Victor reminds us of the sorry state of affairs

WE ARE GETTING well into the season now, with all the winter works finished, so all is well to go.

At least that's how it should be.

But alas, it is not—with Canal & River Trust telling of 17 waterways with stoppages!

With extended stoppages on the Rochdale, Aire & Calder, Macclesfield, Worcs & Birmingham and South Stratford, all closed to navigation at one point or another, with their repairs dragging on, usually for month after month

And there is the poor Huddersfield Narrow that is completely closed end to end?  And the Tame Valley that is to be closed for three months.

A sorry state of affairs indeed.

Heartbreak Hill open

The trust promised that Heartbreak Hill on the Trent & Mersey Canal that was closed last Monday, through shortage of water, would be open this week-end.

No official notification has yet been received, but I can tell you that it is open.

Jane Farthing tells me that she and her partner are tackling it being about halfway up, so it has certainly reopened!

She adds that she will be glad when they get to the tunnel! I know the feeling Jane—been there, done that—all too often!

The boat lift

What about the main attraction  on the waterways for the public—the Anderton Boat Lift?

It was way back on the 3rd January that we were told, during a planned inspection undertaken, that there was a fault on the east gate, that meant a temporary closure.

But alas, it was not so temporary at all, for we were told the lift will remain closed throughout the summer!

And boaters stuck on the Weaver were told to take to the Manchester Ship Canal to get back on the system. No assisted convoy arranged or anything like that—they were on their own.

What we get now is the usual baloney of:

'Our engineers have been developing several potential solutions to bring the boat lift back into service. Each will require careful review to ensure the best long-term outcome for this historic structure'.

Then we are further told:

'While we're still in the early stages, we'll move into detailed design and planning once an option is selected. At that point, we'll have a better idea of timelines'.

Can you make any sense out of that? I certainly can't.

So while they fad about, doing bugger all, the lift remains closed.

Hold on, didn't it have a major repair that included new caissons (pictured) a short while ago.  Yes it did.  But obviously the repair was obviously not good enough.

A new fella

So at last the current chief executive of Canal & River Trust. Richard Parry, is leaving, and I can't really say he made a good job of his term at the helm, with all these stoppages. Obviously due to the decision of getting rid of the lenthsmen that looked after the waterways, selling off all the equipment, stopping maintenance and passing it all on to contractors, that really hadn't much of a clue.

So now we will have a new fella by the name of Campbell Robb, who seems to have been involved with the charity sector.

But there is plenty of information extolling his virtues elsewhere, so won't bother you with it.

But something in common with our Thomas—his photograph is by his house built with 250 years old Cheshire hand made bricks. The real thing, and not the new fake examples. Just like Thomas, who's house is built with the same hand made bricks!

So has good taste!

Towpath closed for three months

Lots of complaints about the closure of a very popular towpath along the Droitwich Canal that has now been fenced off.

It is due for resurfacing alongside the canal that stretches from Vines Lane in Droitwich to Ladywood Lock in Salwarpe. But the complaints are that it it going to take three months to achieve, and in the summer when it has its maximum use.

But it was Wychavon District Council that had raised concerns that the path was inaccessible for some of its users and that the space needed to be made more inviting, so is closed for resurfacing.

The work, it is told, is part of a wider project to create a wellbeing corridor from Vines Park to Ladywood Lock in Salwarpe.

But for three months in summer—'they' are certainly not really thinking about its users, otherwise it would be done when it has little use, and certainly not in the middle of summer.

Victor Swift—telling tales for 25 years...