyke

10.28 a.m. - Me and Mine

11.09 a.m. - Kingdom

14.42 p.m - Destiny

14.49 p.m. - Ian's Drum

Another day with a nice amount of narrowboats along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal today, including at least one hire boat, Ian's Drum. To find out more about hiring a narrowboat, please visit my Hiring a Narrowboat in Lancashire page.

Thursday 13th September - Narrowboat Spotting

10.20 a.m. - Mandarin

That's it, the Mandarin was the only narrowboat I spotted today along this part of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Friday 14th September - Narrowboat Spotting

10.28 a.m. - Ebony

10.41 a.m. - Albion

13.18 p.m. - Mr. Chips

14.11 p.m. - Bridie Bear

I noticed at least two hire boats today, the Bridie Bear and the Albion are both hired narrowboats. Visit my 'Hiring a Narrowboat in Lancashire' page to get tips on how you can join the growing ranks of Narrowboaters out there!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Monday 17th September - Narrowboat Spotting

14.15 a.m. - Arabesque

13.24 p.m. - Kingdom

Tuesday 18th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.44 a.m. - Poppy Eyebright

09.45 a.m. - Disco Volante

15.54 p.m. - Clara Belle

Wednesday 19th September - Narrowboat Spotting

12.57 p.m. - Storyteller

16.34 p.m. - Little Grebe

It's nice to see that there are still some brave souls out there that are willing to brave the terrible weather at the minute and still enjoying the canals of Lancashire.

Thursday 20th September - Narrowboat Spotting

12.10 p.m. - Ian's Drum

15.10 p.m. - Copper Dragon

15.23 p.m. - Greenfinch

15.33 p.m. - Intrepid

Friday 21st September - Canoe Spotting?!

08.50 a.m. - 2 Canoes

That's it! Just two very brave souls in canoes on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in the pouring rain. If you were these two people then please email me and I will attempt to give you the credit you deserve.

Monday 24th September - Narrowboat Spotting

12.01 p.m. - Canopus

Tuesday 25th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.41 a.m. - Handel

10.41 a.m. - Arabesque

Wednesday 26th September - Narrowboat Spotting

15.19 p.m. - Alice

17.12 p.m. - Handel

Thursday 27th September - Narrowboat Spotting

12.43 p.m. - Blue Grass

12.45 p.m. - Best O' Mates

Friday 28th September - Narrowboat Spotting

09.16 a.m. - Oddstruck Belle

12.29 p.m. - Annie

13.06 p.m. - Annie returns

13.17 p.m. - Rita - towing a smaller blue narrowboat with no name

Monday 1st October - Narrowboat Spotting

09.40 a.m. - Hodmedod

13.49 p.m. - Eden Gill

13.52 p.m. - Zambezi

Tuesday 2nd October - Narrowboat Spotting

13.53 p.m. - Katie's Drum

14.19 p.m. - Pale Cynthia

15.13 p.m. - Fisherot

14.48 p.m. - Katie's Drum returned

Thursday 4th October - Narrowboat Spotting

12.05 p.m. - Quiet WAters

14.49 p.m. - Black Prince - Hamlet

Friday 5th October - Narrowboat Spotting

12.22 p.m. - Ivy II

13.02 p.m. - Gallivanter

13.46 p.m. - Ultima towing Ken & Mary Nelon

Monday 8th October - Narrowboat Spotting

16.41 p.m. - Heaven Scent

Tuesday 9th October - Narrowboat Spotting

10.40 a.m. - Fisher01

15.40 p.m. - Alice

15.45 p.m. - Katherine

Wednesday 10th October - Narrowboat Spotting

10.25 a.m. - Grey Dog

12.33 p.m. - Scolli's Drum

16.48 p.m. - Silent Swan

It has been pretty quiet over the last week, or maybe I just haven't noticed as many narrowboats as I have been just so busy with Eviser work.

Thursday 11th October - Narrowboat Spotting

15.43 p.m. - Clara Belle

Friday 12th October - Narrowboat Spotting

09.36 a.m. - Shen

Tuesday 16th October - Narrowboat Spotting

14.22 a.m. - Rusty Nail

Wednesday 17th October - Narrowboat Spotting

10.18 a.m. - Gallivanter

12.53 p.m. - Sophia

Thursday 18th October - Narrowboat Spotting

11.22 p.m. - Chough

Monday 22nd October - Narrowboat Spotting

10.00 a.m. - Periwinkle

Tuesday 23rd October - Narrowboat Spotting

09.01 a.m. - Bridie Bear

11.07 a.m. - Kazina

Thursday 25th October - Narrowboat Spotting

08.45 a.m. - Scolli's Drum

14.19 p.m. - Bridie Bear

14.33 p.m. - Heather