Chasbo

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/transport/2017/12/23/lorries-block-shropshire-road-after-satnav-error/ The lanes around Whixall are narrow even for a car!

Travelling back from Llangollen last Monday the aqueduct was as busy as I have ever seen it. I had to wait for seven boats before I could cross. When I reached the end of the aqueduct there were boats waiting for me to complete the crossing. There was also a man and a young child in an inflatable canoe who clearly could not control their craft. It was necessary for me to quickly engage reverse to avoid a collision with them. I suggested to them that this was not a suitable place for their canoe and reminded them that my boat weighed 17 tons, had no brakes, had limited steering as I left the aqueduct, and that it was not possible to see what was immediately if front of the bow. A woman on the towpath who I presume was the wife and mother of the pair in the canoe said to me that they had every right to be paddling there. Was she correct? I have looked on the CaRT website but can find no reference to canoes and aqueducts.

Thanks, Saltysplash, that's the information I was looking for.

"Google is your friend !!!" I am very friendly with google, but I wanted a recommendation. "If you are not building a boat, why do you need a boat shell builder???" A waterproof steel structure with a sliding hatch, windows, steps and a lockable door are things that a boatbuilder should be good at.

steel - Yes narrow - No wide - No sea - No canal - No river - No budget - whatever it takes High quality - yes I didn't say the project was a boat, but it does need the skills of a boatbuilder. CB

My son has asked if I find a boatbuilder for a project he has in Folkestone. Can anyone recommend a boatbuilder in the Kent area? A builder of shells preferably rather than a fitter out. Thanks CB

The first few miles would be very good. The stretch around Welsh Frankton would be bad. CB

I have just noticed this. http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2015/01/21/road-may-have-to-close-as-crane-called-in-to-lift-lorry-from-canal/ No need for a stoppage. This stretch of the Monty is unnavigable even without this obstruction.

No, I ran away and hid when the photographer came!

I have had ten archaeologists digging my garden all week. Unfortunately they were using little pointing trowels and not spades but they have uncovered a little more of the stonework at the western terminus of the Shropshire Canal. The local paper misquoted me. I never mentioned 1858 - I don't know where they got that date from. The most interesting thing they found were the bones of a pet dog I buried 25 years ago! http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/09/05/dig-reveals-canal-basin-under-telford-garden/

At Whixall Moss on the Langollen Canal there is a mile long straight which is half in England and half in Wales. New signs have appeared on the English side of the border forbidding mooring. Does anyone know why? I don't really think anyone would want to moor there and I cannot remember ever seeing a boat there. Very strange!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I will make some enquiries tomorrow to find out, if I can, exactly when the image was taken and what if any other techniques were involved. If the LiDAR had shown that the shaft was near the surface and had not been properly capped or filled it would involve me in great expense. (How much would it cost to fill a hole 120 feet deep and 10 foot diameter!) CB

Thanks for those links Richard. I think the second link gives me the answer - that the software is too clever for its own good. I wondered that too. But it is too much of a coincidence that the gap in the data is just where the shaft is. There are other black areas on the rest of the image ( that I did not include) but these are all heavy shadow due to a steep gradient.

Thanks for looking John. No, there is nothing visible there on the surface. no vegetation, no water just part of the drive outside my house. Hi Paul, That is what I thought as well. The first image shows the area with vegetation and the second one shows the same area with not just vegetation removed but also buildings and even a bridge removed. How can it do that unless the laser can penetrate bricks and tiles.

Has anyone got any experience of interpreting LiDAR images? I know this request is not exactly canal related but my garden is at the western terminus of the Shropshire tub boat canal and a friend has given me a copy of the LiDAR image showing the area around my house. The image shows an “anomaly” at about the position where it is thought one of the shafts of the tunnel and shaft system should be. If this anomaly is caused by the shaft then the laser must be able to penetrate at least 12 inches of crushed stone plus whatever else is capping off the shaft. Surely this is not possible? The image can be found www.oldwynd.co.uk/lidarimages.doc The anomaly is the black dot half way down the image on the left hand side just to the north east of a hollow. More information at www.oldwynd.co.uk/history.html