Calder and Hebble Stoppage

Shepley Bridge Lock on the Calder and Hebble Navigation has been closed for emergency repairs.

The heel post of the top gate on the towpath side has snapped. Engineers have examined the gate and found that a temporary repair is not possible.

Both gates will be craned out and replaced. This means taking them to the Stanley Ferry workshop so that replicas can be made.

The Canal and River Trust estimates that the stoppage could be for at least three weeks. Updates will be issued when a date for completion is known.

Shepley Bridge Lock is on the Mirfield Cut between Cooper Bridge and Wakefield.


Downstream approach to Shepley Bridge Lock

Doncaster Lock Stoppage

The Canal and River Trust has announced a stoppage at Doncaster Town Lock on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

The lock is closed following a top gate anchor failure. Emergency repairs are being carried out. An update will be issued on the afternoon of Saturday 20th April.

Update Saturday 20th April:
The repair has been completed and the lock has now re-opened.


Doncaster Town Lock

Diggle flight re-opens

The repairs to Lock 32w of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal have been completed and the Diggle lock flight has been re-opened to navigation.

The stoppage began following the discovery of a split in the heel post on the tail gate of Lock 32w at Diggle. The Diggle locks have single tail gates which are heavy, putting more strain on the split post. The gate would not close completely making it difficult to fill the lock. The gate would also have been likely to fail completely if attempts had been made to use it.

The gate was removed and taken to the CRT's workshop for repairs, a process that took longer than it should because of land access issues involved with getting a crane to the site. Bookings for boats to pass through Standedge Tunnel have been suspended for several weeks. Boaters due to travel through the tunnel will be contacted to re-schedule their passage.


Lock 32w at Diggle, fenced off to allow draining.


The single tail gate with its split heel post will not close completely.

Bosley Locks closed for emergency repair

Boaters using the Macclesfield Canal should be aware that Bosley Locks are currently closed.

Following the discovery of a large hole behind one of the paddle chambers of Lock 7 at Bosley, the Canal and River Trust has had to close the lock to carry out emergency works.

These emergency repairs are expected to be completed by 5.00 pm on Saturday 13th March. Until then the Bosley flight will be closed to navigation.

CRT is advising boaters to to moor at the visitor moorings above or below the locks, and they will be updated as the work progresses.


Bosley Locks

No-go on New Junction

Boaters intending to use the New Junction Canal this week should note that it will be closed to navigation on Thursday 11th April.

Northern Power Grid will be turning the power off to Sykehouse Lock between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm. This will also affect Kirkhouse Green lift bridge and Bramwith swing bridge.

The New Junction Canal links the Aire and Calder Navigation with the South Yorkshire Navigation and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.


Kirkhouse Green Lift Bridge, New Junction Canal

Leeds and Liverpool open again

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is now fully open again after several stoppages at Apperley Bridge.

There had been an extended maintenance stoppage at Dobson Locks at Apperley Bridge, after a crane brought in to lift gates had toppled into the canal. Two 200-tonne cranes had to be brought in to right it and lift it back out. This delayed the planned work on the locks. The locks have now been re-opened but, as there is still work taking place on the locks, Bingley Five lock-keeper Barry Whitelock has been drafted in to assist boats through this two-rise lock staircase.

There had also been a brief stoppage at Millman Swing Bridge, just below Dobson Locks at Apperley Bridge, due to an electrical fault. This has now been repaired and the bridge is open to navigation.


Dobson Locks, Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Snowy start for Standedge season

Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre have got off to a snowy start to the 2013 season! The official first day of operation on Saturday 23rd March had to be called off when deep snowdrifts blocked roads in the area. This included the cancellation of the first public trip of the year right through the tunnel. The hardy staff opened the site the following day but with no vehicular access! Things gradually improved through the week, with short boat trips running for the brave souls who managed to reach Tunnel End on foot.

By the time Good Friday arrived, the sun was out at Standedge and the snow was going. This was good, as it was the first day of the Easter Trail. This will be available until 14th April at a cost of £1.

