How many more closures this week?

OUR Keith Gudgin has been very busy sorting the closures so far this week to keep you informed.

Alas, lack of maintenance is taking its toll with more stoppages to report.

There was a further closure on the Aire & Calder, this time there is a fault with the upstream hydraulic sluice at Ferrybridge Flood Lock (11) with the lock and navigation closed.  But this was fairly quickly repaired and the navigation reopened.

Weaver

The Weaver isn't doing so well these days, with Anderton, Saltersford and now Dutton on the Weaver closed through an underwater obstruction stopping the the gates being operated.  So that means there is about half the river navigable!

The three Factory Locks on the Birmingham Main Line are closed due to a gate on Lock 2 being inoperable.  However boaters wanting to use the entire navigation to or from Wolverhampton are advised to use Brades Locks on the Gower Branch instead.

Still closed

Further problems have been discovered with Gunthorpe Lock on the Trent that is closed to navigation, but there is the hope to have it open by Friday.

Another stoppage on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, this time at Bank Newton Flight with another heel post failure closed the navigation, this time at Lock 5 on the flight, with work due to commence tomorrow, Thursday.

And the Macc is closed yet again, and again at the Royal Oak Swing Bridge, but this time not a vehicle strike but a mechanical fault, and closed 'until further notice'.

Another swing bridge fails

As Keith suggests—they are failing wholesale now!  This time its Ufton Swing Bridge on the Kennet & Avon Canal that has packed-up, as the barrier will no longer operate.

Wednesday and seven closures under the watch of Canal & River Trust, that its followers told us at Foxton that was brought it to make good the problems of the canals under British Waterways!  But listed as six as the closure of Birmingham Main Line was discovered to be the work of vandals, that was not revealed by the trust itself.

LATEST

Both the Macclesfield (swing bridge) and the Macclesfield (bridge) have now reopened.