Grottyist canal

[pearley]

They can now do trolly wheel brakes.there a cable around the car park pass over it and it locks one or more of the wheels

Except if you know where the cable loop is, usually marked by line painted on the ground, you can just lift the trolley over. This is what we've done in the past at Rugby and Reading.

[ditchcrawler]

For us the worst is the Coventry

 

Dereliction / building sites, Semi floating TVs, road cones, half-submerged black bin bags, dead animals, hit/slid over unknown detritus and when we got to the end the moorings we were in 'dog-poo alley'.

Never want to go there again !!

 

Now there are hire boats based there !!

Funny how different your view is to mine

I saw a rat on the end of the moorings at the Black Country Museum just by the road bridge

[Sea Dog]

They just dump them i the Avon instead.....

about 8 or 9 in there last time I crossed the bridge.

 

You're right, it was 8. I only had a tenner and I needed 2 quid for the bus home.

[Pennie]

Coventry from Hawkesbury to the centre or the erewash in long Eaton. In long Eaton it's the "spot the sunken treasure game" TV, chairs, trollies, lawn mowers, kids toys, a safe, fish tank, bird cage, picnic table, wheel chair, bikes.

[Pennie]

The thing that disgusted me about the Coventry was the colour of the water - ink black. But I've been told that was from old industry that used to dump into the water. The other thing that was horrific about that stretch was the graffiti "get raped" and "kill all the pakis"

[The Bearwood Boster]

Funny how different your view is to mine

 

I saw a rat on the end of the moorings at the Black Country Museum just by the road bridge

Most rats around there tend to wear hoodies & have 1 brain cell...

[jellybeano]

Just cruised the Walsall Canal, no need to go down the weed hatch, all very pleasant, much to my surprise after earlier memories of it being bad. Peaceful, safe time in the basin at Walsall too.

[Victor Vectis]

Thats good to hear.

 

[Mac of Cygnet]

Except for the last two posts, this thread must be very off-putting for a new boater!

 

My candidate is the Rochdale going through the town, but unlike a previous poster I found the inhabitants friendly, especially the chapel meeting of drinkers by one of the locks, who were very helpful.

[patty-ann]

Funny how different your view is to mine

I saw a rat on the end of the moorings at the Black Country Museum just by the road bridge

Where there is water and refuse there are rats but equally where there is a food source the 4 legged rodents move in.

I do not ATM cruise far so have not seen terrible stretches other than maiden voyage which was from Wedgebury to near Rugby which taught me niceties of fouled prop clearance...but even in so called idyllic stretches bloated sheep float from time to time and dog poo bushes grow along towpath trail and mans universal rubbish heap flourishes.

[Victor Vectis]

but even in so called idyllic stretches bloated sheep float from time to time and dog poo bushes grow along towpath trail and mans universal rubbish heap flourishes.

Is there still a dead cow floating about between Naburn and Selby on the Ouse?

[Alan de Enfield]

There are so many dead deer floating in the FossDyke that someone (C&RT ?) have put in 'rock ski-ramps' to enable the deer* to exit the canal. The ramps do protrude into the canal for several metres but there are warning signs each side of the 'ramp'.

 

Counted 13 'floaters' (on one day) on the 10 miles between Torksey & Lincoln

 

* Obviously the ramps are not 'dead deer for the use of' but for the ones that are 'not yet dead'.

[magnetman]

M14 nylon washer which is 22mm diameter and 3mm thick emulates a £ coin and if you cut a small slot out so it will collapse a bit you can generally hoik it back out of the trolley slot with a key or similar. This is what I do anyway. £3 for a pack of 20 of the washers. I am experimenting with fitting a small pike spinner leader wire to one of these washers so you can just pop it in to unlock the trolley then just slip the token back out easily.

 

I disagree with secured trolleys because in theory it removes a job (trolley manager) which someone may actually need and enjoy

[Grassman]

There are so many dead deer floating in the FossDyke that someone (C&RT ?) have put in 'rock ski-ramps' to enable the deer* to exit the canal. The ramps do protrude into the canal for several metres but there are warning signs each side of the 'ramp'.

