We’re at the start of the peak time of the year for boating and know how important it is for you to be able to navigate smoothly and, where possible, without the hindrance of a planned or emergency stoppage.
Sometimes, though, given the age and nature of our network, they are unavoidable. Our first example of the work we’ve been doing for boaters over the last couple of weeks demonstrates how we factor in the needs of boaters when planning or doing any work so that the busier boating months are as free from stoppages as possible:
Bolstering a beam on the Birmingham & Fazeley
One of you kindly got in touch to let our charity know that a beam at Lock 8 on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal was about to fail.
Reactive team manager Dan Allen rallied his troops to implement a fix. Rather than do a complete beam replacement, which would take longer and cause more immediate inconvenience for boaters, Dan and his team reinforced the beam to last through the busier months and be replaced later.
Beam repair on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal
Getting busy on the Nottingham & Beeston Canal
We’ve just started a project to improve the visitor/winter moorings down from Beeston Lock on the Nottingham & Beeston Canal. The canal wall along the moorings had become unstable – a gradual decline in the condition of the wall over a long period. This eight-week maintenance programme will return the bank to its historic condition.
The team temporarily removed the original stone walling, recovering additional stone from the canal bed where the wall had failed. We're taking away any vegetation that has taken hold and undermined the wall. After which, we’ll install piling along the canal bank to give it greater stability.
Once the piling is complete, in the next few weeks, we’ll be relining the bank with its original stone and getting the moorings back open at their intended position. The method of work to fix the canal bank means that it can happen at this time of year because it doesn’t require draining down the water or closing navigation for any other reason.
Wall at Beeston Lock before remedial work
Repairing the Ribble Link
We are literally fighting the tide to ensure that the Ribble Link in Lancashire, which connects the Lancaster Canal to the national waterways network, receives important maintenance to allow it to reopen for boats.
Engineers responded to reports of an issue with the Sea Lock Gate at the entrance to the Ribble Link. This lock gate ensures an adequate depth of water along the length of the Ribble Link, important for boats navigating to and from the Lancaster Canal.
We discovered that the seal around the gate, which keeps the lock watertight, requires attention as too much water is being lost to maintain levels necessary for navigation. To carry out the repair we are facing the challenges of working on a tidal river with a short window each day to carry out work, and the complexities of a lock gate designed to withstand tidal conditions.
To replace the seals, the caisson in which the gate sits needs to be sealed off. Usually, stop planks would be used to prevent water from getting in. However, on the Ribble Link, the caisson is flooded twice daily, submerging the lock and making any form of maintenance impossible. To remove the gate to conduct repairs, either a temporary abutment must be created around the caisson to prevent tidal waters from entering, or work must be conducted in short windows at low tides. This second option will require high-capacity pumps to remove the water rapidly, giving at least two to three hours of working time every day.
On Thursday 18 July, our engineers met with contractors on site to plan the works. Planning and developing a solution is likely to take several weeks, and we will provide an update when confirmed. Following preliminary work to reduce leaks through the seal, the gate will be lifted out and sent away for repair at our workshop. As well as repairing the seal, the gate will get a full overhaul, with the hydraulic cylinder, pivot pins and bearings also getting attention.
A couple of weeks ago we started contacting all boaters who have booked to use the Ribble Link. Darren Thomas, senior engineer, said: “As the link to the national waterways network, it’s important that we get everything back in full working order as soon as possible. Working in tidal areas adds complexity, with less time to carry out work as the water levels fluctuate, and we’re spending time carefully planning this intricate repair job. While the gate is out of the water, we’re taking the opportunity to give it a thorough upgrade so it can continue to withstand the challenging conditions.
“We thank boaters for their patience while we carry out this work to ensure the Ribble Link is safe and look forward to reopening so boaters can navigate to and from the farthest reaches of our canal network.”
This weekend, our team will be carrying out a trial to get boats back across the Ribble Link so they can return to their home navigations. This trial is an important step in our efforts to ensure safe and efficient navigation across the Ribble Link. Following this trial, we will contact all boaters with bookings to schedule their passage. Our plan consists of a two-day passage instead of the usual one-day passage. We are currently analysing tide data to determine the optimal passage days.
