Kennet & Avon Canal - ongoing discussion, anniversaries and incidents

[whole diary]

[Electric train]

The Kennett & Avon Canal runs along much of the Berks n Hants making it such a picturesque route http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-12083685

[Chris from Nailsea]

On BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Four:

Julia starts this walk in the beautiful world heritage city of Bath, where the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a 19th century 'canal superhighway' between the country's two most important ports, Bristol and London. But only forty years later the trade along the canal was usurped by rail travel, leaving the once great waterway neglected and derelict. Julia's 20-mile walk, along what is arguably the most picturesque stretch of the canal, tells the story of how the waterway was restored to its former glory after it was awarded the biggest ever lottery heritage grant. The walk ends at the spectacular Caen Hill flight of locks, listed as one of the seven wonders of British waterways.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A 'quiet zone' has been created on a stretch of canal in a Wiltshire village.



Signs have been put up along the Kennet and Avon Canal near Pewsey asking boaters to avoid running generators or playing loud music.

The parish council had planned to ban all boats mooring between Honeystreet Bridge and west of the Barge Inn due to "ongoing problems with noise".

But at a meeting it was agreed to create a quiet mooring zone instead.

Charles Reiss, from Alton Parish Council, said he hoped the 'Q Sign' could be "repeated as a working model at other problem points".

He said: "It was agreed as a co-operative project between local residents, boaters and the Canal and River Trust - and it seems to be working.

"There are no consequences - it doesn't have any teeth but boaters appear to want to cooperate and are mooring beyond the Barge Inn outside the zone."

[paul7575]

Warning signs about running engines near private property are fairly commonplace on the canal system already, this is not a new idea at all.  I'd question about the rules having no teeth as well, as the existing licence conditions (at least since 2000 when I got my boat) already include an embargo on running engines overnight wherever someone else may be affected.

4. Whilst the Boat is on the Waterway, you must not:

(b) use any electricity generator, including the Boat's engine, at any mooring along the Waterway
between 8pm and 8am, unless you are moored in isolation, out of earshot of other people. [We do
not intend this Rule to stop you moving the Boat from the mooring.]
(c) run the Boat^s engine in gear when it is moored as this can damage the waterway walls and
cause a nuisance to other people.

As in many areas of life, it will be lack of enforcement of the existing rules that has led to this...

Paul

 

[bobm]

From Get Reading

Pub landlord convicted of marker theft
20 Jun 2013 12:19



The licensee of the Rising Sun pub in Woolhampton has been convicted of stealing an historic boundary marker from the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
 
He was caught by a canal volunteer who spotted the stolen iron boundary marker for sale on eBay.
 
Wayne Sangwell, 44, of Kestrels Mead, Tadley, denied the theft, but was convicted by Reading magistrates on Monday, June 3.
 
Sangwell was running the Kennet and Avon Canal caf^ and shop under contract at the time of the theft.
 
A canal trust volunteer played detective and found the missing boundary marker which had been sold on eBay. The Great Western Railway iron boundary marker, which dates back to 1917, was stolen last autumn from the gardens of the listed Aldermaston Wharf Cottage on the Kennet and Avon canalside.
 
A volunteer heritage advisor for the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust was quickly on the case.
 
Trawling eBay, he saw the item had been sold, who had bought it and traced the thief.
 
Sangwell was fined ^110 plus ^270 costs.
 
David Viner, heritage advisor, who was one of those who helped retrieve the marker, said: ^We are delighted to have tracked the boundary marker down and got it back safely, it^s an important part of the history of the railway and canal.
 
^Thanks must go to volunteers from the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust too, as they wouldn^t let it lie.
 
^When someone suggested eBay it sounded like looking for a needle in a haystack.
 
^Fortunately, the thief had placed a photo of the marker online which included part of the canal cottage in the view.
 
^The buyer was mortified when we got in touch, but credit to them for returning it so swiftly.
 
^Heritage theft like this is on the increase.
 
^But it^s not just canals, there have been recent examples of vandals plundering major archaeological sites, listed buildings and especially churches where thieves target the lead roofing.
 
^That^s why we need to take action.
 
^The thief knew exactly what he was doing. We are very happy that the police and courts have pursued this case. Hopefully it will serve as a warning to others and make them think twice about following suit.^
 
The Great Western Railway Company owned the Kennet and Avon Canal for nearly a century and its distinctive cast-iron boundary markers were used when there was no natural boundary, like a wall or road, to mark the border of their land.
 
The marker has an embossed head bearing details of the company which is attached to a section of railway track very well set into the ground.
 
Removal of heritage assets and similar crimes are an increasing problem nationally.
 
As well as benefitting from the work of volunteers, the trust works closely on cases with bodies such as English Heritage, which has set up the Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage (ARCH) and also has a police inspector seconded to it as its national policing a dviser.
 
Sangwell featured in the news recently when a lorry jack-knifed and ran into the Rising Sun pub on the A4 Bath Road.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Capsized narrow boat closes canal near Bath


The boat capsized on Saturday afternoon forcing the closure of the canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal is to remain partially closed near Bath until at least Tuesday after a narrow boat capsized in a lock.

