Another ratchet down the slippery slope to CRT bankruptcy.

[MoominPapa]

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/wales-and-south-west/gloucester-and-sharpness-canal-and-river-severn-navigation-summer-2023-changes

 

Whatever happened to the scheme to boater operate the bridges via a mobile phone?

 

MP.

[MtB]

The navigation "open" from 8am to 6pm?!

 

That sets a worrying precedent. Between about 5pm and dusk in the summer is my favourite part of the "cruising day". Never mind night-time cruising.

[MoominPapa]

The G&S is dotted with keeper-operated swing bridges. You can move as much as you want at night, but once you get to a swing bridge your boat won't go under, the navigation is effectively closed until there's a worker there to open it. I doubt they've ever been open 24/7, and certainly not in living memory.

 

MP.

[Rob-M]

Closing at 6pm is a pain as it makes it difficult to get from Saul junction to Gloucester docks after work which is what we used to so that we could go out through Gloucester lock at 8am to make Worcester before the lock shuts at Diglis and doing the same in reverse.  When you use the boat for holidays and moor at Saul we wanted to do the Severn section as quick as we could as it was the bit we did every holiday.

 

Are other regular trip was from Saul to Gloucester, go out for Sunday lunch and then return, as we allowed 4 hours for the trip between Gloucester and Saul it would make Sunday lunch a rush rather than a relaxing outing as you need to get through Junction bridge at the end of the trip.  I could see restrictions impacting the moorings on the G & S and it become a back water for more liveaboard CMers.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Rob-M
To remove the merge that replicated the first paragraph

[enigmatic]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

The navigation "open" from 8am to 6pm?!

 

That sets a worrying precedent. Between about 5pm and dusk in the summer is my favourite part of the "cruising day". Never mind night-time cruising.

 

Tbf, I'm pretty sure last time I cruised down to the Severn navigation on a balmy late spring late afternoon a local pointed out I was better off staying in Stourport because I wasn't getting through any locks. Presumably the "opening hours" were only ever later than 6pm for 2-3 summer months...

[Dave123]

They need to find a way to make the bridges and locks on the Severn boater operated out of hours, same with the Weaver. Boaters can operate the big locks on the south Yorkshire and trent navigations so why not these?

I read once somewhere this was because there was no way to set them to only a 'slow filling' option?

[Athy]

You'd better not ry boating in France. Not only do canal locks have fixed opening hours (I think it's eight till six) but, at least on the canals where we've had hire boats, they close for lunch too!

 

[Stilllearning]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

You'd better not ry boating in France. Not only do canal locks have fixed opening hours (I think it's eight till six) but, at least on the canals where we've had hire boats, they close for lunch too!

 

And a proper lunch too. 12h til  14h.

[Athy]

1 minute ago, Stilllearning said:

And a proper lunch too. 12h til  14h.

I almost mentioned that. In our limited experience, largely on the Canal de Garonne, the traditional and civilised French two-hour lunch was NOT observed. It was either 12 till 1 or 1 till 2, can't remember which.

[Stilllearning]

4 minutes ago, Athy said:

I almost mentioned that. In our limited experience, largely on the Canal de Garonne, the traditional and civilised French two-hour lunch was NOT observed. It was either 12 till 1 or 1 till 2, can't remember which.

My only experience is on the Canal du Midi, and I can’t remember either, to be honest.

 

 

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, Athy said:

I almost mentioned that. In our limited experience, largely on the Canal de Garonne, the traditional and civilised French two-hour lunch was NOT observed. It was either 12 till 1 or 1 till 2, can't remember which.

 

12 till 1 is breakfast time in my world.... 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

35 minutes ago, Athy said:

I almost mentioned that. In our limited experience, largely on the Canal de Garonne, the traditional and civilised French two-hour lunch was NOT observed. It was either 12 till 1 or 1 till 2, can't remember which.

When I was there they went on strike with the air traffic control guys, so we didn't go anywhere that day

[Athy]

59 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

When I was there they went on strike with the air traffic control guys, so we didn't go anywhere that day

We had that in, I think, 2019, near Briare.

[john6767]

5 hours ago, MtB said:

The navigation "open" from 8am to 6pm?!

 

That sets a worrying precedent. Between about 5pm and dusk in the summer is my favourite part of the "cruising day". Never mind night-time cruising.

It has been 8 to 7 in the summer for years, I am less concerned by closing the bridges an hour earlier, than with the closing a day a week.  I guess with planning the half the canal every other day could work, but not impressed at all with this.