The Ribble Link will remain closed for new bookings while our priority is to get our customers home. The repairs will be on hold until the passages are complete because our specialist contractors need to create a temporary barrier to keep out tidal waters. Plans are currently being developed, and the gate will be removed for repair when the barrier is installed.
It's not just the sea gate that has been causing problems either. Our engineers have worked extensively over the last week to evaluate the extent of the damage caused by the breach at the Hollowforth Aqueduct.
The damage is extensive and affects both the embankment and a section of the structure of the aqueduct. The repairs needed to the site are substantial and will need significant funding. The work required will have a material effect on our already limited resources.
Nonetheless, along with the repairs to the sea gate on the Ribble Link, completing the repairs to reopen the navigation for our boaters and all others who enjoy the canal is a priority. The work will take a number of months to complete and we understand that in the meantime the loss of this precious amenity will impact many customers profoundly. That is why we are getting to work immediately. The site has been made as safe as possible to restrict access whilst we plan and arrange the extensive temporary works required to access the site with the machinery required to undertake the repairs.
We are also installing pumps to keep the canal sections that are disconnected with adequate water for navigation, and to protect our precious environment and heritage. Full mobilisation to build access and begin the repairs may take up to four weeks. We will be keeping affected boaters up to date with our progress and have already established direct links with boaters who are affected by being stuck on the Lancaster Canal or are away cruising and planning to return to a home mooring.
Huge thanks to everyone affected for their continued support and patience. We will provide regular updates, with the next update scheduled no later than 2 August. If you have any specific questions about the canal or the effects of the closure on your circumstances please contact the North West regional customer service team on 0303 0404 040 and select North West.
Ribble Link, courtesy Ian Taylor.
Money and time wasted on mindless vandalism
We heard from Dan Allen in the first example of recent work for boaters. In this second instalment, Dan talks about one of his more frustrating jobs:
"My team and I love going out and restoring and repairing the bits of the infrastructure that really improve the experience for boaters - of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a liveaboard boater too!
"We had some information that Aldersley Junction Bridge on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal has been vandalised. So, we visited the Grade II listed bridge and were frustrated to find that some mindless vandals had pushed six sandstone copings off of the bridge into the canal.
"The stones created a navigational hazard so we had to work quickly. Our first task was to remove the stones from the cut - easier said than done when they're very heavy and submerged! Once removed, we had to spend time reseating the stones on the parapet. We're pleased with our efforts but, ultimately, it's incredibly frustrating when we'd much rather be spending our time doing things that can make a real difference to a boater's lot."
Aldersley Junction Lock where the Birmingham Canal meets the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal.
Working for boaters – in numbers
While the article above gets in to the nitty gritty of a few examples, it is just scratching the surface of what’s been happening over the last two weeks. With over 2,000 miles of canals and rivers it’s nigh on impossible to list everything we’ve done (I’m sure you haven’t got a spare day to read the entire list!) but a scan of our stoppage notifications conveys that we’ve…
Removed 11 wind-blown trees that were impeding navigation
Carried out 11 general lock repairs such as repairing quoins, brickwork and beams
Conducted/facilitated ten bridge inspections
Repaired six bridges
Fixed five lock paddles
Fixed three customer service facilities (such as toilets)
Removed two sunken boats
Carried out two boater safety activities (such as placing buoys around hazards etc.)
Repaired two Elsans
Repaired two pump out stations
Repaired two culverts
Fixed (or in the process of fixing) two embankments
Two stoppages due to nesting birds
Carried out one dive survey
Since we started sharing these statistics (12 July 2024), the totals are:
Removed 34 wind-blown trees that were impeding navigation
Conducted/facilitated 25 bridge inspections
Carried out 22 general lock repairs such as repairing quoins and brickwork
Repaired 12 bridges
Repaired 12 pump out stations
Fixed 11 lock paddles
Fixed (or in the process of fixing) ten embankments
Fixed ten customer service facilities (such as toilets)
Repaired nine Elsans
Repaired four sluices
Removed four sunken boats
Carried out two boater safety activities (such as placing buoys around hazards etc.)
