Just for fun… One of our members has added water to a recent photo of Gallows Reach. It’ll look very much like this later this year See the full timeline lhcrt.org.uk/gallows-reach/ #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

📢 v1.113 is rolling out now! This release focuses on fixing bugs and improving the stability of the app. We also fixed an issue some of you reported about the app locking up while watching fullscreen videos. With that done, we have some bigger things planned to kick 2026 off right — more soon!

Thank you for my joining gift @lhcrt.org.uk arrived today. Thats a quality pen! Looking forward to hearing about (and hopefully) seeing all the work you get done in 2026 #ukcanals #waterways #charity #restoration #heritage #volunteering

Ice skating, anyone? ❄️ NB: Don’t! The canal’s definitely not suitable for Dancing on Ice. But it is a beautiful spot for a winter walk, a quiet moment, or a frosty photo. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals #UKCanals

Read all about the amazing @uyhoang.bsky.social 🤩 #UKCanals

Concentrated so much on the alt text that I forgot the hashtags 🤦‍♀️ #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

A last look at Gallows Reach before the contractors dig in and the next phase of work begins. Can't wait to see aerial shots of this in water.... it's not too far away now. This time next year, this could be a frozen canal (or just very cold water). 📷 photos by Andrew T.

Work begins on next phase of project to restore the Lichfield Canal

Big things are happening at Gallows Reach this week! 🎉 Walsh Construction is starting a six-week programme of sheet piling and continuing the concrete wall opposite, to create the new canal channel. Hope the snow doesn’t hamper the work! ❄️ lhcrt.org.uk/2026/01/02/w... #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

The first #FundBritainsWaterways campaign event of 2026 will be an Icicle Cruise with the BCN Society to Walsall 20-21 March, celebrating the reopening of the canal after last year's spill. Join in or support from the bank! Email [email protected] for information #ukcanals

#UKCanals walk....

On a frosty Saturday ❄️ four brilliant Gold DofE volunteers cleared vegetation, moved green waste to our Falkland Road site, and tackled fly-tipped sleepers. Thanks everyone! 💪 #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

Anyone on TikTok? Pop over to see our latest clip featuring Narrowboat Nige at Tamworth Road Narrows. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals #Staffordshire #Tiktok vm.tiktok.com/ZNRMapfta/

Something a bit different for you today! Here's an overview of the Hatherton Canal (or part of it) by @courtabovethecut.bsky.social. #WeDigCanals #Staffordshire #UKCanals www.facebook.com/reel/7419263...

Check out this update by @courtabovethecut.bsky.social! He doesn't visit us as often as he'd like, but when he does - wow! Thanks Steve. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield #Staffordshire 👉 www.facebook.com/reel/1190931...

Have you taken your Christmas decorations down yet? Our tree is still shining brightly at the Lichfield Cathedral Christmas Tree Festival, and will be until 4 January. 🎄 Please visit to see our volunteer-made decorations, and please give us your vote so we can win. 🗳 Thank you! 🙏 #Staffordshire

Happy new year! To start off 2026, let's look at last year's canal restoration progress across the UK by @courtabovethecut.bsky.social - we're up first in this video: youtu.be/5-s3bwIsozE #WeDigCanals #Lichfield #UKCanals

So our volunteers decided they'd had enough of a break and got back to work at Tamworth Road Narrows. More of the big pipes have been hidden by brickwork, the first part of the towpath wall has been backfilled and the brickwork is continuing the approach to Cricket Lane. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

Huge thanks to Bernadette for donating two new hard hats that once belonged to her late husband. She was really pleased to see them in use, and our volunteers were just as delighted to receive them. Here they are proudly modelling them 😍 #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

It's here! A look back at some of our highlights from the past year, beautifully filmed and edited by our volunteer Paul. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us in 2025. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield 👉 youtu.be/MZvT86kBoRw

Narrowboat Nige has wrapped up what we’ve been up to this month - take a look 👀 (And... we've got our own 2025 wrap up video coming soon too.) 👉 youtu.be/Pa1poXVuS9k #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

Christmas may be over, but spring is on the way. There’s a quiet joy in seeing snowdrops poke through the soil and trees begin to stir along the canal, nature’s gentle reminder that brighter days are coming. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield #UKCanals 🌿

In case you're missing our update photos, here are some from Tamworth Road Narrows. The towpath wall is almost ready to be backfilled at one end and brickwork is progressing at the other end. And say bye-bye to those big pipes - they’re now half-hidden behind the brickwork. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

Happy Christmas everyone! 2025 has been a brilliant year and 2026 will be even better! 🎄🎅🎄 #Lichfield #WeDigCanals #Staffordshire #UKCanals

Advent Calendar Day 24 As we wrap up our advent countdown, we wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a restoration-packed new year! Remember, if you’re in Lichfield, please visit the Lichfield Cathedral Christmas Tree Festival - we’d love you to see our tree (and vote for us) 😊.

