DOOR OPEN DAY 2005

Glasgow will be flinging its doors open once again this year between 17th and 18th September for Doors Open Day 2005. Glasgow Building Preservation Trust has been organising this event since 1990 and since then it has attracted over 300 participating buildings and has welcomed over 200,000 visitors. The event offers Glaswegians and visitors the opportunity to see some of Glasgow 's finest buildings old and new – all for free. Many like to take this opportunity and get about by foot so as well as being able to come along and see the boats The Nolly Barge will be offering a “Pit Stop” at Firhill Basin where you can get hold of a cup of tea and a scone. For those interested The Nolly Wanderer will be shuttling back and forth between Firhill Basin and Ruchill where it's possible to disembark for a short walk to The Rennie MacIntosh Centre or Ruchill Church Hall designed by the great man himself.

Trainees/Boat Building

Well it's been a struggle but after nearly six months Magnus Woolf our resident boat-building expert has whipped both the trainees and the boats into shape. In February, Marcus Woolf, Magnus's brother joined us in conjunction with Jim and took over the refitting of the Nolly Wanderer . The extra pair of hands has ensured the boats will be delivered on time.

Many thanks to Aldo, Mark, Willy and Gareth (the trainees) who have worked with enthusiasm and a Trojan like zeal to ensure the boats will be canal worthy vessels. The boys have added to their skill set and have been truly excellent workers who we will have no problem recommending to future employers.

Both the Wanderer and the Explorer have been beautifully refitted and significant interest has already been garnered in both boats with a number of bookings for the coming season.

The boats were offcially launched at the end of May this year and have been really busy since then. The Nolly Wanderer is a day trip barge that can accommodate up to 24 people and is fully accessible, you can hire her for a morning/afternoon or full day charter.  The Nolly Explorer is a 6-berth narrow boat for hire by the week for holidays on the canal, you can travel through the Forth & Clyde to Falkirk, go on the Falkirk Wheel and into the Union Canal and straight through to Edinburgh.

Forth and Clyde Community Canal Project

The Forth and Clyde Canal Project has now been brought under the control of the Nolly Barge with Elspeth Durkin joining our team on the 4 th April as our Environmental officer. Elspeth has already contributed some good ideas and her skill and experience will certainly complement our team. We have agreed a lease with Glasgow City Council for the lease of the premises at Balmore industrial estate where John Johnson of Alba Adventure is now operating from, and we hope to build a successful relationship with him to ensure the delivery of outdoor education.