As you’ll know, and as our chair, David Orr CBE, stated earlier this week in our Annual Public Meeting (see below), maintaining navigation for boaters is at the centre of what we do. In the pursuit of this challenging goal, perhaps one of our most important activities is dredging.
We’re continuing to focus less on the overall tonnage we remove from the cut and more on removing as many issues, raised by boaters, across the network as we can.
These are the shallow spots, blocked winding holes and reed issues that impede navigation. If you come across a section where the bottom is too close to the top then do let us know.
It’s also worth reiterating why we don’t dredge to the water’s edge (at least not most of the time).
It’s all down to history
In the network’s freight carrying heyday, cargoes were loaded at wharves and the bargees would transport the goods as quickly possible to their destination wharf. Long distance carriers would stop overnight at a wharf along the route where there were facilities for the boaters, with good stabling and fodder for their horses being a priority. There was no particular need to provide casual moorings along the towpath.
Wharves were generally constructed by the carrying companies and commercial enterprises who were reliant on the delivery of goods by water. They paid the canal companies to create the deep, straight-sided wharves for the benefit of their deliveries.
The majority of them were constructed on the offside of the canal, where boats being loaded and unloaded would not impede other craft being towed along by horses. So, in summary, it didn't matter that the towpath edge was generally shallow.
In the interests of efficiency this meant that canals were built in a dish shape, as per the image below, with the deeper water slightly to the towpath side of the middle. Boats didn't generally stop on their journey or pull into the side except where they needed to tie up to work locks, open and close bridges, or wait for passage through a tunnel.
Ultimately, this means that dredging at the main channel depth right up to the edge would likely undermine the canal in question.
What we’ve done
Since our last dredging update in February, we’ve completed 25 projects and are now busy planning and delivering further dredging for the rest of this year and into 2026.
From April 2024 through to March 2025 we removed around 60,000 tonnes (equivalent to around 900,000 cows in case you were wondering) and, in the process of this, removed 80 boater-informed issues with around 40 miles benefiting from works.
The highlights
Shropshire Union (Ellesmere Port area) – Cleared silt and debris from multiple bridge holes.
Macclesfield Canal – Spot dredging between Bosley and Marple, targeting bridge holes and shallow areas.
Standedge Tunnel – Removed a shallow section approximately 200m in from the Diggle Portal, caused by winter storm flows from a feeder channel.
Llantysilio Intake (Llangollen Canal) – Cleared sediment build-up in front of intake screens to protect the main water supply from the River Dee to one of our busiest canals.
Ashby Canal – Dredged shallow areas between Market Bosworth and Sutton Cheney. Material was repurposed for agricultural land and canal bank restoration.
Trent & Mersey Canal (Sandbach Area) – Addressed shallow sections identified via hydrographic surveys and feedback. Non-hazardous dredged material was disposed of on adjacent Trust-owned land, delivering improved value for money.
Weaver Navigation – Used plough dredging to redistribute material and level high spots within the navigable channel. Following successful 2024 works upstream of Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge, the dredge area was extended downstream.
Kennet & Avon Canal (Woolhampton and Burghfield) - Removed sediment from two large shallow areas in the river section of the River Kennet. Reused dredged material for trackway gravel and bank protection.
Shropshire Union Canal (Norbury Junction Area) – Spot dredging to clear winding holes and shallow spots, guided by recent survey data and feedback.
What we’re doing
Gloucester Docks – Regular dredging as part of our ongoing maintenance programme across Gloucester Docks and the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
North Stratford Canal – Targeting 41 locations between Kings Norton and Lapworth, selected based on boater feedback and hydrographic survey data.
Mon & Brec Canal – Dredging shallow areas, spots, and winding holes in the Crickhowell area, informed by survey results and feedback.
River Lee Navigation – Dredging around the approaches to Tottenham Lock, where sediment builds up due to inflows from the River Lee and Pymmes Brook
Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation – Routine spot dredging in the Doncaster area to support freight traffic.
Grand Union Canal – Spot dredging between Hunton Bridge and Cassiobury to address shallow areas identified via boater feedback
Rochdale Canal – Two projects underway:
Tackling siltation in the Newton Heath area of East Manchester.
Clearing blocked winding holes around Todmorden and Hebden Bridge.
Ashby Canal – Building on the first phase of dredging completed earlier in 2025, works will continue south from Sutton Cheney toward Hinckley to address further shallow areas.
South Oxford and Leicester Line (GU) transit window update
Welford Arm, Leicester Line, Grand Union Canal, courtesy of zaphad1, Flickr
If anything has become clear during this year’s exceptional drought, it’s that accurately predicting the weather’s impact more than a week or so into the future is very tricky.
There have been times since the end of summer where lots of rain has been correctly forecast but it’s then gone on to fall in the wrong places (i.e. not in our reservoir catchment areas!).
That said, many previously restricted, or shut, navigations have reopened. Next week, on Monday 27 October, the South Oxford and parts of the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal join them, albeit briefly.
We’ll be making the most of the little remaining reservoir storage to support navigation, but please be aware that water levels may drop unexpectedly. If they fall too low, the canal may become unnavigable, and we may need to close again before the end of the week.
To give yourself the best chance of completing your journey, we strongly recommend planning your passage for the first half of the week.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support – we’ll keep doing our best to manage water levels and keep you updated via our notices.
