Dave123

Or moor in Macclesfield/Burnley/Hebden bridge and take a train😅🤷‍♂️

They have them in B'ham still and they don't get vandalised... Also I saw the pounds around red bull were empty again...suspected vandalism/drunks opening paddles at night. Won't help the water levels.

In an earlier notice when CRT lifted the time restrictions at the locks on and off the summit they optimistically said they now had enough water in the L&L reservoirs for the rest of the season...hopefully they were right!

Peel really are appalling. Someone needs to take that canal away from them! I suppose the only place to go is above the first lock of the Rochdale.

The T&M from Great Haywood down is fine as it's fed by the staff's and Worcs which is fed by Wolverhampton sewage works😅

Caldon Canal closed, Trent & Mersey at risk Notice Alert Caldon Canal Location: Lock 10 Hazelhurst Top Lock to Froghall, Caldon Canal Starts At: Lock 10 Hazelhurst Top Lock Ends At: Bridge 55, Foxt Road Bridge Up Stream Winding Hole: Winding Hole, Hazelhurst Wednesday 22 September 2021 09:00 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Water resources Original message: Due to low water levels along the majority of Caldon Canal and Trent & Mersey Canal, the section of navigation from Lock 10 Hazlehurst Top Lock to Froghall will be closed from Wednesday 22nd September until further notice. We will review regularly and provide update as situation changes. Apparently Harecastle tunnel has been closed on and off too for the same reason. Is this connected to reservoir draw down for post-Toddbrook maintenance checks?

There is a photo doing the rounds on Facebook of the two passing below Lemonroyd lock. A reason to be on Facebook if nothing else is😂

Well this was the 48h moorings at the Fox and Anchor in Cross Green on the Staffs&Worcs yesterday. August bank holiday at 4pm and not a single boat on the rings! I can remember first coming here May 2012 and having to go right past round the corner before finding a space. I think what used to make a mooring popular is perhaps changing, for all sorts of reasons?

Middlewich to the bottom of Audlem was heaving earlier this month. Really enjoyed being a gongoozler in Nantwich for the day I moored there. Having come round the Trent and L&L most of the summer I haven't seen many boats moving at all! Saw some interesting traffic jams by the aqueduct in Nantwich caused by boats trying to pass on the tight bend😂. Shroppie much quieter once above the first lock in Audlem though.

Mooring in Castlefield junction is still fine, use the Staffordshire arm. I stayed 2 nights back in July and there was space for other boats the whole time. You can moor on both sides of each fork of the arm even though it looks quite narrow...but if you haven't been before it can look too tight and this may be behind some of the stories that Castlefield is full up😅

They are closing Shipton lift bridge outside Thrupp for 3 months! That seems excessive.

The Trent is a wonderful river. Some really nice moorings. Gunthorpe to Hazelford is especially pretty. I think a search on here will bring a list of mooring sites. Some have limited space so I'd aim to stop early

A duplicate thread on this in stoppages...

Saw the Manchester evening news article. Very sad and probably made worse by an audience from the pub garden right by that lock! A lot of speculation on Facebook that excessive water flowing over the top gates (as is common on the rochdale) may have been the cause but I'd have thought a cratch cover and well deck drains should have prevented this?

That's interesting actually as I've generally assumed my tick over to be around 2-2.5mph and 3-3.5 mph achievable on a normal narrow canal at 'cruising revs'. Managed 3.75mph on the Bridgewater. Probably going around a lot of tight bends slows progress? Anyway, my point was I doubt all boats are slowing down for Woodseaves which won't help it's stability.

Judging by the speed everyone on the Shroppie goes at I doubt many have gone past the landslide REALLY slow as they are meant to (saying 2mph is useless as how many boats have speedometers or a gps app). I also think I read somewhere that Woodseaves is the single most expensive structure/feature on the waterways to maintain?

Can confirm the Wigan flight crew are excellent. The Facebook page is also useful for finding another boat to share with. Didn't find the locks nearly as daunting as I had expected. They were easy to operate and pleasant surrounds that felt clean and safe the whole way down! Boats do regularly moor in the pound with mooring rings about two thirds of the way from the top. Also look at the notes under the documents sections of the Facebook page. The volunteers have amassed an extrodinary wealth of detail on the operation and peculiarities of every single lock, such as which gates can stick if opened fully or tend to swing shut etc!

Also nice moorings at Dobcross by the facilities block, either side of Scout Tunnel, by Roaches lock (halfway between Uppermill and Stalybridge) and at the start of the Peak Forest before the lift bridge.

Hi, the nicest moorings before Blackburn are Riley green. Rings and armco and lots of space. There was also some armco and possible mooring around Stanworth bridge, if you want to get a bit closer before going up Blackburn the next day. Apparently people do stay overnight in Cherry tree too, there are a few rings here but some of the concrete has fallen into the canal, and it's a bit more urban although seemingly a pleasant enough suburb. Only stopped there briefly for the very handy sainsburys though. Blackburn was really quite pleasant to go through. Much nicer than I expected and locks in good condition, unlike those further east! After the locks Eanam wharf where the carribean restaurant is is safe or by bridge 106 and Rishton reservoir if you want something quieter and rural. Depth at the towpath isn't great on much of this bit of the L&L (and my boat is very shallow drafted!) but there was 1 boat length ok here. Otherwise Rishton visitor moorings has 2 boats length or plenty of nice deep armco before bridge 110. 😁😁 I have just come back that way. It's a beautiful canal and so quiet compared to the Midlands! Didn't take long when getting back to the Bridgewater to experience the first boat pulled free of a mooring and general canal rage 😂 Safe travels!

I agree with the restricted openings to be honest. It does put people off making unnecessary journeys through the locks, you'd be surprised how many hire boats go through some extra locks just to turn and go right back again. It also deters people making leisurely north/south transits (like me) and sends us the sensible way via the Coventry or B'ham 😂. All of which hopefully saves enough water for the locks to stay open for those that have to go that way 😁

Someone said the paddle may have been damaged already in a separate incident....still odd though

Saw this photo on Facebook of the middle gates at Bunbury on the lower Shroppie. A mystery as to how the ground paddle has shattered like that? A road vehicle hitting it and the gate hard enough to do that surely wouldn't have been able to drive off?

Maybe it's an angling association and they want to remain anonymous 😅

I have a very shallow drafted Liverpool hull, just under 2ft I think, and only needed a gangplank once on the K&A. It depends how happy you are to hop across a short gap to get on and off at some places. And what kind of cruising and mooring you plan to do.

I spent a considerable part of the last 3 years on the K&A as far west as Devizes. Cant comment on specifics of the Bath/BoA stretch, haven't been there in 12 years but I suspect covid is behind any recent changes. This has been the case elsewhere in the country where it has been easy for people to get permission to remain on visitor moorings, whether rightly or wrongly. The points I was trying make relates to the rest of the K&A. The OP mentioned Hungerford, Devizes and Newbury. I was curious as to the expectations of the OP regarding mooring availability in addition to mooring vacancy. If the OP had hired (Which it sounds like) I think hire companies need to give more route advice. Eg this stretch is usually full early, this stretch is unsuitable to moor to, this stretch always has space. As an anecdote, I've been moored at Thatcham on the VMs, with space for another boat yet overhead a passing hire boat heading to Newbury, late evening, saying let's just carry on for another 30 minutes, unaware the next viable mooring is Newbury which can be 3 to 4 hours cruise.