Take a break at Stenson Lock

Published: Wednesday, 20 June 2018

SHOULD you have cruised up from some of the 'terrible six' as the broad locks at the eastern end of the Trent & Mersey Canal are well known, there's the chance of a long rest at Stenson Lock.

For should the lock be full you will have a long wait indeed, for the normally slow emptying of this, the deepest of the broad locks on the waterway—over 12ft—now has only one bottom gate paddle working, and so takes a very long time indeed to empty—giving plenty of time for a brew!

StensonPaddle0618The same descending

And the same of course applies if you are descending the lock, as time is definitely not of the essence!

The lock fills quickly enough with two ground and two gate paddles, but it is the emptying that is very much the problem, and when we were there yesterday in the middle of the morning, though there are usually two, not a volunteer in sight!  As to whether this is because of the complaints from boaters or the sheer boredom of waiting, is not known, but a wise move on their parts.

We were told the paddle has been broken since last week, with no intimation as to its repair, but it sure is going to cause some frustration as the queues build up at weekends, and certainly will not add to CaRT's much publicised 'wellbeing'!