[Steve56]

6 hours ago, john6767 said:

It has been 8 to 7 in the summer for years, I am less concerned by closing the bridges an hour earlier, than with the closing a day a week.  I guess with planning the half the canal every other day could work, but not impressed at all with this.

As you say it has been 8 to 7 for many years. I also remember the time when it was open 7 days a week winter and summer. But going back many years in the old BW days, and at a time when they were so say short of money they did a similar exercise. After discussions with the boaters forum that was running at the time it was agreed to have the 2 day winter closing as a temporary measure. This was to last a year or two and then back to normal. I think we all know how that ended up. All I would say is be very careful, I think once implemented it will not go back. 

As for the staggering amounts of money that has been spent, so say making the bridges suitable for boater operation. The trouble is they just won't let the boaters use them. Patch bridge was done for this purpose. It is ready to go. Just need your BW key to operate the consul. But CRT will not let this happen. When there is no bridge keeper the power is turned off and a padlock fitted to the bridge. In fact nearly every bridge with the big silver consul outside the bridge hut could be operated by a boater. The odd one out is Sandfield bridge which was going to be operated with a phone app, but they could never get it to work safely. There have been many cases cases where it has either stuck open or closed. Or the barriers have come down with a person or car stuck on the bridge unable to get off. 

But good old CRT, all they want to do is give us all a massive price hike and cut the services at the same time.

 

[Jon57]

8 hours ago, Steve56 said:

As you say it has been 8 to 7 for many years. I also remember the time when it was open 7 days a week winter and summer. But going back many years in the old BW days, and at a time when they were so say short of money they did a similar exercise. After discussions with the boaters forum that was running at the time it was agreed to have the 2 day winter closing as a temporary measure. This was to last a year or two and then back to normal. I think we all know how that ended up. All I would say is be very careful, I think once implemented it will not go back. 

As for the staggering amounts of money that has been spent, so say making the bridges suitable for boater operation. The trouble is they just won't let the boaters use them. Patch bridge was done for this purpose. It is ready to go. Just need your BW key to operate the consul. But CRT will not let this happen. When there is no bridge keeper the power is turned off and a padlock fitted to the bridge. In fact nearly every bridge with the big silver consul outside the bridge hut could be operated by a boater. The odd one out is Sandfield bridge which was going to be operated with a phone app, but they could never get it to work safely. There have been many cases cases where it has either stuck open or closed. Or the barriers have come down with a person or car stuck on the bridge unable to get off. 

But good old CRT, all they want to do is give us all a massive price hike and cut the services at the same time.

 

Same on the tidal trent. Lock keepers only working one tide time to save money which makes it harder to navigate sometimes. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

I'm worried by this sentence:

 

"The [Severn] locks will remain open seven days a week, however, Bevere and Holt will operate on a timed service."

 

It doesn't say what a "timed service" might be, but in the context of Sellars Bridge, they explain the phrase like this: "the bridge will open at set times during the day, for example 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm".

 

Bevere is busy - it's on the Droitwich Ring which is a favourite with hire-boaters. There isn't really anywhere comfortable to tie up and wait upstream, just the high piling in the lock cut. (Or I suppose you could sit on the Hawford landing below the Droitwich entrance.)

 

Closing the Severn locks an hour early isn't great anywhere - there are so few visitor moorings on the river that you're going to be a bit stranded if you arrive at Diglis from downstream five minutes after the lockie goes home. But making Bevere part-time is crazy.

[mrsmelly]

On 02/03/2023 at 15:14, MtB said:

 

12 till 1 is breakfast time in my world.... 

 

 

Absolooooootely. Breakfast in spoons yesterday at 1130, ( spoons now do brekky until 1200 ) very sensible. Brekky today in Ffab was early at 1110 😁

[system 4-50]

9 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Absolooooootely. Breakfast in spoons yesterday at 1130, ( spoons now do brekky until 1200 ) very sensible. Brekky today in Ffab was early at 1110 😁

Please keep quiet about breakfast.  Full English was always my favourite but now I've become allergic to bacon!  (It gives me leg cramps.)

[Jim Riley]

On 02/03/2023 at 10:59, MtB said:

The navigation "open" from 8am to 6pm?!

 

That sets a worrying precedent. Between about 5pm and dusk in the summer is my favourite part of the "cruising day". Never mind night-time cruising.

You could try the well lit manchester canals for your night time cruising. 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Jim Riley