Elusive volunteers
I FEEL I have to agree with David Hymers about the number of lock keeper volunteers working the locks, writes Philip Drew.
It was on the 12th of May when we set out this year for our summer cruise, and volunteer lock keepers have been very thin on the ground, that I particularly notice with both of us into our seventies, and the locks getting harder and harder to operate. I am not sure if this is because of our ages or lack of maintenance, but seeing the lack of the latter I believe the lack of maintenance or wrong maintenance is the main culprit.
No facilities
But back to volunteers, the northern waters seem to be devoid of them, and they could have been a great help on the Rochdale with lock after lock climbing up the Pennines, but I expect that with no toilets or facilities anywhere near they perhaps cannot be used.
After a rest at Castlefields Basin in Manchester we then tackled the Leeds & Liverpool after seven years since we last did it, both thinking that at this rate it will be narrow locks only from now on. But joy, we were going to have an easy climb, there were two volunteer lock keepers at the bottom of the Wigan Flight. However they were completely useless as though they did help us through the first couple of locks they told us they could not go any further to help us, so it was then a real struggle with ill fitting gates, very difficult paddle gear and getting stuck in low pounds.
No more
And as there were no more volunteers all the way to Leeds, it prompts me to ask 'Where are these 400 or so volunteers? Or is it yet another CaRT con to get the government to believe it is actively encouraging volunteers to help waterway users? I cannot comment on the midland or more southern canals as we spent the summer up North, and yes we did the Huddersfield Narrow with its 74 locks, though this time, thankfully narrow locks, and regarding volunteers, guess what? Yes you have guessed, to use a Victor phrase: ner a one. Mind you I have to say that this time we started very early in the morning, so to be fair, we could have missed them.
So that is our experience of the elusive volunteer lock keepers, but perhaps some of you could have been more fortunate. Yet I think with such volunteers CaRT has a good opportunity to keep the older, and less active boaters, on the waterways instead of leaving for a less strenuous activity.
No vandals
One thing however that I must report. No sign of any vandals all season, but perhaps we have the upsurge in computer game playing to thank for that as they are all stuck glued to their iPads, etc, etc, and leave the canals alone. Which is borne out by no few security locks missing, particularly on the Leeds & Liverpool. Even the section dropping down into Leeds where there were dire warnings not to pass when the kids were out of school, was completely clear of any vandal activity.
For us that is it until next May, health allowing, but it will definitely be the narrow locks, even though our boating friends tell us that maintenance wise they are not much better than the broad ones. We shall see.