Oh no they can't—tells Victor
I HAVE JUST been perusing the various adverts of the hire companies telling where their customers can cruise.
But oh, no, they can't!
And we all know why they can't! That is very simple—they are closed!
So many are offering the Cheshire Ring that contains the Macclesfield Canal that is closed with a breach (pictured). And something else we all know—it will take months to repair.
Then the would-be hirers are told of the delights of the Pennines cruising the Rochdale, Leeds & Liverpool and Huddersfield Narrow—all three all so often closed, as in fact they are now.
There was a marvellous blurb from one hire company telling it had cruises on virtually all the waterways. Some hope!
Personally I feel sorry for those people hiring boats, for they are mostly completely unaware of the real state of the waterways at present and so can face a problem finding they just cannot cruise where they want, or worse, get stuck and have to be rescued, as many already have.
But it is not just the hirers I feel sorry for, but the hire companies themselves, who have the problems of rescuing the people stuck, then rescuing the boats and still yet having to turn bookings down as boats cannot be returned in time.
With one long established hire company giving up its holiday hire and just offering day boats.
At present
So I'll let you know the situation at the moment, courtesy of our Keith, he telling of the Rochdale—"It seems to me there is something fundamentally wrong here, why is it taking so long to refill it?"
Why indeed? For it was on the 6th April that the navigation was closed owing to the lack of water from locks 1 to 24, and it is still closed—next Tuesday making it a month! And all we get is—'We are continuing to closely monitor the water levels, which have yet to recover'.
But now a bit of late news about the Rochdale—'While the water levels are low and this stretch of canal is not navigable, we are taking the opportunity to investigate the cause of a leak into nearby properties. 'We need to keep the water level as low as possible in pound 2 until we have found and addressed the cause of the leak'. A bit late, eh?
Then of course there's the Huddersfield Narrow (pictured) that also saw a closure through lack of water that started on the 9th of April with at one period the whole of the east locks closed to navigation, and now we are told—'The water levels are still very low and not enough to have navigation possible'.
Not forgetting that Loco Lift Bridge connecting with the Huddersfield Broad, stopping cruising onto or from the Narrow that was conked-out for months on end!
Then there's the poor Leeds & Liverpool Canal. This year alone, when there has been little boat traffic there have been 15 stoppages on the waterway. With the main culprits—you've guessed—swing bridges, four in April alone, the Bradley, (pictured) Micklewaite, Warehouse and Hall Lane.
Well, my friends I rather feel for the hire companies attempting to hire on these northern waterway, and feel somewhat more for those hirers who get trapped—one way or another.
And us
We too are away on our Spring cruise this weekend, hoping to get down the Oxford to its junction with the Grand Union and then wherever, hoping against hope we do not get stuck in some breakage or other and are able to get back.
We are one of those who get up and go fairly early, as we find this easier. Then just do around four hours, for after all we are on holiday and have cruised these waterways dozens of times.
But I am afraid this time there will be nothing from me during this cruise, as dear Thomas's laptop has given up the ghost! So no contact.
Can't afford a quid
And to finish, an email from Charles P that certainly needs a mention—he complaining (and rightly too.):
In London they use the towpath like a Rat Run. They think it’s their God given right (no cars) so they can speed. Cyclist’s pay hundreds of pounds for a bike and cannot find £1 for a BELL, to enlighten people that they are behind.
Victor Swift—telling tales for 25 years...