No hold up whatsoever

Published: Friday, 16 August 2019

I REALISE that Canal & River Trust is coming in for some stick nowadays, referring to the many reported stoppages, writes Jacob Shaw.

But let's give a bit of credit where credit due, as Maureen and I have traversed the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and down the Bridgewater (I know it is not controlled by Canal & River Trust) then the whole of the Trent & Mersey Canal without any hold up whatsoever.

What's wrong with that?

I read about the 'wait until it breaks' system in force, but if boaters report a stoppage as soon as it happens and the men come out and see to it the following day and put it right, what is wrong with that? Sensible boaters don't rush about all hours of the day but travel a few hours then stop, so a little hold up would be no detriment.

I spoke to many others I met on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and learnt the many swing bridges give trouble, but they are soon attended to, and let is not forget how old are those swing bridges, and we can't expect them to last forever without occasionally breaking down.