Narrowboat tours launch in Derby

The boat, named the Outram, will take passengers from Derby city centre

Passengers can join city centre narrowboat tours on a specially-built narrowboat later.

The tours, which will run between Phoenix Green, opposite the Museum of Making, and Darley Abbey, in Derby, will start from 13:30 BST.

The Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust Ltd (DSCT), which is behind the trips, said their launch had been delayed due to the pandemic.

It said it was delighted passengers could finally get on board.

The tours will operate at weekends on the Outram, a specially-built steel-hulled narrowboat, designed to carry 12 passengers and crew.

Trips will take about 50 minutes, travelling slowly upriver, turning and returning downstream to the mooring point.

The trust said the boat was environmentally friendly

Mike Wingfield, vice chairman of DSCT and designer of the Outram, said: "We knew we had to design a boat from scratch and this allowed us to build it with disabled access and environmental credentials.

"The boat is also environmentally friendly - it runs on electric power, with batteries recharged from solar panels and topped up by a fast landline charger - and provides a composting toilet."

The trust said the boat had been ready to go in 2020, just as the pandemic struck, causing major setbacks.

Trust chairman Chris Madge added: "We are delighted to finally invite passengers on board."