Victor tells of 23% increase in tolls

IT IS NOT only the Canal & River Trust that is suffering from shortage of funds but the Broads Authority too.

In its case there is no government funding for the navigation but income from the boaters only, that prompted a 13% increase last year plus the promise of a further 10% increase next year.

The problem is that this is creating a vicious circle as the more that boaters have to pay the fewer the boats, with many giving up boating on the Broads.

This is shown in the authority figures that at the end of the financial year, instead of increasing as usual, income from tolls from private boats was £74,357 down from the previous year, and it is believed this is set to continue. It does not compare with Canal & River Trust figures, as is a much smaller authority, so this means quite a loss.

And the many floods are not helping, with the trend, the experts tell us that it will get worse.

It has come to pass

It has certainly come to pass with the hire company Pennine Cruisers giving up hiring boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

And it is very obvious that under a state of affairs where there is a stoppage a day since the season started, and there will be more, how can the company make a profit when all too often they have to refund customers for their cruises being stopped by breakages, then the hassle of getting the boat back, providing they can, for later clients.

Then more refunds as they cannot get boats back until the stoppage has been fixed, which all too often takes months.

The picture above is of a Greeberfield lock on the Leeds & Liverpool. The one below our climbing the Pennines on the Huddersfield Narrow.

Hired

It was in the days of British Waterways when we hired a narrowboat on that waterway, and were so enthralled with it that when we had our own boat we took to the Leeds & Liverpool again in its entirety, and ner a stoppage whatsoever. And the same with the Rochdale (Pictured) and the 'Narrow'—both ways.

And though we would like to cruise those attractive Pennine waterways again, there is no way!  Not with 15 stoppages over the past two months and yet another five days to go.

We just can't risk our boat being stuck up there.  I just wonder how many other boaters feel the same. Quite a lot, as our contributors tell of the lack of moving boats...

Oh dear!

Most sorry to tell dear Thomas, but I reckon your memory must be going, as it was not Pennine Cruisers where you hired a boat on the Leeds & Liverpool, but Snaygill Boats, that I am pleased to remark are still in existence.

I wonder if you remember chatting to Barry, the well known and outspoken lock lock keeper at Bingley Five Rise?  Another. alas, that has gone.

What to believe?

Quite impressive is the list of winter stoppages. But what to believe? As already three have been cancelled over the past few days, and from past experience there will be more.

Hang on, there's another winter works cancelled our Keith tells us, and another on the Llangollen that the trust tell of a culvert that needed work, that was only a minor job that did not need a closure.

So why listed on the winter works if it could be done beforehand?

Well, it added to make the list look impressive, eh? So that's four taken off the list this week.

What will next week bring? I have to ask.

A good note

So let's finish on a good note with the information that the Audlem Flight on the Shroppie (pictured) has been repaired and is now 'fully open to navigation'.

And the repair to the 'leak' only took a week and a half from the 16th October, which is not too bad.

Victor Swift—telling tales for 24 years