Hopefully the snow will be long gone in time for the Family Fun Day which takes place on Sunday 14th April, which will include a petting zoo, bouncy castle and kids' craft activities.

The photograph of Standedge Visitor Centre was taken during the week by Jill Whitehead, who was on board a train which paused long enough for her to capture this shot of the snowy scene.


Standedge Visitor Centre seen from the train.

Huddersfield Narrow could be shut for weeks

Updated 15th April - see below

Boaters hoping to traverse the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in the next few weeks are going to face delays. Just as the new boating season begins it has been discovered that there is a split in the heel post on the tail gate of Lock 32w at Diggle. The Diggle locks have single tail gates which are heavy, putting more strain on the split post. The gate will not close completely making it difficult to fill the lock. The gate is likely to fail completely if attempts are made to use it.

Following investigation of the gate at Lock 32W the Canal and River Trust has found that it has more significant damage than first thought and will need to be removed and taken to the repair yard for repairs.

The Canal and River Trust does not yet have a definite programme for this and will issue an update as soon as they have. As a precaution they have stopped taking bookings for Standedge Tunnel for the next 4 weeks.

Any boaters already travelling on the canal are asked to wait above Lock 42e at Marsden or below Lock 24w at Wool Road.

Update Thursday 28th March:
The Canal and River Trust say that unfortunately the damaged lock gate has not yet been removed from the lock due to access issues with the land owners. Temporary road access is required and CRT staff cannot do this without crossing other peoples land and permission has not been given yet.
As it is a single leaf tail gate it will not fit in a work boat and using a crane and a lorry is the only way to remove the gate from the site.
The Canal and River Trust hope to remove the gate next Thursday, 4th April, when it will be taken to CRT's workshop for repair. It is hoped that it will be returned a fortnight after that. If it becomes clear that it will take longer to repair than expected, CRT will issue a further update.

The Canal and River Trust hopes the Diggle flight will re-open to navigation on 26th April.
They say they are disappointed about this delay and apologise to customers affected by a situation outside their control. Boaters who have bookings for Standedge Tunnel will be contacted to reschedule passage. Lock 30e below Marsden has now re-opened and anyone wishing to transit the tunnel and moor above Lock 32w at Diggle can arrange to do so.

Update Friday 5th April:
The gate is now in the Canal and River Trust's workshop and has been assessed. The repair work is expected to take one week and C&RT plans to re-install the gate on Saturday 13th March.

After final checks C&RT anticipate that the Diggle Lock flight will reopen on Monday 15th April.

Update Monday 15th April:
The Canal and River Trust has announced that Lock 32w has been re-opened to navigation.


Lock 32w at Diggle, fenced off to allow draining.


The single tail gate with its split heel post will not close completely.

Tree blocks canal west of Wigan

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has been blocked by a large fallen tree near Bridge 46 at Gathurst, to the west of Wigan. The tree has also blocked the towpath.

The Canal and River Trust are hoping that contractors can clear the blockage during the weekend. An update will be issued on Monday 11th February.

Winding can be found below Dean Lock (Lock 90) to the west, or at Crooke or above Ell Meadow lock (lock 89) to the east.


Gathurst Bridge, Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Rochdale Open Day Scrapped

The Canal & River Trust has announced that the Open Day planned for this Sunday at Lock 44, Sladen Lock, on the Rochdale Canal, has been cancelled.

This is for safety reasons due to the forecast weather conditions. Snow, freezing temperatures and icy conditions could potentially make it unsafe for people walking around and inside a drained lock.

The Canal & River Trust was expecting large numbers of the public to visit the Open Day on Sunday, so it seemed the sensible decision was to cancel the event. The works at Lock 44 are due to be completed next week so the event cannot be rescheduled.

An Open Day at Dowley Gap Locks and Aqueduct, near Bingley, also planned for Sunday, has been re-arranged for 17th February.


Sladen Lock, 44

Weather delays Dowley Gap Open Day

The recent bad weather has slowed down progress on the work being carried out at Dowley Gap Locks and Aqueduct.

This means that the Open Day planned for this Sunday, has had to be postponed.

The Open Day has now been re-scheduled for Sunday 17th February. It will run from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, with last entry to the site being at 3.15 pm.

