Kennet & Avon Canal: Bridge 62, West Mills Swingbrdge

[MtB]

From the CRT winter stoppages notices PDF:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/static_maps/Kennet_Avon_A4.pdf

 

"Bridge 62, West Mills Swingbrdge

25/01/2016 - 04/03/2016

Our Contractor will be installing
drop arm barriers including a new
user pedestal, a major service to
the hydraulic system, and a new
control panel.

Please note, road access across
the bridge should not be affected
by these works."

[Neilpeapod]

I've heard from other boaters that the CRT are saying that the bridge will be open on the 9 Nov unfortunately that's the day they are set to close Pewsey embankment which is nearly 2 days away. I am finding it difficult to get any info from the CRT by phone or on their website. Is anyone else heading west on K and A and needing to get through the bridge? Or does anyone have any further news?

[Dinz]

I've heard from other boaters that the CRT are saying that the bridge will be open on the 9 Nov unfortunately that's the day they are set to close Pewsey embankment which is nearly 2 days away. I am finding it difficult to get any info from the CRT by phone or on their website. Is anyone else heading west on K and A and needing to get through the bridge? Or does anyone have any further news?

Talking to a CRT guy tuesday who was trying to refill the pound after the Caen hill event & game plan is Swing bridge open on or about the 9th nov.

There is then a stoppage at Pewsey wharf [Damming off] to repair the Wharf.

This is due to start also on the 9th so may well be delayed a week or so to let traffic through.

The wharf to re-open christ-mass time.

Then the VM's to be repaired after.

Note;- this was just a couple of blokes chatting on the towpath not the gospel truth.

Expect reality to plus or minus a month or so on all dates

Of course the damage caused at Caen hill may divert some funds?

See the flight is shut again.

[Neilpeapod]

I've just spoken to the CRT and have been informed that west mills bridge will be open at noon on the 4th Nov however Caen hill flight is shut due to the embankment being in danger of breaching. Can anyone recommended a haulage company for us to get to Keynsham?

[Jim Batty]

This is the latest info:

 

"Contractors will be on site on Tuesday 3 November and Wednesday 4 November installing a temporary fix in order for the bridge to be operated manually and allow boats through.

 

We will operate the bridge from Wednesday 4th November on a daily basis between midday and 1pm, including weekends until further notice.

 

We are aiming for the bridge to be swung for the first time at around 2pm on Wednesday and will update as work progresses throughout the two days."

 

-------

 

Link to the relevant CRT page: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/4833/bridge-62-west-mills-swingbridge

 

------

 

At the moment, CRT customer services response to emails can take 4 days, (this is our experience), apparently due to the abundance of enquiries.

 

We're heading for the noon-1pm window on Saturday, but we've been meeting a number of boats on the eastern K&A pacing themselves to arrive at the swing bridge later this week (as well as the previous 9 November announcement) ... trying to negotiate their way to Bath and Bristol.

 

Edited November 3, 2015 by Jim Batty

[MtB]

Interestingly I'm now moored in Newbury town centre and I just ridden my bike up to West Mills swing bridge for a look.

 

There are no signs, labels or any indication whatever that I could see to tell boaters the bridge is in anything other than perfectly good working condition.

 

On the other hand the CRT site now says if you want to pass through the bridge you need to be there and waiting at 12 midday for the CRT bod to arrive. If there are no boats waiting to pass then he will go back home again for another snooze, rather than manning the bridge for an hour as previously published...

[dmr]

Having just been through the bridge......

It doesn't actually have the usual wedges but a hydraulic ram that sort of lifts the bridge up a bit. I was told that it was a big failure of the bits that this ram attaches too that has caused the problem. A new ram is now sort of fitted so the bridge can be "lifted" but this is not plumbed in.

To open the bridge CaRT staff or volunteers turn up with a hand operated hydraulic pump and lift the bridge the required inch or two. The bridge is then swung by the normal hydraulic system.

I wonder if you can open the control box and try to swing the bridge before it is lifted up????

 

To be fair we did stay in West Mills for a week (interesting point here...have 24 hour moorings reverted to 14 days, or just the 48 hour ones?) and very few boats went through, maybe one or two most days, and these mostly went thru at 12 so it was a bit silly having 3 CaRT poeople standing about for an hour just in case. Also they did knock on our boat for the first couple of days to see if we wanted to go thru.

 

Note: best beer is at "The Newbury" and you can also have a good laugh at the most pretentious menu I have ever seen.

Beer is expensive but after spending a week on the Thames it almost felt reasonable!

 

.................Dave

[emlclcy]

Dave where is the newbury? The lock stock n ripoff is just..... carl

[emlclcy]

Dave where is the newbury? The lock stock n ripoff is just..... carl

[MtB]

Dare I say this Viogier from Co op is absolutely superb. Mebbe I rode past "The Newbury" earlier but I need ed to get back to skin and cook the roadkill pheasant. so no beer in The Newbury.

 

Tomorrow praps.... !

 

[dmr]

Dave where is the newbury? The lock stock n ripoff is just..... carl

 

From West Mills walk right past the Lock/stock, turn right over the canal (river) bridge, past Lloyds bank, and walk about 200yds Newbury is on the left.

Its a post eating place but also a busy drinking place. % beers on but £3.90 for Timothy Taylor.

 

Lock does a good pint of Fullers ESB but I think thats over £4 now. Also its very loud/bad acoustics in there.

Note that in most Newbury pubs 50% of customers appear to wear suits!

 

.................Dave

[dmr]

If you want to pay a bit less for beer and like the rougher end of the pub world then turn left from thev"lock stock alley" and walk down the high street till you get to "The Monument" on the left. Very small pub but still crams in a pool table and live bands. If you are really lucky you might even find a really good one.

