FUND BRITAIN’S WATERWAYS CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO STOP INLAND WATERWAYS FALLING INTO DISREPAIR

Britain’s unique and well-loved network of canals and navigable rivers is deteriorating because of inadequate funding. At a time of unprecedented challenges caused by the climate emergency and high inflation, government is failing to respond. Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW), a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways, is campaigning for national and local government to act now and protect the public benefit and natural capital of our waterways.

Management of Britain’s 5,000 miles of navigable inland waterways is fragmented. The Canal & River Trust (CRT) has the greatest responsibility covering 2,000 miles. It is already in a difficult financial situation with a fixed government grant of £52.6m per year until 2027. Defra was expected to confirm funding for 2028 onwards in July 2022 but has not yet made an announcement. Other waterways face similar problems: the Environment Agency is operating with £22m per year, one third of its identified requirement, and Scottish Canals has over £70m of maintenance work outstanding.

The consequences of failing to maintain waterway infrastructure were clearly shown by the evacuation of 1,500 local residents in case the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir collapsed in 2019. This event has shown the need for increased spend on CRT reservoirs of up to £25m per year, but it is as if the lessons have not yet been learnt.

The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of Britain’s inland waterways as people sought blue and green spaces to help recover. This was acknowledged in Defra’s own Environmental Improvement Plan, providing levelling up, economic, environmental, health and wellbeing benefits for us all.

The combined annual economic and social value of CRT waterways alone has been quantified as £6.1bn, including cost savings of £1.1bn for the NHS from active use of the waterways and towpaths.

Despite this greater understanding of their value, and the deteriorating state of the infrastructure today, the Government appears intent on significantly reducing its funding for the waterways, says Les Etheridge, Chair of the FBW steering group and National Chair of the Inland Waterways Association.

He said: “Government needs to recognise that saying they value the inland waterways is not enough to prevent their decline. Whilst we in FBW understand the financial pressures that everyone faces, the financial cuts are too deep, and adequate public funding needs to be allocated to maintain these national assets. FBW will be taking action starting with a campaign cruise in Birmingham over the weekend of 12-13 August 2023.”

The initial member organisations of Fund Britain’s Waterways include:

• Accessible Waterways Association, set up to inform, represent, and assist people who live with disabilities, impairments or accessibility issues, and who want to enjoy the inland waterways and their surrounding environments
• Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, an affiliated group of boat clubs offering their members mutual facilities relating to boating on the inland waterways of England and Wales
• Basingstoke Canal Society, working to secure an environmentally sustainable long-term future of the Basingstoke Canal for the benefit of its users and the community
• Braunston Marina, a major centre for leisure craft and narrowboats at the crossroads of the Grand Union and Oxford Canals
• British Canoeing, the national governing body for paddlesports in the UK
• British Marine, trade body for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry, representing 1400+ member businesses, through regional and group specific member associations which include:
  • British Marine’s Inland Boating Association with over 100 independent companies offering river and canal holidays on hire boats, hotel boats, plus passenger trip boats and business services
  • British Marine’s Passenger Boat Association representing all sectors of the passenger boat industry, including scheduled transport services, pleasure trips, private & business hire
  • The Broads Hire Boat Federation including operators of holiday hire cruisers and day-hire craft on the Norfolk Broads
  • British Marine’s London and Thames Valley Regional Association which has over 250 members, of which over 80 operate their business alongside the non-tidal and tidal River Thames
• Chesterfield Canal Trust, working to promote the full restoration and appropriate development of the Chesterfield Canal, and to campaign for the construction of the Rother Valley Link, a navigable waterway to join the Chesterfield Canal to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
• Commercial Boat Operators Association, the prime trade organisation involved in the effort to sustain and increase freight carriage on our waterways for economic and environmental reasons
• DBA – The Barge Association, the club for people interested in leisure barging on the inland waterways of Europe
• Electric Boat Association, championing the interests of electric boat owners
• Fox Narrowboats, a long-established family business operating a marina in March in Cambridgeshire, providing narrowboat and day boat hire, and curating a comprehensive blog about Fenland waterways
• Great Ouse Boating Association, representing boaters on the rivers Great Ouse, Cam, Lark, Little Ouse, Wissey and associated East Anglian waterways of England
• Historic Narrow Boat Club, a not-for-profit national club dedicated to preserving the working heritage of UK canals, from the boats themselves to details of the waterways on which they travel
• Inland Waterways Association, the only independent, national charity dedicated to supporting and regenerating Britain’s navigable rivers and canals as places for leisure, living and business
• Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, the charity that restored the Kennet & Avon Canal which runs from Bristol to Reading and now operates 9 trip boats, including 4 for disabled passengers, and the world famous and fully operational Crofton Pumping Station
• Kennet & Avon Trade Association, a local trade association for businesses operating on the Kennet & Avon Canal
• Lowland Canals Association, aiming to promote the interests and well-being of boaters and other users of the lowland canals
• National Association of Boat Owners, listening to boat owners, speaking out for boat owners, representing boat owners
• National Inland Navigation Forum, a forum bringing together organisations with inland navigational interests
• Newbury Boat Company, a family-run marina within a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Kennet & Avon Canal in Newbury
• Residential Boat Owners’ Association, the only national organisation which exclusively represents and promotes the interests of people living on boats in the British Isles
• Roving Canal Traders Association, a non-profit making organisation run to help support and promote the diverse array of existing and potential Canal & River Trust registered Roving Traders on our waterways
• Royal Yachting Association, the national governing body for dinghy, motor and sail cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft, and a leading representative body for inland waterways cruising in the UK
• Thames MotorBoaters Association, representing owners of powered craft registered on the non-tidal Thames
• Torksey Yacht Club, a small club based at the junction of the Fossdyke Navigation and the River Trent at the ancient village of Torksey