Repaired two culverts
Two stoppages due to nesting birds
Carried out one dive survey
Carried out one pilling project
Removed one sunken car
Annoyingly had to clear one lot of illegal fly tipping (well, one that required a stoppage, there were plenty more!)
Worked to control one invasive species (Pennywort)
The above list doesn’t include any work conducted purely on towpaths, water management, event applications processed and co-ordinated and so on – it’s just a flavour of what we’ve been doing to aid navigation!
Going through the locks at Caen Hill.
Maintenance, repair and restoration work this weekend
As someone who’s out on, or by, the water more often than most, you’ll know that there are times when we need to fix things that unexpectedly break. So, 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:
When restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off. Have a read of the article below to find out how to get stoppage notification alerts on your smartphone.
If you have any questions about a specific closure, or spot an error in our system, please get in touch.
Sowerby Bridge
Comment from the cut
In this edition, we visit ‘CruisingTheCut’ for our comment from the cut. The cut in question isn’t actually a cut but happens to be the highest canal aqueduct in the world – Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The last time it was drained the likes of The Black Eyed Peas and Gareth Gates were topping the charts and Tony Blair was Prime Minister.
With the draining of the aqueduct a relatively rare occurrence, how better to spend a few minutes than watching this excellent video made a few months ago?
If you’re one of the growing number of boaters who vlog and are interested in sharing with Boaters’ Update the interesting maintenance and repairs that you come across, do then do please get in touch.
Grassy towpath.
Cutting a fine balance
As a boater you’ll appreciate more than most that canals are unique environments. They are, in the large, manmade corridors connecting our countryside, towns and cities. Originally built for industry, throughout its 250-year history, our canal network has been used for navigation. And this role for navigation is at the core of the network today – with your, and the other 35,000 or so boats, at the heart of keeping canals alive.
Because we have boats using the network and maintenance to keep the canals navigable, we also, as a wonderful by-product, have a nature corridor that is so important for biodiversity – attracting the fish, insects, invertebrates, mammals and birds that help make canals such great places to be.
Unlike natural rivers, without that maintenance for navigation, canals run dry and disappear. And we know that in today’s society, canals’ role for nature is an integral part of what they offer.
So how we manage biodiversity and nature, alongside keeping the network navigable, is central to our work – they aren’t mutually exclusive, it can’t be a canal network solely for navigation or just for nature, it has to be for both.
Our current policy is that we cut four or five (depends on location) times a year, starting early in the spring, to cut back the grass ahead of the wildflower season, and then at intervals through to the end of October.
After the initial cut we deliberately leave around half of the front fringe uncut until the autumn to allow for wildflowers and the thriving ecology.
As you may have seen, not everything has gone to schedule this year with some cuts missed. We are picking some of those issues up locally. Of course, the very wet winter running into spring didn’t help as we were late getting out to some canals as we couldn’t get the mowers down such wet towpaths.
So, what else can we do?
Climate change with warmer and wetter summers that promote additional towpath growth isn’t going anywhere, so we need to invest more time, and of course, incur additional cost, to make it work.
To maintain the balance between navigation, towpath access and nature, our cutting programme will evolve slightly and we are considering an extra cut next year.
In addition, with immediate effect and in response to your feedback, we have a dedicated task force working specifically at locks, landings, moorings and they have been having an impact. We have funded two or three extra teams in each region for a six to eight week period and expect to spend around an extra £250k.
The feedback we’ve had from boaters about safe access is appreciated and very important to us – it’s been an absolute factor in the additional work that’s been mobilised.
Our volunteers are also providing more and more support and, together, we can make sure that our uniquely navigable canals are here for society and for wildlife, co-existing to Keep Canals Alive.
Last Edited: 26 July 2024
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