🎄 Advent Calendar – Day 23 Today’s door brings a real treat… a Christmas message from our vice president, Sir David Suchet CBE. A thoughtful, heartfelt note to round off the year. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals #UKCanals #Staffordshire

Not quite the Christmas spirit… One of the benches at Darnford Moors Ecology Park – generously donated by Waitrose – has been stolen. We’re absolutely gutted. 💔 If you spot a green metal picnic bench, or see one being sold locally, please let us know. #Lichfield

Archive image from the Llangollen at Whitchurch in happier times. Happy to hear no injuries after this morning's catastrophic breach here, though awful to see the two boats, people's homes, deep down in the sinkhole. #ukcanals #FundBritainsWaterways

🎄 Advent Calendar – Day 22 Today’s door reveals something special… a festive Christmas message from our Patron, Robbie Cumming of Canal Boat Diaries fame A warm note from the Naughty Lass, just in time for Christmas. #Lichfield #UKCanals

While the focus has been on concreting at Gallows Wharf, the bricklaying hasn’t slowed down - the path retaining wall is steadily taking shape. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

Advent Calendar – Day 21 Today’s door opens onto one of our proudest moments - winning the Lichfield Beacon Awards Charity of the Year. Huge thanks to every volunteer, member, and donor who’s helped light the way as we restore our missing link of the waterways. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

Our final green and grounds session before Christmas had a festive feel 🎄 Volunteers and DofE participants potted shrubs for the Falkland Road hedgerow 🌿 and tidied vegetation around the lock. Thanks to everyone who joined in – sparkle brought by hard work and hats ✨ #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

🎄 Advent Day 20 Our Darnford Moors liftbridge was relocated from the Peak Forest Canal in the 1990s and is now a key feature of the circular walk. And in 2026… a brand new liftbridge at Gallows Reach! #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

🎶 On the 9th day of Christmas, the canal gave to me… nine pipes a-standing 🎶 Not actually day 9, but we do now have nine pipes supporting the wall at Tamworth Road Narrows - soon to be hidden by brickwork and concrete. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

🎄 Advent Calendar – Day 19 Dedication at Gallows Wharf! This year our amazing volunteers gave more than 5K hours of time at Gallows Wharf. Take a look at their hard work, as well as a flashback to 2018. Next year will see this completed. 🥳 www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVSW... #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

We’re loving the kind words from Boat Time about our tree at the Lichfield Cathedral Christmas Tree Festival. Watch their video to hear what they said: youtu.be/6rQYsofeeVI?... #UKCanals #Lichfield

Advent Calendar – Day 18 🎄 Today we’re giving a huge festive shout‑out to our incredible Business Members. We’re proud to be backed by a range of businesses, check out the gallery: lhcrt.org.uk/membership/m... Together, we’re building a legacy worth celebrating this Christmas.

✨ Advent Calendar – Day 17 ✨ Spotlight on Darnford Moors Ecology Park Our newest stretch of the Lichfield Canal - a haven for wildlife and a peaceful escape. Winter walks here remind us how vital the canal is as a blue‑green corridor. #WeDigCanals #UKCanals

At Gallows Wharf we’ve poured another 5m of base slab, including an awkward pad just out of reach of the 8-tonner, so it had to be shovelled in by hand. One small pad left, then progress should speed up in the New Year. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

v1.112 is live! We’re launching Find Friends, a contact import feature that helps you find people you know on Bluesky. Try it! In the mobile app, go to Settings → Find friends from contacts. Read how we took a more secure approach to this than other platforms: bsky.social/about/blog/1...

Advent Calendar – Day 16 Soon the canal will be lined with snowdrops. These delicate flowers don’t just brighten the towpath, they provide nectar and pollen for bees as they wake from winter. Look closely and you’ll see them breaking through the soil now, a promise of spring. 🌿

@chrisgpackham.bsky.social can you help with the ID of this bird please? (Sorry the photos are rubbish!)

Spotted at Borrowcop Locks Canal Park by old lock 24; I think it's a buzzard (it was big and had a broad body) but comments on @inaturalist.bsky.social say it's a kestrel. What do you think? #Lichfield 🪶

Advent Calendar – Day 15 Gallows Wharf: once near the site of Lichfield’s gallows, later the gateway for hope. In 1803, stained glass from Belgium’s Abbey of Herkenrode arrived here by canal, now shining in Lichfield Cathedral. A replica crate is at the Wharf. (Photo 2018) #WeDigCanals

Who thinks this section of towpath retaining wall at Tamworth Road Narrows will be finished by Christmas. At the speed our volunteers are working, it’s looking very likely! ☺️ #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

Advent Calendar – Day 14 One of the true highlights of our year: the Brownhills Canal Festival! Historic boats, floating traders, and craft stalls bring Silver Street to life in a celebration of waterways and community. Booking for 2026 will be opening online soon. lhcrt.org.uk/brownhills-c...

A fantastic turnout of our @dofe.org volunteers at St John’s Grange yesterday. Young trees and saplings were carefully transplanted across the canal, perfect autumn work and a big help for starting towpath works once Gallows Reach is complete. 🌿 Huge thanks to everyone! #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

Advent Calendar Day 13 It had to be done: the Big Pipe! Installed after the canal closed, it has been a challenge, but we’ve used it as part of the solution. Sections have been removed and reused at Borrowcop Locks and the Narrows, the rest will come out when we're ready. #Lichfield #WeDigCanals

It’s been a very productive few days at Tamworth Road Narrows, so this will be a thread.. First up more towpath wall has been completed. #WeDigCanals #Lichfield

🎄✨ Advent Calendar – Day 12 ✨🎄 Looking for a gift that’s cute and meaningful? 🧸 Our Teddy Bear Memberships are perfect for little ones (and the young at heart!). Meet teddy bear member Huddlesford Bear ( @sonningbear.bsky.social ) in his smart LHCRT tee! 💙 #HuddlesfordsMission