Mixed message stoppage notice

I ENTIRELY agree with your contributor who says stoppage notices should be sorted out, writes Jill Gates.

My husband and I completely misunderstood one stoppage notice during our cruise this year on the Oxford Canal, it giving a mixed message as to whether the canal was open or not, and we then discovered that it was not open but it read as though it was, that we thought it was to cover the Trust's backs.

Could not reverse

We are new to boating and realised we could not turn the boat around in the limited width of the canal and from what we were told we would have to reverse, which we have had no practice at, for a mile or so before we could, so we were stuck there for three days, it ruining our planned route and our holiday.

I have since studied these stoppage notices and find they are often misleading as your contributor pointed out, and do not seem to be written by someone who knows the canals.

Not caught out again

We are not going to be caught out again, for if there is a stoppage notice that should concern us I shall be ringing up to find out the facts.