Winter stoppages
Millions of people enjoy our canals and rivers each year and if you’re one of them, whether you’re exploring by boat, bike or foot, you’ll see some of the finest examples of 200 year old working heritage in the country. We’re here to keep our unique assets in working order and so each winter we undertake a massive programme of maintenance works.
Each year we hold a number of open days and this year is no exception. We're inviting you along to take a look behind the scenes and find out about the work it takes to keep our waterway network functioning.
Reflecting the breadth of the work we carry, each open day offers a different experience and you could find yourself descending into drained locks, taking boat trips, touring around our lock gate workshops and even watching lock gates being craned in and out of the canal.
We hold open days around the country so wherever you are there should be something nearby. While each stoppage varies due to the work being carried out, at all open days you’ll be able to chat to our engineers, ask questions and find out about the past of the area.
There’s really no better way to get a feel for the ingenious engineering and precise workmanship that went into making our canals all of those years ago, and the scale of the work needed to maintain them in the future.
Stoppage spotting
We don't want you to miss out on any of the action this year. If you can't make one of our open days you don't need to fret as we've installed information boards next to a number of our more interesting stoppages. These information boards will live at the selected sites for the duration of the stoppage. Why not become a stoppage spotter and see how many sites you can tick off this winter?
This year's winter stoppage open day programme has been sponsored by May Gurney
