Trent & Mersey Stoppage

[Arthur Marshall]

"Ends at: Lock 67 Booth Lane Top Lock

Descriptions
Update 26 July 2026, 1:09pm
Unfortunately with the leakage problems through Lock 69, apart from letting boats through that where stuck in the pounds, we have had to keep this closure in place on Lock 67 & 68 to help retain water as much as possible. We are currently looking at plans to make urgent repairs to lock 69 which will be assessed during the week, along with how we will maintain some sort of passage until these interim repairs can be completed.

Original 25 July 2026, 12:57pm
Navigation is closed between Lock 67 and Lock 68 on the Trent & Mersey Canal due to the paddles being left open, resulting in low water levels. Our local team are aware of the situation and are currently on site, feeding water down to the affected area to restore water levels. Unfortunately levels have not restored sufficiently and we must keep the closure in place, we hope that it will recover during Saturday so we can open Sunday morning 26/07/2026. a team member should be there for 9.00am to review situation and open if levels have recovered sufficiently."

 

 

Somebody's noticed that Lock 69 is knackered.  Luckily, it's the only one on the system that's got a leakage problem, so there's no need to worry about any of the others. I doubt they'll ever give us that app to report problems, myself, because what's the point?

And before Ian goes on the attack, it's not CRT inefficiency. There's been no money for decades to do anything but stopgap, emergency fixes, which, basically, are now all starting to fail at once. Still, it makes boating an adventure again, just like in Rolt's day...

[ditchcrawler]

39 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

"Ends at: Lock 67 Booth Lane Top Lock

Descriptions
Update 26 July 2026, 1:09pm
Unfortunately with the leakage problems through Lock 69, apart from letting boats through that where stuck in the pounds, we have had to keep this closure in place on Lock 67 & 68 to help retain water as much as possible. We are currently looking at plans to make urgent repairs to lock 69 which will be assessed during the week, along with how we will maintain some sort of passage until these interim repairs can be completed.

Original 25 July 2026, 12:57pm
Navigation is closed between Lock 67 and Lock 68 on the Trent & Mersey Canal due to the paddles being left open, resulting in low water levels. Our local team are aware of the situation and are currently on site, feeding water down to the affected area to restore water levels. Unfortunately levels have not restored sufficiently and we must keep the closure in place, we hope that it will recover during Saturday so we can open Sunday morning 26/07/2026. a team member should be there for 9.00am to review situation and open if levels have recovered sufficiently."

 

 

Somebody's noticed that Lock 69 is knackered.  Luckily, it's the only one on the system that's got a leakage problem, so there's no need to worry about any of the others. I doubt they'll ever give us that app to report problems, myself, because what's the point?

And before Ian goes on the attack, it's not CRT inefficiency. There's been no money for decades to do anything but stopgap, emergency fixes, which, basically, are now all starting to fail at once. Still, it makes boating an adventure again, just like in Rolt's day...

I thought it drained because the paddles were left up, maybe it was just the leak. One or two on the S&W won't last much longer 

[haggis]

Being at home and not having our guide here I think I am remembering correctly that this is on the stretch between Wheelock and Middlewich which we came down a few days ago..

The levels in Wheelock were down and we  made sure we were the  first boat to set off in the morning. We were aware of 2 or 3 boats planning the same journey. While I don't remember the pounds being particularly low they must have been as at some of the locks the top gates opened when the level on the lock was about 15 inches down and we were stirring up mud leaving the locks. 

There was no water running over the lock  weirs.

Yet the 3 middlewich locks seemed ok.

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

"Due to the continuation of dry weather and persistently low water levels, navigation is closed between Lock 41 and Lock 71 on the Trent & Mersey Canal.
We will continue to monitor the situation daily, and as soon as the water levels have recovered sufficiently to allow for safe navigation, the closure will be lifted.
While water holdings across the canal network are higher than they were at this point last year, hot and dry weather can create extra challenges for boating and water supply.
To make the most of the water we have in the reservoirs, we're trying to tailor the feed very accurately to the demand so water doesn't go to waste."

 

I especially like the bit about there being more water than usual, but they're tailoring the supply so it isn't wasted. Presumably by people with boats going boating on it.

That's the whole stretch from the summit to Middlewich. No scheduled review till Aug 11.

[haggis]

So glad we escaped 😃

[Col_T]

3 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

being more water than usual

What they said was . . .

3 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

water holdings across the canal network are higher than they were at this point last year

Higher than last year does not mean more than usual.

 

End pedant mode!

[Arthur Marshall]

48 minutes ago, Col_T said:

What they said was . . .

Higher than last year does not mean more than usual.

 

End pedant mode!

So, was everything shut this time last year? I can't actually remember, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

[The History Man]

I’m thinking of Eric Morecambe right now. 
 

“We have all the water but not necessarily in the right place……” 

[phantom_iv]

On 26/07/2026 at 14:40, Arthur Marshall said:

Somebody's noticed that Lock 69 is knackered.  Luckily, it's the only one on the system that's got a leakage problem, so there's no need to worry about any of the others.

Interestingly (and slightly off topic) the recent issues with lack of water and breaches have caused CRT to notice that Hurleston locks leak like sieves and have embarked on an effort to fix them to be less leaky. One wonders how much they could achieve on the rest of the network if they looked at leakages with similar intent

[dogless]

After a long day yesterday, we've made it to Stone ...  off the Macclesfield, putting the Cheshire locks, Harecastle tunnel and Meaford lock restrictions behind us.

 

Hopefully we can relax a little now.

 

However poor we may consider CRT management of the system to be, they are not responsible for the weather.

 

If they can continue with giving advance notice of impending restrictions and closures, so we can avoid getting 'locked in' like poor @haggis I will be happy.

 

We'll be ankle deep in mud again soon enough ... all things must pass.

 

Rog

 

[haggis]

You have made the right decision to go south where hopefully you will be able to enjoy some unrestricted boating .

[Dave123]

On 29/07/2026 at 23:11, phantom_iv said:

Interestingly (and slightly off topic) the recent issues with lack of water and breaches have caused CRT to notice that Hurleston locks leak like sieves and have embarked on an effort to fix them to be less leaky. One wonders how much they could achieve on the rest of the network if they looked at leakages with similar intent

I noticed this with some interest too. I assume they were forced into fixing (or closing) Hurleston because they were draining the pound that feeds the reservoir. It's a shame they won't be as proactive elsewhere, eg to fix the issues at Atherstone so the main north south route could stay open a bit longer...

[Stroudwater1]

It would be interesting to see if using the side ponds again on Atherstone would help. Would they fill or empty the locks a bit faster? They with Glascote must be the slowest fillers on the network which may worsen  water loss? 

[matty40s]

7 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

It would be interesting to see if using the side ponds again on Atherstone would help. Would they fill or empty the locks a bit faster? They with Glascote must be the slowest fillers on the network which may worsen  water loss? 

Unless they are all operational, there is no benefit. 

[Stroudwater1]

10 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Unless they are all operational, there is no benefit. 

It may not work like this but if one of the more leaky locks had a side pond it would fill faster. So paddles up for a shorter time so pound above drains through leaky lock less quickly? 

[ditchcrawler]

20 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

It would be interesting to see if using the side ponds again on Atherstone would help. Would they fill or empty the locks a bit faster? They with Glascote must be the slowest fillers on the network which may worsen  water loss? 

What @matty40s said and I would suggest slower