Regional Round-up South - August 2024

A cut above in Warwickshire

Easenhall Cutting on the Oxford Canal is once again open to navigation after a major landslip forced its closure. The incident in February occurred after excessive rainfall caused a 60-foot-high section of embankment to slip into the canal, blocking the channel and towpath.

We acted quickly to alert the public and secure the site, before setting about the enormous task of shifting the debris and repairing the damage. Our team began by installing a 300-metre-long access road across neighbouring fields, before digging down the bank to remove the estimated 4,000 tonnes of material that had slid into the canal.

The landslip, near the village of Brinklow in Warwickshire, is part of a much wider problem, as unpredictable weather events take their toll on our canals and rivers. As our principal engineer, Vaughan Felton explains: “It’s an illustration of the impact climate change is having on our 250-year-old canal network, both in the damage itself, caused by saturation from extreme winter storms, and in the way the persistent wet weather presented a series of challenges in the repair work.”

While work is ongoing, Easenhall Cutting has now been reopened to boaters, with the towpath expected to be fully reinstalled later this summer. “Our team has worked hard in difficult conditions to get the canal back into a navigable state,” says Vaughan, “and it will be great to see boats back on this popular route once more.”

Celebrating a major milestone in Somerset

This summer marks 30 years since the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal was reopened, and canal lovers in Somerset celebrated in style, with a flotilla of boats and two days of festivities.

Built nearly two centuries ago, the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal was once a busy trade route, bustling with narrowboats laden with coal, iron and produce. In the latter part of the 19th century, traffic began to dwindle, and by 1907, the canal was effectively closed to navigation. Though it would find a new role as a local water supply, as the years wore on, the canal slipped into disuse and disrepair.

Work to restore the canal began in the mid-1970s, after a long campaign by the Inland Waterways Association and Somerset County Council, and in 1994, it was finally reopened. Thirty years on, visitors lined the towpath to watch a flotilla of specially decorated boats cruise down the canal, kicking off two days of celebrations.

“It’s a special milestone,” says Mark Evans, our regional director. “Throughout history, the canal has brought trade and prosperity to Somerset and today it continues to play an important role for people and wildlife.”

Across 8 and 9 June, residents marked the anniversary with a special celebration. Prizes were given out for the best decorated boat, food and drink were on offer, and local flautist, Camilla, kept the crowds entertained long into the evening.

A carnival atmosphere on the Grand Union Canal

Crowds gathered on the banks of the Grand Union Canal in June, as the Hayes Canal Festival returned to the capital. With plenty of activities on offer, on and off the water, there was fun for all the family.

Now in its tenth year, the festival is a celebration of everything the canal has to offer, raising awareness of the health and wellbeing benefits to be found by water and encouraging local people to make the most of this wonderful resource, right on their doorstep.

On the day, hundreds turned out for the event, enjoying the sunshine and soaking up the carnival atmosphere. “I’m always delighted to see the people of Hayes engage with the activities on offer,” says Ros Daniels, our director for London & South East. “From boat trips and paddleboarding to live music and children’s entertainment, there really is something for everyone.”

Our canals provide vital blue and green spaces, often right in the heart of busy towns and cities, giving people a tranquil escape from the hubbub of modern life, where they can walk, cycle, fish and enjoy wildlife.

At a time when our resources are stretched so thin, amid escalating costs and future funding cuts, events like the Hayes Canal Festival are a welcome reminder of how our canals can improve people’s lives and bring communities together.