Link deserves to be more available

THE Liverpool Link is a magnificent piece of engineering and does deserve to be more widely available, writes Phil Clayton.

We spent a week in Liverpool this summer between 29th July and 4th August. We found the CRT guys who provided the escorted passage both in and out to be most knowledgeable and helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Excellent moorings

Mooring in Salthouse Dock was excellent with power and water on the pontoons, and the city centre a short walk away. We noticed groups of boats joining and leaving the moorings on alternate days as that's the way the system currently operates, with half a dozen boats in each flotilla.

There are actually passages on six days a week, three in and three out. I'm sure that, given more staff, more boats could be accommodated—one for CRT to explore with the use of volunteers? We did come across one or two boats expecting just to be able to turn up without booking a passage even though a bit of research would have explained the situation.

No duckweed difficulty

We didn't experience any difficulty with duckweed, though when we were leaving, the CRT guy at the top of the Stanley Dock locks said "You're in the hands of the litter gods now!"

We didn't find any particular problem and only went down the weedhatch once, when we stopped at the Sanitary Station at Litherland on the way out and removed some plastic. This is what I'd expect in any urban area.

Liverpool is a marvellous, vibrant city and I'd recommend the Link to any boater. Perhaps a flood of enquiries might make 'the powers that be' think!