AND WHAT A YEAR INDEED with the navigations at a virtual stand-still came the summer.
For of course the many leaking locks just couldn't cope when it stopped raining for a couple of months.
May of that year did not portent well for boaters with our recording 30 faults and just as many month after month until we stopped recording stoppages when the 'no water' situations confused the number of actual stoppages.
Our own usual September cruise meant we could only get from Mercia to Alrewas—13 miles! And then back, though we usually do more than that in a day.
The year ending with the Whitchurch breach closing the Llangollen as the Whitchurch Arm supplied water to the Llangollen with levels drastically reduced and Hurleston Flight closed, but our Keith tells it will be reopened on Monday 5th.
But CaRT telling that bank had been recently inspected! Did you believe it? I certainly didn't.
That was what was told when the Toddbrook reservoir breached but the resulting enquiry did not accept it and found it was lack of inspection—especially with trees growing through the cracks, as seen in the picture.
The problem
Any boater cruising the canals nowadays quickly realises from the condition of their infrastructure, that there is little maintenance or inspection with the trust seemingly more interested in other non-waterway interests.
I have told it often, as have others, that the trust getting rid of the lengthsmen who patrolled the waterways is a great cause of so many failures nowadays.
And it will get worse as the age of the canals increases, with Ralph Freeman explaining that when these structures become defective, they can trigger a catastrophic chain of events leading to complete embankment failure, as evidenced by recent incidents on the Bridgewater Canal and Llangollen Canal.
So I took a look of the pictures of breaches, and even I was surprised—21 different breaches on CaRT waterways, that included two on the Leeds & Liverpool and two on the Llangollen, and getting more and more as time went by. (The one pictured was on the Llangollen in 2017.)
As the canals are around 250 years old and getting older we can surely expect more failures, especially as maintenance is very much a thing of the past—and that is the problem.
Another void
To reinforce what Ralph relates, there has been yet another void. This time on the Staffs & Worcs, and it has closed the navigation.
It was discovered that a culvert had collapsed and a 'large void' had appeared below the gates of Penkridge Lock (38). An investigation discovered that the culvert is threatening both the road and the nearby property.
As usual, for safety, the waterway and road are now closed while engineers assess the damage and carry out repairs. Stop planks have now been placed across the canal above the top gates to maintain water levels upstream and prevent further damage to the culvert.
So that's another one, but I wonder when last inspected? Last week no doubt!
To the rescue
Back to the Whitchurch breach and people have certainly helped those boaters who were left without a home, with crowdfunding raising £85,000 by the end of the year.
And boat hiring firms being very quick to offer the use of narrowboats to live in whilst theirs are rescued.
With our Janet Friend telling such as Linda Edwards from Cheshire Cat Narrowboats coming to the rescue getting boats ready and equipped to provide a home for those stuck in the breach. (Pictured.)
The first
And so to the first of stoppage of the year on our new list—on the Rochdale Canal our Keith advises.
This time its a paddle failure that has closed Lock 57 to navigation. The trust's local team has been on site and investigated the issue.
But whilst a method of repair is being organised, the navigation will remain closed.
How many more?
I just wonder how many more wetlands we are going to get on the Montgomery Canal?
The recent one at Wern on the waterways is the fourth to my reckoning. And from the picture it seems it is on the actual waterway this time, yet the others are situated by the side of the waterway.
The canal is recognised as a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its rare plant-life.
In the news release there is no mention of boating...
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