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A mobile Boat Safety Scheme examiner based near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Russell is on the BSS register for both private boats and non-private boats, such as hire and trip boats. He covers a wide area of southern England, from Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire down to Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, including London. Call or email to arrange an examination. Prices are not published, so ask when you book.

Blackthorn Lake Marina is on the River Nene at Ringstead, Northamptonshire, off Station Road. It has moorings for narrowboats and river cruisers. On-site services include fuel, pump-out, Boat Safety Scheme certification, boat brokerage, a slipway and a floating paint dock. The office is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm, and is closed on Sunday. Call 01933 622038 or email office@blackthornlakemarina.co.uk.

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift that links the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal at Tamfourhill, on the west side of Falkirk. It is the only rotating boat lift in the world. Boats float into one of two water-filled gondolas, and the wheel turns to lift them 24 m. From the top they go through a 168 m tunnel under the Antonine Wall and up two locks to reach the Union Canal. It opened in 2002 as the centrepiece of the Millennium Link project to reopen both canals. It replaced a flight of 11 locks that was dismantled in 1933. The architects were RMJM and the engineers included Arup and Butterley Engineering. The structure is 35 m tall, and because the two gondolas balance each other, each turn uses very little power. The wheel and its visitor centre are run by Scottish Canals. Waterways: Forth & Clyde Canal and Union Canal Opened: 2002 Lift: 24 m, then two locks to the Union Canal Grid reference: NS 8524 8013 Sources: Scottish Canals; Canmore site 218994; Institution of Civil Engineers.

Hatton Locks are a flight of 21 broad locks, numbered 26 to 46, on the Grand Union Canal between Warwick and Hatton in Warwickshire. They raise the canal 146½ ft (44.7 m) in under 2 miles, and the flight is known as the Stairway to Heaven. The locks take boats up to 12 ft 6 in wide. The original narrow locks opened in 1799 on the Warwick & Birmingham Canal. They were rebuilt as broad concrete locks between 1932 and 1934 to take wider boats, and the Duke of Kent opened the new flight on 30 October 1934. The angled paddle gear dates from that rebuild. The old narrow chambers survive beside many of the locks as overflow weirs. The lock cottages at locks 34 and 46 are Grade II listed. The Saltisford Arm is close to the bottom of the flight. The locks are run by the Canal & River Trust. Waterway: Grand Union Canal Locks: 21 (nos. 26 to 46) Rise: 146½ ft (44.7 m) Built: 1799; rebuilt as broad locks 1932 to 1934 Heritage: Lock cottages Grade II (Historic England 1329922 and 1261976) Grid reference: SP 2392 6686 (top lock) Sources: Canal & River Trust; Historic England

The Tardebigge flight is 30 narrow locks, numbered 29 to 58, on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Together they raise the canal 220 ft (67 m) in about 2¼ miles, making it the longest lock flight in Britain. The top lock, number 58, is about twice as deep as the others. The flight was finished in 1815. The top lock stands on the site of an experimental vertical boat lift built by John Woodhouse in 1808. The lift worked, but it was judged too fragile for regular traffic and was replaced by the lock, and some of its materials were reused in the flight. In August 1945 Robert Aickman met Tom Rolt aboard Rolt’s boat Cressy, moored at Tardebigge, and the meeting led to the founding of the Inland Waterways Association. A plaque at the top lock marks it. Tardebigge Tunnel is just north of the top lock. Lock 58 with its side pond, the lock cottage and the nearby bridge are Grade II listed. The flight is run by the Canal & River Trust. Waterway: Worcester & Birmingham Canal Locks: 30 (nos. 29 to 58) Rise: 220 ft (67 m) Opened: 1815 Heritage: Lock 58