with the stated intention of significantly widening membership to any organisation or individual with an interest in using or supporting inland waterways whether canal, river, tidal river or estuary (excluding navigation authorities).

We now have our new footpath route published on the OS Maps website for anyone wishing to walk the route. It is roughly 2.5 miles either way and should take around an hour at average walking speed in either direction. A nice 5 mile/2hr round trip.

https://explore.osmaps.com/en/route/11164008/Ashby-Canal-Trail

If you require any further information please feel free to ask any questions on our Facebook page.

The below photo shows the route that the new footpath will take from the top end of Ilott Wharf (where the restoration route diverges from the original route) heading into Measham.

The first part runs from the towpath, past the winding hole at the current terminus of navigation then continues to follow the old canal line up to the Gilwiskaw brook (site of the future aqueduct). The Ilott Wharf site starts the other side of the brook.

The red line is the proposed route of the new footpath (roughly following the canal restoration route) and the yellow line is where it intersects with an existing public footpath from Measham.

It will ensure that walkers have a safe, clear route between Snarestone & Measham with just one road to cross and none to walk along (aside from on the pavement over the road bridge running across the brook) and will give the public a better idea of where the canal will run in the future.

Roger Popejoy was flying at The Shackerstone Family Festival with the Delta Hawks flying club, he took a number of photographs of the canal.

Shackerstone Festival 2017 from the air.

News and advice for Boaters – Sept 2017

Boaters travelling north on the Ashby Canal from the direction of Marston Junction, please note you can pick up an information leaflet/canal guide from the yellow box on a post near the Limekilns Water point, just before bridge 15.  (You will need a CRT “Watermate” key to unlock the box.)  Or you can refer to the new sign on the towpath nearby for mileages and a list of attractions. Smartphone users can scan the QR code on the sign to access this website and the downloadable version of the canal guide.

Though it is just about possible to cruise the 22mile length of canal from Marston Junction to Snarestone in a long day, this is not recommended.  Allow at least a day and a half each way. If you want to take in all the sights, and enjoy the peaceful countryside, allow much longer.  The canal was built saucer shaped, and is often shallow at the sides and on the inside of bends, so you need to adjust your boat speed accordingly and try to keep to the main channel which is in the centre.

You may wish to download and print our brief cruising guide from this website – just click on the yellow button on the right.

Facilities for boaters can be found at Trinity Marina, Hinckley;  Ashby Boat Company, Stioke Golding Wharf;   Ashby Canal Centre, Stoke Golding;   Bosworth Marina, Market Bosworth.

