Keep Navvies' Barge Afloat!

Ania and I have lived on the canal for a good few years now and spent almost every weekend out on the cut on the boat we live on, it felt like a long forgotten route in and out of the city. The canal meanders out of Glasgow and blends seamlessly into the countryside. The peacefulness and tranquility is seldom disturbed. On a trip along the canal you lose yourself from the busyness of the world. A slow trip along the canal is the perfect antidote to modern life. The more we navigated the cut the more we were drawn into its beauty and heritage, the more we felt compelled to share it. 

We started our business running boat trips along the canal. It seemed wrong that time on a boat on the canal should be the privilege of those who lived on boats or had the money to afford a trip. Navvies’ Barge had to be a boat that served the community. We established ourselves as a social enterprise, all profits made are funnelled into maintaining the boat and building relations with local community groups to ensure the boat is accessible. 

Navvies' Barge has been operating for 3 years now and sadly it hasn't all been plain sailing. We aren't the only folk who see the hidden value in the canal and a number of fantastic projects have been developed to build bridges to bring more people to the towpath and connect communities. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control we have been hit hard and boaters have paid the price. Navvies' Barge hasn't been able to take customers out since September 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has just compounded this problem. 

Navvies' Barge has been a vibrant home during all sorts of occasions: birthdays, reunions, family outings, people returning to Glasgow to see their old stomping ground from the beauty of the water. A poetry group has regular met on the boat. It must be said though, that most of our customers so far have been folk just out for a great day out with food, drinks and good company. 

Prior to the bridge closures we had established our plan going forward, we had settled in nicely as to how we operate as a business and how to make Navvies Barge feel like home for the few hours customers were on board. We were building connections within the local community and were ready to launch the next phase of our business and provide free boat trips to the local area. We had targeted charities working with mental health share the benefits of the canal. 

Following a year of closure 2020 was going to be our tubthumper year. We had been knocked down but we were ready to get back up again and had an exciting year ahead forged in connections with local community groups. Sadly we all know how that ended...

So here we are asking for your support. We are determined to stay afloat because we have been so excited to throw ourselves into bringing more and more people onboard and celebrate the tranquility and history of the peoples canal on Navvies' Barge. If you can spare the money, we would like to offer you discounts on future trips as well as some Navvies’ merchandise as a thank you for supporting us through a challenging time. If you make a large donation and we thank you with a boat trip, we will let you know when we are able to run trips again due to Covid restrictions, any paid forward trips will be valid indefinitely. In the coming year recreation within the local area will be crucial and we want to be ready to confidently provide trips for you and for the local community.

We are asking you to stand in solidarity and support us. But if you are reading this and you are thinking of an organisation that could benefit from time on the canal please get in touch. Lockdown has been tough and we are committed to stand in solidarity with organisations supporting people through mental health and financial difficulties or simply deserve a trip out.

Thank you in advance for your support.