Summit level closed

DON'T panic—unless you are one of our many Irish boater readers—it's one of yours that is closed.

Owing to lack of water the summit level of the Royal Canal is closed until further notice, with of course no navigation allowed, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Freight and passengers

The Royal Canal, originally built for both freight and passenger traffic, connects the Liffey in Dublin to the Shannon at Cloondara in County Longford, is 90 miles long with 45 locks.

The stoppage certainly corresponds with out own stoppages, as the summit closure is blamed on a combination of weather and leaks on the canal west of Coolnahay, so that keeping the West of the summit in water means the summit's level will continue to drop.