Why be a Canal Guide? For me the Waterways have always been a part of my life, whether fresh or salty waters. I’m a sailor and I’ve explored the English canals on narrowboats and on foot and ventured along the canals of France and Germany.
I’m a City of Westminster Guide and before that I worked in the world of antiques off Bond Street. As well as being a Westminster Guide, I volunteer at The Canal Museum taking parties on guided trips through the Islington Tunnel, bringing the darkness of the tunnel to life.
The stories around where we live and work and how the spaces are used today are like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. I love sharing the stories of the canals and trying to fill in another part of the picture. We’ve all got links to the past in unexpected ways – Josiah Wedgwood, the porcelain manufacturer, was an investor in the canals as they reduced both his transport costs and significantly the porcelain breakages of this valuable commodity. So, the English porcelain I used to sell in my days working in antiques could well have travelled from Staffordshire to London and beyond via these canals.