Can't always find anywhere to sit down.

If you are a Christmas hater then this is the place for an all day drink on Christmas day!

 

...................Dave

[Jim Batty]

Anybody know if the West Mills swingbridge engineering works will complete on time tomorrow (Fri, 4 March - 5pm)?

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/3025/bridge-62-west-mills-swingbrdge

 

It's been six weeks between pump-outs. Never done that before!

[MtB]

Funny you should ask. I happened to ask a CRT bod exactly this today. He made a phone call to check and was given 11th March as the forecast opening date.

[Jim Batty]

Funny you should ask. I happened to ask a CRT bod exactly this today. He made a phone call to check and was given 11th March as the forecast opening date.

 

Ah, well, I saw a flurry of hi-vis jackets on the swingbridge this morning ... so went down to find a few CRT people getting some final training on servicing it. It looked very sophisticated behind the stainless steel panels, and I take it to have some type of app-driven diagnostics package installed, so that if there were a fault it could be checked remotely. There was also a brand-new looking hydraulics pump and hoses in the old green box, so I’m glad the six month wait for that equipment is over.

 

Anyway, IT IS NOW OPEN AND WORKING.

 

Insert and turn BW key ... press + hold the OPEN button ... and a voice speaks out of a magic box at either end of the bridge to let everyone know the barriers are dropping ... five seconds later they come down very quickly ... then the swingbridge begins to rise about five inches ... and slowly swings open. Press + hold the CLOSE button ... and everything reverses. During either of these processes, the moment you let your finger off the button everything stops. Touch the button again and it picks up where you left off.

 

Red EMERGENCY button in the centre presumably shuts everything down. Holding down OPEN + CLOSE together re-sets everything.

 

It seems to be running beautifully, much quicker than the old set-up with windlass operated security gates either end. That said, I sort of liked the mechanical wind-down gates. Nothing could really go wrong with them ... except when the very occasional numpty didn’t bother closing them when opening the bridge!

 

I’m not sure the locals will enjoy the vocal ‘truck backing up’ type warning every time the gates activate.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Jim Batty

[blackrose]

Funny you should ask. I happened to ask a CRT bod exactly this today. He made a phone call to check and was given 11th March as the forecast opening date.

 

Are all planned stoppages on the K&A finished by 11th March then?

 

Mike, what's the Kennet running like at the moment? I'm just wondering about a big move to Northampton on the GU. I guess if I started in the next week or so I'd be coming down the Kennet by the end of March/early April - assuming I can get across the Bristol channel without waiting in Sharpness for too long. Coming up the Avon from Bristol to Bath doesn't phase me too much, but the thought of going downstream on the Kennet in spate would worry me. It's just too narrow on some stretches to avoid boats coming the other way.

 

So if you're coming up the Kennet and see this coming towards you - please get the £@ck out of the way!

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by blackrose

[dmr]

There's a big stoppage at Seend where a road bridge is getting rebuilt. I think this is due to complete on 16th March but there are rumours of a possible serious over run on this work.

 

..............Dave

[Jim Batty]

 

... what's the Kennet running like at the moment? I'm just wondering about a big move to Northampton on the GU. I guess if I started in the next week or so I'd be coming down the Kennet by the end of March/early April - assuming I can get across the Bristol channel without waiting in Sharpness for too long. Coming up the Avon from Bristol to Bath doesn't phase me too much, but the thought of going downstream on the Kennet in spate would worry me. It's just too narrow on some stretches to avoid boats coming the other way.

 

So if you're coming up the Kennet and see this coming towards you - please get the £@ck out of the way!

 

 

 

At the moment the Kennet has been on 'yellow boards' through Newbury for about three weeks, coming off red for a couple of weeks before that. Unless it rains dramatically I'm expecting it to settle down soon, certainly by the time you would arrive here.

 

We were out this past weekend and although the current was stronger than usual it was manageable with a little extra engine oomph. For example, where I might normally cruise at 1300-1400 revs, I was taking it up to 1900 to retain a good sense of control and steerage going downstream through West Mills Swingbridge and under Newbury High Street Bridge, and similar power at the same places coming back upstream to keep from being pushed about. I felt confident and under control. There has been a flurry of activity this past weekend and we have just seen the first 'Canal Time' share boats out cruising for the first time along with other people heading downstream.

 

That's a very wide looking widebeam! About 13-foot? Two springtimes ago, on the long pound west of Pewsey, I remember approaching a very similar widebeam with two enormous bright pink 'ball' fenders hanging off either side. Simply unpassable, so had to maneuver between a couple of moored boats to let her pass. To be fair, it was a BRAND NEW boat and the couple babying it were very much looking forward to getting down onto the Thames!

[Bunny]

Wonder how it's flowing now then ? After last night's rain . Bunny

[Nightwatch]

The K&A is closed from Kintbury to Reading due to the rain and lots of water.

 

Martyn

[MtB]

The K&A is closed from Kintbury to Reading due to the rain and lots of water.

 

Martyn

 

 

News to me, as a boater on that stretch...!!

[Nightwatch]

Got a notice at 14.54 today from CRT.

[MtB]

Intriguing, especially as I saw a CanalTime hire boat pass me on its way upstream from Reading here this morning!

[Nightwatch]

A bit odd,me thinks. Thought at the time that the closure was a lengthly one, in distance.

[Bunny]

Have know the navigation closed a few times from Kintbury to Reading in previous winters. It's the water coming In below copse lock that closes the Kintbury section . This is the first winter in 12 years that we havn't stayed on board . 4 at winter moorings in Kintbury and the rest cc or winter moorings at Aldermaston , marina this year . Back on board soon .?. Bunny