 

Counted 13 'floaters' (on one day) on the 10 miles between Torksey & Lincoln

 

* Obviously the ramps are not 'dead deer for the use of' but for the ones that are 'not yet dead'.

 

When we were on there last year I noticed that many of the 'deer ramps' (basically just stones piled up at the edge of the water every so often) had slipped below the water surface so unless the deer can read the signs or happen to come across them, they wouldn't know they were there because they wouldn't see them.

 

Totally inadequate and a complete waste of time IMO.

[Midnight]

Except for the last two posts, this thread must be very off-putting for a new boater!

 

My candidate is the Rochdale going through the town, but unlike a previous poster I found the inhabitants friendly, especially the chapel meeting of drinkers by one of the locks, who were very helpful.

 

Absolute delight to chat to them each time we go through. Should maybe be a preservation order on them - at least they take their empties home.

[Arthur Marshall]

 

When we were on there last year I noticed that many of the 'deer ramps' (basically just stones piled up at the edge of the water every so often) had slipped below the water surface so unless the deer can read the signs or happen to come across them, they wouldn't know they were there because they wouldn't see them.

 

Totally inadequate and a complete waste of time IMO.

Didn't some of the canals have ramps built in so if the horses went in they could get out?

[Little Else]

Didn't some of the canals have ramps built in so if the horses went in they could get out?

Leeds and Liverpool

[pearley]

Leeds and Liverpool

And Regents Canal.

[Idunhoe]

And Regents Canal.

Add to that the Caldon Canal

[treddieafloat]

Went through Burnley today pleasantly surprised v little litter and the few hoodies around very friendly

[Clare De Loon]

Bank Dole lock on the junction of the Aire & Calder Nav onto the River Aire has to be one of the most depressing places on the system. To one side a bricked up and graffitied abandoned lock keepers cottage and on the other the chemical works overlook an abandoned caravan. Add in the police presence that was there when we passed through at the weekend and the fridge dumped back in the lock that we pulled out on a previous visit, we certainly won't be in a hurry to pass through again.

[hargreaves07]

3 of us turned up at Blackburn today on our once fortnightly volunteering work.

 

We pulled 3 bags of rubbish from inside the next to the bottom lock which was very bad.

 

We then went up the locks to Bridge 102 and pulled out 4 trolleys.

 

I would have to say that this stretch on the lock section was better than normal.

 

I would suggest boaters disengage gear going under 102 & also the next one down adjacent to ASDA.

 

Let us know any grot spots & also Wigan.

 

Cheers rgreaves

[johnmck]

By way of a contrast. Yesterday after coming down the Soar, we turned towards Nottingham. Never visited by boat before.

 

Brilliant.

 

The canal and it's environs were litter free. Loads of moorings and a great ambiance. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Leicester needs to take note, although better than it was.

[TheBiscuits]

3 of us turned up at Blackburn today on our once fortnightly volunteering work.

 

We pulled 3 bags of rubbish from inside the next to the bottom lock which was very bad.

 

We then went up the locks to Bridge 102 and pulled out 4 trolleys.

 

I would have to say that this stretch on the lock section was better than normal.

 

I would suggest boaters disengage gear going under 102 & also the next one down adjacent to ASDA.

 

Let us know any grot spots & also Wigan.

 

Cheers rgreaves

The gang up at Eanam Wharf have just bought an old boat for litter picking, so you might want to speak to Bill.

 

We grabbed a trolley and a toy on the way through at the weekend, and dropped them at Rose Grove, but we would need to borrow Clitheroe or Skipton to get all of them out.

 

Do you work with Emma on the picking?

[nikvah]

3 of us turned up at Blackburn today on our once fortnightly volunteering work.

 

We pulled 3 bags of rubbish from inside the next to the bottom lock which was very bad.

 

We then went up the locks to Bridge 102 and pulled out 4 trolleys.

 

I would have to say that this stretch on the lock section was better than normal.

 

I would suggest boaters disengage gear going under 102 & also the next one down adjacent to ASDA.

 

Let us know any grot spots & also Wigan.

 

Cheers rgreaves

Good for you. Doing something about it and not moaning about it. Have a Greenie.