Keep in touch with all the waterways news (Canal Boat and Inland Waterways)

Member Name: dmandrew

Product:	Canal Boat and Inland Waterways
Date:	10/05/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lively and up to date

Disadvantages: Slightly low grade paper

There are two principal magazines for canal lovers - Canal Boat and Waterways World. I subscribe to the latter, because I came across it first and liked it, but I enjoy reading Canal Boat whenever I can see a copy.

It's on slightly larger paper, but the paper feels slightly less glossy and a bit thinner. Overall, in pages and price, it's very much on a par.

A nice feature is that you get to know the regular contributors well, as each one has a picture and a mini-biography just inside the front cover.

In the issue I most recently read, they were:

Adam Porter - boat tester
David Oakes - photographer
Hugh McKnight - history
Derek Pratt - landscape photographer
Steve Haywood - described as opinionated, informed and entertaining
Mortimer Bones - very brainy and keen on D-I-Y
Tony Brooks - maintenance and technical expert
Phil Speight - renowned boat painter
Nick Wall - editor

Typically, there will be a punchy editorial at the beginning, some boat tests that tell you exactly what the testers think, boat show previews and reviews, a cruising description of one of the canals or canal routes in the country, the latest waterways news, waterways personalities, technical advice, restoration news, lively letters, history and many other interesting articles for the waterways lover.

It's a cheerful magazine, though one from which you can learn a lot about canals and canal boating. Some bits are useful for the first-timer, and there's also a lot for experienced boaters as well.

The magazine carries quite a lot of advertising, but as it is virtually all relevant to waterways users, it is interesting and useful to read as well.

There's a good website for the magazine at www.canalboat.co.uk and you can currently subscribe for just £30 (2009) for a year or £58 for two years.

Not bad!

Summary: Good mag and available at quite a discount if you shop around for a subscription