It happened at Lock 11, Abbey View Lock, at about 14:00 GMT on Saturday.

A spokesman for the Canal and River Trust said it had been caused by the boat getting stuck on the sill at the back of the lock as water drained out.

A crane required to lift the boat out will not be on site until Tuesday or Wednesday, the spokesman added.

It means a 600m (650yds) stretch of canal between Bath Bottom Lock to Bath Top lock has been closed to canal traffic.

Nobody was injured in the incident, the spokesman said.

[Cynthia]

"Roll roll roll your boat
Gently down the stream....."

Oh, that was mean, wasn't it?  So who will have to pick up the bill for recovery?  I assume it's a holiday let, and the hand-over would have included a warning about keeping away from the cills when in the lock, so will the helms(wo)man have to pay, or is this kind of incident covered by the letting company's insurance?  Good job no-one was hurt, anyway.

[Richard Fairhurst]

"Cillings" are pretty common. It'll be the Canal & River Trust that organises getting a crane on site; not sure whether Hilperton Marina/ABC Leisure (the boat hire company) will reimburse them for the expense.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm curious as to why the narrowboat crew, who would have been operating the lock gates, didn't notice as soon as their boat started tipping and lower the paddles again, to prevent the situation from reaching the stage of a fairly comprehensive capsize? 

[grahame]

I'm curious as to why the narrowboat crew, who would have been operating the lock gates, didn't notice as soon as their boat started tipping and lower the paddles again, to prevent the situation from reaching the stage of a fairly comprehensive capsize? 

Multiple choice

1) If you haven't heeded the warnings from the hire company on picking up the boat. If you haven't seen the cills in any of the six previous locks you've gone down from Trowbridge - which you'll have been within 5 yards of if you're the driver and they will have towered over you as the lock emptied. If you haven't see the white painted "CILL" markings and lines on the lock side. And if you didn't read up ahead of time before taking over a boat of 8 or 9 tons ... then are you going to notice the boat tipping?  Some people are not very observant.

2) It started to happen ... and the people with the boat ran round shouting "don't panic" rather than actually doing something about it.   People react differently in different circumstances.  Perhaps everyone jumped on board to gather prize possessions rather than fixing the issue?

3) The crew was so but celebrating passage through the deep lock just above that mum and dad went below / nipped into the shop and left the kids to do the boat.

4) The boat started well forwards, but it's possible in that in this lock the opening of the paddles creates a vertical whirlpool that pulls the boat back.   There are some locks that pull like that; if you're a regular you get to know them and to open the paddles gently and hold a rope (don't tie the rope up - you'll end up with suspended boat syndrome!)

5) A combination of some or all of the above

I've spent many, many happy days running a narrowboat and been through locks thousands of times.  You get to a feel, an understanding of how it's flowing and it becomes natural to safely resolve little issues - to note the odd tipping and bit of movement and to correct almost automatically.  But the first time, when you're raw - well, Bath locks are daunting

[Tim]

don't know much about boats, but it surprises me that a crane is needed to sort this out.  Can't the boat be manhandled to an upright position in the optimal depth of water for such an operation and then pumped out as necessary.  Obviously not, but I'm not sure why not.

Even if the boat does need to be lifted is a mobile crane really needed.  Are suitable anchor points not available for using with a  portable winch or a rope, block and a few strong blokes?

[stuving]

I'm curious as to why the narrowboat crew, who would have been operating the lock gates, didn't notice as soon as their boat started tipping and lower the paddles again, to prevent the situation from reaching the stage of a fairly comprehensive capsize? 

Or, (more briefly), angular momentum?

I too thought that our Victorian forefathers wouldn't call in a crane - a hand winch, and perhaps a big baulk of wood, should do it, surely?

[Red Squirrel]

When ships became stranded by the falling tide in the Avon in Victorian times, the Bristol port authority used to blow them up - and then charge the owner for the explosives.

[Cynthia]

When ships became stranded by the falling tide in the Avon in Victorian times, the Bristol port authority used to blow them up - and then charge the owner for the explosives.

I wonder if there would be less cars stranded in the mud on Weston and Brean beaches if that policy was resurrected!

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Capsized narrow boat removed from canal lock near Bath


The hired boat is thought to have rolled over after getting caught on a ledge at the back of the lock

A capsized narrow boat which partially closed the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bath for five days has been removed.

Lock 11 on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Widcombe, was closed on Saturday after a hired boat overturned.

According to the Canal and River Trust, the boat rolled over after getting caught on a ledge at the back of the lock as water drained out.

A 30m (98 ft) winch was used to pull the boat off the cill before the water was pumped out and it was refloated.

The canal is set to reopen later on Friday but the canal below the lock needs to be topped up with water before it is reopened to boats

Joe Coggins, from the trust, said: "We had to use a winch to twist the boat back into position because we couldn't get a big enough crane on to the tow path. But we haven't had to drain the lock completely and we haven't had to do a fish rescue, as there was enough water in the bottom of the lock."