Boats returning to Foxton Locks as Autumn events programme gets under way
Visitors look on as boats negotiate Foxton Locks on the Grand Union Canal. Image credit Ian Drummond
As the update above sets out, we’re working hard right across the network to give boaters the chance to reach their home or winter mooring before our massive winter stoppage programme gets underway.
As part of this Foxton Locks, on the Grand Union Canal, will be temporarily reopening to boats at the end of the month. The reopening will enable boaters to access vital services and give visitors the chance to once again gongoozle as they watch boats navigate the famous staircase of locks.
With the country experiencing one of the driest years on record we had to take the difficult decision to close the locks at the beginning of August, as the reservoirs that feed the canal were getting critically low. Closing the locks was necessary to maintain water in the canal, keeping boats afloat, safeguarding wildlife and protecting the canal infrastructure.
While there has only been a very slight improvement in reservoir holdings, we are taking the opportunity to reopen the locks for one week (from 27 October until 2 November). Volunteer lock keepers will be opening up the locks each day, enabling boaters to return to their home moorings or get to essential services before winter, and helping boating businesses to make the most of the final weeks of autumn.
The reopening comes as the site launches a programme of autumnal events over the coming weeks. Over the Half Term, families will be able to take part in some spooky spider crafts beside the canal at the Top Lock cottage. Foxton Canal Museum will also be hosting fun craft activities and a special Goblin Door trail around the site, as well as guided tours of the historic Inclined Plane – a Victorian boat lift designed to haul boats up the hill, and now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Linny Beaumont, regional director, said: “We’re so pleased to be welcoming boats back to Foxton Locks and, with so much happening at the site over the coming weeks, it’s a really exciting time to visit this historic site.
“The reopening will allow boaters to get back to their winter moorings and other essential services.”
In case you didn’t know, Foxton Locks is the UK’s longest, steepest flight of staircase locks, built by hand more than 200 years ago to help raise cargo-carrying boats 75ft uphill.
Boaters’ questions answered at Annual Public Meeting
Earlier this week our chair, David Orr CBE, hosted our Annual Public Meeting. If you weren’t able to attend the live event you can watch a full recording here.
If you’re wondering whether it’s worth a watch then how about finding out the answers to these questions?
How many inspections do we do each year?
How many miles of towpath were upgraded thanks to third party funding?
How many tonnes of rubbish do we collect each year?
How many trees did Storm Darragh blow over across the network (and how much did it cost to clear them)?
How are we engaging with all levels of government?
Will climate change eventually mean that canals are not navigable?
Would better maintenance of the network have reduced the number of canals that had to close due to this year’s exceptional drought?
Will the completion of major engineering at Toddbrook Reservoir (in 2026) offset the reduction of the Defra Grant from 2027?
Can we build more reservoirs?
What are new chief executive, Campbell Robb’s, initial views about the opportunities and challenges ahead?
That should be more than enough to entice you to click play!
Boater Report becomes more accessible
As you’ll know, every year we publish a Boater Report to update on key information and highlights from the previous year. As part of our commitment to improving communication and customer service set out in our Better Boating Plan, we’ve moved this year’s report to a more accessible web-based format.
Find out from national boating manager, Alex Hennessey, what to expect from this year’s report:
We are really pleased to announce that the next stage of development of our notices system, influenced by your feedback, is now live – we have started to include photos with our stoppage notices.
The photos now appear alongside stoppage notices in the notices section of our website. We don’t expect to provide images for every notice but will aim to do so for the larger, more significant stoppages that take place. Many of you will receive our automated emails whenever we add a notice to our website. Please note that images can’t be sent with these emails due to data size issues but they will be added to our website as soon as we can.
Once the process is up and running, we hope to be able to add to the photos that we've taken with further images that you provide us with. It’s also good to know that notices will still get posted on our website as soon as we have all the essential information – we won’t delay posting them just because we haven’t got an accompanying photo – images may be added at a later time but we won’t bombard you with emails every time an image is uploaded. You’ll only get another email about the stoppage when we’ve updated the information related to it.
As you’ll expect us to, we’re evolving and improving the notices system step-by-step so that we can iron out any issues as we go. The next steps will include an improvement to more accurately show the length of navigation that is closed on our mapping system.
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As Daniel Greenhalgh mentioned in the Annual Public Meeting, we’re actively changing the way we work, plan and respond to extreme weather caused by climate change. While extreme weather may present opportunities for our historic canal network as it plays an increasing role in society’s search for water security, there are times when extreme weather impacts can mean we have to reluctantly restrict, or stop, navigation.
When this does happen, we get notices up on to our website as soon as we can – it’s always best to have a scan while you’re planning your cruise and also just before you set off. You can find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone in this article.
Below, you’ll find a list of navigations that have ongoing restrictions that may affect you if you’re planning to get out on the water this weekend:
If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.
Last call for Hire Boat Survey
The Hire Boat Survey is open until the end of October for holiday boaters to share their views and experiences of the waterways. So, if you get chatting to hire boaters this half term, you can help by encouraging them to do the survey and sharing this link. The information we collect provides helpful evidence to show our key partners just how much a thriving canal network contributes to the local economy and community. You can see last year’s results here.
Have a great weekend,
Damian
Last Edited: 23 October 2025
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