Market Bosworth’s lovely town centre is a longish uphill walk from the visitor moorings, but it is a good spot to restock the boat’s food cupboard, as there are no shops beyond here.  Arriva’s Leicester  bus service turns round near the marina, soyou could use this to get into Market Bosworth if you don’t fancy the walk,

The canal from Carlton northwards to Snarestone is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Boaters are requested to take special care to protect the area’s flora and fauna.   CRT Information signs are posted at Carlton, and there is an interpretation board by Bridge 61 at Snarestone.

The canal northwards from Shackerstone, through Gopsall woods, is one of the most beautiful stretches of the waterway, and should not be missed.  Moorings are available just south of the tunnel for Snarestone village and pub. Note, however, there is no shop in the village.

Boaters wishing to access the newly restored length of canal from the Pumping Station to Bridge 62 are advised that the winding hole beyond the new bridge 62 is limited to boats of 16 metres or less  (approx 52 feet).  Longer boats must be prepared to reverse for a considerable distance.  Otherwise, please turn boats round at the full-size winding hole just before the water point and sanitary station.  Swing Bridge 61A, which marks the end of CRT waters,  is  kept locked and bolted.   Volunteers, when on duty at our Snarestone site, will be happy to give advice.  Please inquire at the little kiosk, if open.   We have some new volunteers for the 2017 season, but they are just that – they are not paid, and are there in their own time, so we regret we cannot guarantee that there will be someone available.

Boats over 16m (approx 52ft)  will not be able to turn round on this stretch, so check the boat length before proceeding, or be prepared to test your boating skill by reversing for a long distance!

Our little shop and information kiosk should be open on most days.   From September onwards, the shop will be closed Sundays and Mondays),  (Hours vary according to the availability of volunteers.)

new  caretaker Michael Wooding with ACA chairman Peter Oakden.    Michael and Krystina arrived in NB “Draco” in May to look after our shop and information kiosk at Snarestone.

Postcards, gifts, navigation plaques, pens, souvenir mugs, tea-towels, loo-blue, etc., are on sale, and locally made ice cream from nearby Gopsall Farm.          We also have a stock of beautiful specially photographed canal-scene greetings cards.  You can also get a souvenir navigation certificate if you have travelled the length of the canal. Our adjacent bric-a-brac emporium has lots of bargains.  All proceeds help the ACA’s funds and go towards the care and restoration of the AshbyCanal.

Membership forms are also available should you wish to join the Association.

Moorings beyond the swing-bridge 61A are limited to 48 hours, thereafter £10 per day. Boaters are welcome to enjoy this pleasant stretch.  However, please note that these waters are governed by Leicestershire County Council regulations, which require boats to have a CRT licence, comply with boat safety regulations, and be insured.   Concessions for moorers are available for ACA and AWCC club members – please enquire.  For details of slipway access, etc, please click on the slipway and moorings  button at the top of his page.

Measham village, which can, tantalisingly, be seen in the distance from the canal terminus, is not yet reachable by boat. (The restoration effort continues…..  we’ll get back there eventually !) You could walk or cycle into Measham where there are cafes, pub, a good Co-op, a Tesco Local shop, newsagents, butchers, mueum, etc. but it will talk about half an hour, and you are advised to ask our caretaker for directions.  The lane into Measham is fairly quiet but narrow, and you need to take care,

An off -line nature reserve is alongside the canal at Snarestone – providing a protected habitat for submerged and floating plants and aquatic creatures.  23 aquatic species were recorded last year in this small reserve.  The offside of the newly restored length is rich in wild flowers in the summer, and lots of different bird species have been spotted. Herons and  buzzards can frequently be seen, and a kingfisher has been spotted nearby.

In 2016 the 50th Anniversary of the Association was celebrated.  A special edition of our magazine “Spout” was published, which contained an anthology of reminiscences about the early days of the Association, from the many people who got in touch and passed onto us their memories,  This was very popular.  We would like to publish still more reminiscences, and if you have a contribution to make, we will try to find space in our future editions of the magazine. We would particularly like photos and memories of the canoe races, and pictures of early boat rallies held at Sutton Cheney.

We would also like new photographs of the Ashby Canal in Summer – for those who wish to send in  recent photos.  Please send your contributions to martin@spacottage.com before 24th August, for inclusion in the September issue of “Spout”.