The last canal to freeze.

[Caprifool]

I do understand this can vary a lot. But in your own experience, which canal or canals tend to freeze last during a cold winter?

 

EDIT: In the UK silly! :-)

Edited October 7, 2011 by Caprifool

[Tim Lewis]

I do understand this can vary a lot. But in your own experience, which canal or canals tend to freeze last during a cold winter?

 

Canal Du Midi?

Edited October 7, 2011 by Tim Lewis

[P R]

Suez

[wrigglefingers]

I do understand this can vary a lot. But in your own experience, which canal or canals tend to freeze last during a cold winter?

 

They all bloody freeze!

 

The winter on the Shroppie last year however, was the coldest I've ever experienced. The wind coming across the Cheshire Plain was skin stripping, the ice was so thick it was cracking and moving in plates over a foot thick and when it did I've never heard a groaning sound like it. The temperature in the week before Christmas averaged below -13 degC and it didn't go above freezing for weeks. It was the vicious wind factor that really caused problems in my view causing me to be clamped to the side of the Squirrel with pneumonia after the pipe freeze just before Christmas. I was too ill to sort the problem out and never, ever, want to be that cold again.

 

On the whole, canals in the north tend to freeze up first but it's vary dependent on local micro-climates so it's difficult to draw conclusions. Although I've no doubt it's colder in Sweden!

[Guest]

They all bloody freeze!

 

The winter on the Shroppie last year however, was the coldest I've ever experienced. The wind coming across the Cheshire Plain was skin stripping, the ice was so thick it was cracking and moving in plates over a foot thick and when it did I've never heard a groaning sound like it. The temperature in the week before Christmas averaged below -13 degC and it didn't go above freezing for weeks. It was the vicious wind factor that really caused problems in my view causing me to be clamped to the side of the Squirrel with pneumonia after the pipe freeze just before Christmas. I was too ill to sort the problem out and never, ever, want to be that cold again.

 

On the whole, canals in the north tend to freeze up first but it's vary dependent on local micro-climates so it's difficult to draw conclusions. Although I've no doubt it's colder in Sweden!

 

 

I'd go with pretty much what Wriggly has said - the T&M froze last year (including our marina) This is it just as it was starting to freeze over last year.

 

 

as did the L&L which we visted by car one day - I also know from talking to fellow moorers at Lemonroyd where we now are it was really bad on the Aire & Calder - initially one of the big barges broke through but this refroze and left huge 'ridges' in the ice that took an age to thaw seemingly.

[magpie patrick]

Well, the Avon didn't freeze but the lock cuts at Weston and Keynsham did. The ice at Brassknocker Basin was so thick that the staff were routinely walking on it.

 

I understand Bristol Floating Harbour didn't freeze, and I don't think the Gloucester and Sharpness did (although Saul Junction Marina did), BFH and the G and S are very deep(20 feet plus).

[casper ghost]

They all bloody freeze!

 

The winter on the Shroppie last year however, was the coldest I've ever experienced.

Yes, it was very cold, though i've known it to be colder, it doesn't usually last as long.

The Llangollen doesn't freeze over as readily as other canals because of the current. It did freeze last winter but it thawed out quicker.

Casp' (who got frozen in close to Wriggley's boat).

[Caprifool]

Although I've no doubt it's colder in Sweden!

 

Yes, the last two winters were horrrible for us two, compared to what we normaly get here in southern Sweden. Two years in a row with 80 cm's snow and down to -29 for periods of time and a very low average. We had snow for six months last year. We have 500 meters to our letterbox and my legs are only 73 cm's I live protected in the woods, but my mum who's out on the flats had 2 meter drifts against her house. Hope we all get a normal winter this year. Which means -0 to -15C and snow up to our knees tops, for maybe 3 months.

 

Microclimates, yes....that's why I asked. There must be spots where people have noticed it takes longer to freeze in NORMAL winters. Local waterflow, temperature fluctuations, winds, inland....and so on...

[Naughty Cal]

The Fossdyke was bad last winter. Our marina was frozen for eight weeks. At the height of the freeze the ice was between 8 and 10 inches thick depending on location in the marina. One US cruise had to be cut free during an insurance salvage job. The ice squeezed the hull causing it to split from the superstructure. The insurers paid for the boat to be cut out and craned out of the marina. It was quite a salvage job including many tradesmen including divers.

