Currents of Connection – Our 10 Week Journey with the Canal & Rivers Trust, Manchester

Written by Manchester Local Wilder, Liz Hibberd

I’d never have thought I’d be spending 10 Wednesday evenings from October to December exploring the local canals of Manchester, with 8 others from our women-only adventure community, but that’s what I’ve done!

Canals and their tow paths tend to be places to avoid at night, especially the ones near the city centre. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited to partner with the Canal and Rivers Trust on this inclusive outdoor project to get people more active around the green and blue spaces of the canals.

A Supportive Group Environment

We were lucky to work with Sara, a font of knowledge on many things, but particularly insects, spiders and canals! Her energy and enthusiasm have been such a great part of this project, which has definitely helped when it’s been very cold and dark.

Most of our members are fairly active already so the focus for us wasn’t about encouraging more activity in general, but providing a supportive group environment during the winter nights, when it’s easy to want to hibernate, or we don’t feel like we can access the same spaces we do in the lighter months. Planning with Sara, we knew we wanted to spend time by the canals, but we also wanted to do some different activities that people may not be as familiar with and we certainly did.

Impact of Community-Led Adventure

Our initial taster saw us walking up Ashton Canal with bat detectors – this was super cool, as when the devices picked up the bats echolocation they beeped really loudly! So, we were all walking up and down a patch of canal and our devices would keep beeping – it was ace.

After that session we had a core group of 4 signed up. Another 4 women joined up and we’ve consistently had great numbers for the 10 sessions of the course. It’s been such a highlight of the week and we’ve seen the impact of community-led adventure as we got to know each other well.

Alongside litter picks and heritage walks, we had 2 sessions of Nordic Walking with Eric; it’s much harder than you think but great fun! Especially while we played relays and games with the canal on one side and the tram stop on the other; we definitely got a few looks from the passengers but we didn’t care.

Building Confidence through Outdoor Experiences

The highlight of the project has definitely been getting on the water. We had around 4 sessions where we paddled along the canal in rafted canoes, single canoes or paddle boards. Honestly, we had such a mix of excitement and apprehension – how would we get in? What would happen if we fell out? What was in the canal?? Maybe we didn’t want to know!

Sara was really supportive and reassured us. We had a comprehensive briefing and got kitted out with buoyancy aids, lights and dry bags before carrying the canoes to the water’s edge. At first, there were 4 of us in the canoes, 2 of which were tied together to make them sturdier. It was fantastic. It felt incredibly safe, and I remember feeling so happy to be doing such a cool and random thing. The next couple of sessions saw us go to Rochdale and paddle at Lock 50. Some of the group tried paddle boarding and did a slow stretching session ending with meditation. The rest of the group paddled up the canal exploring the new surroundings. This was the pattern we followed for a few more weeks, building confidence through outdoor experiences developing paddling skills that helped us turn, speed up, slow down and navigate more easily. We progressed on to single canoes, which were definitely not as sturdy, but we did well as no one ever came close to capsizing.

We did so well that all the group achieved their Paddle Start certificate, awarded by Paddle UK  – a great way to develop our skills in a female-centred space.

Empowering Community Project

Some of the highlights of the course came about whilst we were on the water. One of the nights coincided with the Lady Gaga concert at Coop Live, and as we glided up the canal on the canoes, we passed so many people dressed up to the nines on their way to see the show – they did a double take when they saw us paddle past. Another cool experience was when we did the scavenger hunt on the water and had to find stars hidden along the canal attached to glow sticks. We paddled up to the Etihad and heard fans cheering as Man City scored, and we paddled whilst fireworks exploded above our heads on November 5th.

Ultimately, the feeling that I felt most was one of gratitude and wonder – I can’t believe I’m paddling on a canal on a Wednesday night in the dark! It was absurd in the absolute best way, and it was such a joy to be part of this empowering community project and to be able to help others to have these cool experiences too.

It’s also really changed how I feel about being out at night in the winter. It’s not something I avoid now, and it’s really added a lot to my life. I don’t feel like my days have been shortened at this time of year. I actively embrace the dark and feel much more comfortable in it which feels like a very special thing.