The 240-year-old aqueduct will be drained for leak reduction work, which will enable visitors to walk along a 50 metre section of the aqueduct bed.

The public will also have access to the nearby 2-rise locks, which will be drained to enable new gates to be fitted and masonry repairs to be carried out.

Iain Weston of the Canal & River Trust said: "Over 7000 attended our Bingley Five Rise event last year and for those who weren't able to make that, we're giving them another chance to see some of our remarkable structures. For those that did come, we're offering them something different and unique by being able to open up the aqueduct to the public for the very first time."

Dowley Gap Aqueduct and Locks are one mile east of Bingley, accessed via Main Street towards Leeds, left at Beckfoot School onto Wagon Lane and Dowley Gap Lane, or take the more direct walking route along the canal towpath. See Google Map.


Dowley Gap Aqueduct


Photo: Canal & River Trust

Unlocking artwork on the canal

As part of this winter's maintenance programme, Lock 9e of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Milnsbridge is having its gates replaced. However, there will be something different about the new gates - they will include poetry!

As part of an exciting partnership between the Canal & River Trust and Arts Council England, poetry by Jo Bell has been carved into the lock gate's balance beam by the artist Peter Coates. This is part of the Locklines project which will see poetry from Jo Bell, Ian McMillan and Roy Fisher appear at various locks, including Leeds and Liverpool Canal Lock 30 at Gargrave.

Apart from Lock 9e, four other lock gate replacements and two repairs will be taking place this winter. That means that in the last three years gates on more than half of the 74 locks on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal have been replaced or repaired. The funding for the poetry project has come from the Arts Council and not from C&RT's maintenance budget!

Photo: Canal & River Trust

Snow on the Huddersfield Narrow

No, this is nothing to do with the current bout of wintry weather! Anyone who saw the first programme in TV historian Dan Snow's new series "Locomotion - Dan Snow's History of Railways" may have seen that a section of the programme was filmed on a canal.

The filming was done on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Diggle featuring the horse-drawn boat Maria, with members of the Horseboating Society as eye candy.

The episode cam be watched here on BBC iPlayer until 5th February. The canal section begins about 10 minutes into the programme.

Dan at the tiller of Maria. [Image: BBC]

Makeover for Cooper Bridge Weir

Cooper Bridge weir on the River Calder near Mirfield is currently undergoing a multi-million pound reconstruction project as part of the Canal & River Trust’s annual waterway maintenance programme.

The weir maintains levels to allow navigation along the Calder and Hebble Navigation and onto the Huddersfield Broad Canal. It is undergoing a £2m overhaul to install a new 40 metre weir and new fish pass.

Following a major failure of the weir in 2009, this section of waterway has been forced to close on two occasions as emergency temporary repairs were undertaken which led to the navigations being closed.

Project Manager Linda Milton said: "This is the largest project happening anywhere on the waterway system during this maintenance period and is really important for these navigations. The weir is a completely new structure with a heavily reinforced base around four metres below the crest level. The remaining structure is constructed with fibre mesh concrete with steel sheet piles up and downstream tying into a sloping concrete apron to the upstream and a stepped concrete apron to the downstream. The weir also includes a bywash facility for fish migrating downstream. The main fish pass is a Larinier type and also incorporates an elver pass.

"The river cannot be closed fully and so extensive temporary works in the way of steel sheet piles have had to be driven into the river bed to form two cofferdams so the works can be carried out in two halves across the river; some of the piles are 13m in length. This enables the works to be constructed in the dry and at the same time maintain the river flow. However, due to all the heavy rainfall in 2012 this has proven a real challenge and several major floods to the river have caused delays as levels have been so high they have flooded the cofferdams out.

"The aim has been to install a new durable, robust, low maintenance structure that safeguards the navigations. Because of the nature of this river system, there is a high probability that these failures would have kept occurring so it’s important we’ve taken this action to avoid any further disruption to the three navigable waterways which rely on this weir."

Work is due to be completed by the end of January.


Cooper Bridge Weir [Photo: Canal & River Trust]