[Pluto]

On the Saimaa Canal in Finland, the lower mitre gates are centrally heated to extend their operating season. The upper gates lower vertically into the water, and they are normally kept lowered so that they don't get iced up. To work on the lock side, you have to be attached to a safety line to save you from slipping into the water.

[Lesd]

The last ones to freeze will usually be canals with sections that have a good flow, normally where rives run in and out of the cut or somewhere like the llangollen that flows to provide water supplies. Did that one freeze eventually last year ? Im guessing it did as it was a tad chilly all over the UK last winter !

[pearley]

as did the L&L which we visted by car one day - I also know from talking to fellow moorers at Lemonroyd where we now are it was really bad on the Aire & Calder - initially one of the big barges broke through but this refroze and left huge 'ridges' in the ice that took an age to thaw seemingly.

 

We were stuck at Lemonroyd outside the marina last winter. The ice on the canal never got more than about 3 inches thick. The freeze started at the very end of November, after about 10 days it thawed a little and BW took their tug 'Eric of Lincoln' up towards Leeds but gave up just by the M1 bridge. A pity as they only had another 100 yards tpo go to clear water all the way to Leeds. We had hoped to follow them as we had booked a winter mooring in Clarence Dock.

 

The tanker barges continued to run throughout the iced up period except for a couple of weeks over Xmas/New Year. It was pretty horendous. The tanker would leave the lock pushing a huge sheet of ice in front together with us and the other couple of boats that were also stuck. Eventually the mooring ropes would be stretched taut and the ice would crack and large sheets would be pushed up on top of each other aqnd the boat would heave to and fro and side to side. No fun if you were still in bed! The earth literally moved!

 

This year we're going to find a mooring earlier.

 

I understand that Castleford Cut stayed free of ice.

 

Regards

Pete

Edited October 7, 2011 by pearley

[Weyland Yutani]

This is Cropredy last year - filmed from Berengaria

 

[Redeye]

This is Cropredy last year - filmed from Berengaria

 

 

The Soar didn't freeze last year although the lock cuts were frozen solid.

[cotswoldsman]

This is Cropredy last year - filmed from Berengaria

 

 

 

You filmed that all the way from Cyprus?

[magpie patrick]

This is Cropredy last year - filmed from Berengaria

 

 

So those funny shaped bows have a practical use then? It's effective at ice breaking certainly

[Lady Muck]

 

I understand that Castleford Cut stayed free of ice.

 

Regards

Pete

 

It's very rare for the Aire and Calder to freeze because the power stations use canal water for cooling purposes, pumping warm water back into the canal after it's been used.

[Capt Ahab]

I do understand this can vary a lot. But in your own experience, which canal or canals tend to freeze last during a cold winter?

 

EDIT: In the UK silly! :-)

Something low lying, in the south and crucially with a significant flow on it - preferably in an urban area or near the coast which offers a micro climate benefit.

[matty40s]

Something low lying, in the south and crucially with a significant flow on it - preferably in an urban area or near the coast which offers a micro climate benefit.

 

 

I know MR, I know........

 

Paddington arm and basin only totally froze for about 5 days last winter, the rest of the Regents and GU for much longer. The central London heat, along with the architecture of all the new buildings round the basin incorporating the basin water into their inner workings meant that there was no depth to any ice formation. The really severe temps seemed to start from the M25 Northwards. On Christmas Day I left the basin at 7am, temp -1deg c,by junc 4 of the m1, was -5deg c,at jnc 5 the cloud base was cleared and it dropped to -12 deg c and by the time I reached Leicester it was -22 deg c, coldest point was the basin before Jnc 19,-24 deg c at 9am with the sun shining.

[GUMPY]

Microclimates, yes....that's why I asked. There must be spots where people have noticed it takes longer to freeze in NORMAL winters. Local waterflow, temperature fluctuations, winds, inland....and so on...

 

The GU between lock 59 and 58 normally doesn't freeze even when its -5C

last year it froze as they have reopened the outflow upstream (only took 9 years of moaning about the high level) but only for a couple of days or so.

 

 

The reason is that the sewage farm empties into the canal just below 58 and the flow and warm water stops it freezing