NOW its closed, now its open, now its closed, now its open, now its closed. When indeed will the pantomime that is the Kennet & Avon Canal end?
This time it is the pump at Bradford Lock that has given up the ghost once more, with the result that not enough water is being pumped up into the level in the pound between Bradford-on-Avon and Semington, so it dropped overnight, with the waterway once again closed, Keith Gudgin tells us.
Closed over weekend
There is no chance of it being opened over the week-end though it is the middle of the August school holidays, in fact it will be Monday before the contractors will arrive. Even then, there is no guarantee of it being fixed, as last time, earlier this month when a pump failed closing the navigation, it needed a wait to get a spare part that was not held in stock.
This closure followed on the closure at Fobney Lock, where it took a week to raise a sunken narrowboat.
Tenth closure
This last closure is now the tenth time the navigation has been closed since the end of July.
What a pantomime indeed.
LATEST:
The navigation was opened for a short while on Saturday and Sunday to 'allow 'any boats with an urgent need to move'.