Victor: Get back to your moorings whilst you can

WHILST Canal & River Trust(?) is proclaiming its marvellous waterways at the Houses of Parliament the opposite is very much the reality.

So much so that the failing waterways are resulting in CaRT telling  boaters to get back to their mooring whilst they can! As Keith reported.

It is closing the Rochdale Canal from Lock 1 to Lock 48—from its beginning at Tuel Hill Lock all the way to the summit as the 'leak' between bridges 3 and 4 cannot be resolved—meaning of course it is most likely a breach.

As from next Monday 24th, the waterway will be open on Monday and Friday only from 8am to 3pm to allow boaters to get back to their moorings.  It is not told when it will be completely closed, so get back quick.

Then, as is now normal, it will be a waiting game...

And another

Work on the 'leak'—now described as a 'sink hole'—that closed the Bugsworth Basin Arm off the Peak Forest Canal has unearthed another 'leak', at the same location.

Work that one out!

Anyway it means the waterway is still closed, and what has happened to the boaters in the basin is not stated. Anyway, again, this time it needs to 'stem the leak with our specialist contractors'.

To which I have to agree with Linda Andrews who wonders how many of their specialist contractors they are planning to stuff into the hole to plug the leak!

The lot, I would suggest!

Still more

Still on the long suffering Peak Forest Canal with the double whammy of a void and a leak between Stanley Lift Bridge and Well Bridge also closing the canal, from Wednesday 19th October until further notice, Keith reports.

This time CaRT have us believe that both the local team and contractors have progressed with their investigations and have now established a method of repair.

This method it seems is most technical—putting a sheet across the hole and then coming back to see if it holds!  In the meantime of course the navigation is closed.

Rough

I must admit, it is a bit rough for boaters on the Peak Forest having to contend with all these leaks/sink holes/voids, or whatsoever as well as its lift bridges continually failing.

I wonder if this was brought to light by CaRT at its Houses of Parliament exhibition?  We all know the answer to that, eh?

More blue signs

In its wisdom, CaRT has decided that locks should now have their grid references shown—on a big blue sign of course, a picture as provided by Howard Clarke depicting the one at Marsworth Middle Lock.

Not sure why after 250 years this would have been thought necessary, or perhaps just an excuse for littering the countryside with more blue signs.

But would have thought the now widely used what3words that define the area down to a couple of metres, would be more in keeping in this day and age as against the old and often misunderstood method of a grid reference.

Or perhaps whoever thought up the idea was not aware of this universal system that can be used by anyone at the click of an icon on a mobile phone and that is understood by all of the services, it showing exactly where the sender is.

Victor Swift