Sponsored canal boat-pull could be a fundraising winner

The Friends of Dawn Rose organisation has organised the three-week event on the canal, which runs from West Stockwith and through Misterton, Retford and Worksop.

Pulling a 70-foot long, hand-built, wooden narrowboat, teams will set off from Shireoaks in Nottinghamshire on Thursday, April 25 and progress to West Stockwith and back again by Sunday, May 12.

You don’t have to pull the whole way. The journey will be split into 21 sections, which vary from less than one mile to four miles and from including no locks to nine locks. You can choose which section suits you on which day and at what time of the day.

To take part, groups must pay a £50 fee, but everything else that is raised can go to their chosen good cause.

A spokesman for the Friends of Dawn Rose said: “Pulling a ten-ton boat might sound impossible, but it is surprisingly easy.

“We will supply harnesses, with which two people can pull very comfortably.

“We will steer and manage the boat, while you go along at walking pace, perhaps sharing a great day out with family and friends, along what is a beautiful waterway.”

This is the fourth year of the boat-pull, and dozens of groups have taken part since 2016, raising thousands of pounds.

To find out more information, go the Chesterfield Canal Trust website, e-mail [email protected], or call 01246 477569.