They do not realise

I HAVE had recourse to speak to hirers at locks on the Llangollen and it is obvious they do not know what a canal should be like. writes Ben Dayton.

One hirer I spoke to thought that the leakage on the lock gates was intentional to relieve the pressure on the gates! Whilst another thought the bad condition of the towpath was to keep off motor cyclists.  Another hirer thought the unattended vegetation was normal.

No complaints from hirers

This is why there are no complaints from hirers as what they see is what they believe is as it should be!  So all that bumf of the 'lovely canals' is accepted and thus thought normal.

But I did talk to a couple at Grindley Brook who had taken a long hire and wanted to do the Four Counties, which as we know is impossible because Canal & River Trust cannot be bothered to repair the breach on the Middlewich Branch. I had pleasure in informing them that it had been out of action most of the year and will be Christmas at the earliest when it will at last be repaired that gave them a different view of how the canals were looked after.