Which side will you be on?

If the political turmoil can be sorted and Britain leaves the EU, then there are proposals for Britain to withdraw from the regulatory powers of the European Navigation Directive.

Campaigners for the withdrawal from this Directive want Britain to set its own rules and standards. These cover a wide range of issues, from regulations for life rings to rules about red diesel.

One of the more controversial parts of the proposals is the plan for boats to pass each other on the left, rather than on the right as the rest of Europe does. A spokesman for the campaigners says that in Britain we proudly drive on the left hand side of the road, unlike countries in Europe, where they drive on the right, so it is only right that boaters should be able to assert Britain's independence by driving on the left hand side of the canal or river.

It is quite a big step and it will take people a while to get used to it, so it is planned to carry out the change in stages. Hire boats will be the first to change, possibly starting this summer, as the new rule can easily be introduced as part of the normal training given to hirers. Other boats will continue as they are for now, with the changeover coming into effect for them from early in 2020.

The Canal and River Trust's Brexit Officer, Anne Kerr, commented that people wanted to leave the European Union but it might take some time to untangle ourselves from the complex web of rules and regulations. "One of the first changes will be the abandonment of the European standard for horn signals. A lot of boaters don't even know what some of the current horn signals mean. Many boaters tell us they couldn't give two hoots about them."

Some of these changes were due to come into effect this morning but they will have to be delayed until Parliament makes its mind up about what kind of Brexit it wants.

Standedge Tunnel to be re-named?

A proposal was announced this morning that the historic Standedge Tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in the country, is to get a new name.

The tunnel, on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, could be re-named the Sir Patrick Stewart Tunnel in honour of Huddersfield's most famous actor son, known world-wide for his role in Star Trek

Patrick Stewart was born in 1940 in Mirfield, just outside Huddersfield. He started acting in 1966, the same year the original Star Trek series began. He went on to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, yet it was his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation which won him global fame.

In 2004 Stewart was made Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, which sits alongside the canal near Lock 1e. He was knighted in 2010.

The proposal for the canal tunnel to be named after him is to honour his fifty years of acting. Stewart admires the navvies who built the tunnel. "They boldly went where no navvies had gone before," he said. "It was an amazing enterprise."

He added, "When plans to re-open the canal were announced, it was dubbed 'The Impossible Restoration'. But I have often said 'Things are only impossible until they're not'."

William T Riker of the Canal and River Trust said, "When we first heard about the proposal to re-name the tunnel, we thought it was a joke but Sir Patrick is a well-loved personality in this area and we'd be fools to miss a chance like this. This is a special date for us. Now will never come again."

When asked his thoughts about the tunnel bearing his name Sir Patrick replied: "Let's make sure history never forgets the name. Make it so."
 

Penguins spreading across northern canals

Penguins are becoming an increasingly common sight on the canals of northern England. However, visiting boaters and walkers are often surprised to spot these endearing birds swimming in the canal or waddling along the towpath.

It is thought that the penguins were accidentally introduced to the area following an escape from a private zoo. The canal environment has obviously suited them as they have bred successfully and are spreading out along the northern waterways. Although penguins are usually associated with the cold seas of the Antarctic, they are quite common in the warmer equatorial waters around the Galapagos Islands, and they seem surprisingly at home in the temperate climate offered by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.


Penguins on the streets of Skipton in search of food. (Photo: ritsch48 via Flickr)

As the numbers of the penguins has increased, they have started to become something of an attraction to visitors. At the beginning of April, as springtime arrives, the birds can be seen leaving the water and walking through the streets of Skipton, hoping to be fed fish and chips by willing tourists.

Paul Yolegg, whose appropriately-named narrowboat Polar Foil is currently moored in Skipton said: "I thought this must be a joke when I heard about it. It is not the kind of thing you expect to find in Yorkshire."

Canal & River Trust ornithologist Jess Kidding told us that this morning might be the best time to see this spectacle, as the penguins usually return to the water to cool down by mid-day.

She said that, although the birds are friendly enough, there was a risk that they could bite, and she warned eager visitors not to try to pick up a penguin.
 

Arts Project extends to Musical Tunnels

Following the success of the hugely popular Locklines arts project, which has seen lines of poetry appear on lock gates, the Canal and River Trust is promoting a new project that will incorporate music into the canal experience.


Poetry on the beams of Lock 9e of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

In 2013 The Canal and River Trust surprised canal fans by appointing a Canal Laureate and forming a partnership with leading poets. Part of this project involved lines of poetry being engraved onto the balance beams of several locks where new gates were being fitted. There have also been canalside poetry events and poetry readings allowing the public to become involved.

The poetry project has proved so popular that, working with the Arts Council, the Canal and River Trust is developing ways to extend its arts outreach by creating musical experiences on the waterways.

Several tunnels, including Preston Brook and Foulridge in the north, are to be included in the project. Loudspeakers are to be positioned in ventilation shafts so that specially composed music can be heard echoing through the tunnels. Electrical power will be provided by solar panels and wind generators situated on the surface above the air shafts.


Impression of how the musical light show will appear to boaters.

As an additional feature to enhance the experience for boaters, coloured lighting is being installed to give a 'light show' where the colours will change in time with the music. The project will be launched at the beginning of April and, if it proves to be as popular as expected, could become a permanent feature of the waterways.

Ms Flora Lipo, the newly-appointed National Waterways Maestro, was very excited by the proposals. "I am very excited by the proposals," she commented. "This is the first time since Handel's Water Music was performed on the Thames that such an innovative integration of water and music has been explored. We are working with our partners, musical event organisers Sounding Bored, to put these fantastic proposals into operation."

Derbyshire narrowboat owner Melandra Castle is not impressed, though. "I am concerned about the lack of consultation," she complains. "This is the first we have heard of this proposal. It is another example of CRT turning the waterways into a giant theme park. They would be better spending the money on dredging."

However, Ms Lipo assures boaters that all the initial money will come from arts funding and the installation will be done at the same time as routine tunnel maintenance. Later on, volunteers will be invited to knit items which can be sold to raise funds to keep the project going through the 'Crochet a Crotchet' scheme.

Some live performances are also to be included in the project. Opera singer Dame Avril Fish will be in Standedge Tunnel this morning. She will travel in the CRT safety 'shadow' van through the adjacent disused railway tunnel and will serenade boaters as they pass the connecting adits. Ms Lipo reckons that the echoes in Britain's longest canal tunnel will be unbelievable. “Members of the public will be able to hear this incredible ethereal music from each end of the tunnel. You'd be a fool to miss this rare opportunity,” she added.

C&RT Embraces Cutting Edge Technology

Have you ever wondered what happened to the "Veg Pledge" in which the former British Waterways undertook to maintain certain standards in maintaining towpath edge vegetation? Many boaters have observed that these standards seem to have been allowed to slip in recent years.

The Canal and River Trust are exploring ways of trying to remedy this and improve how vegetation is managed and to overcome some of the present problems.

One of the difficulties encountered by contractors brought in to maintain vegetation is that on certain canals it is not easy to move machinery along the towpath because of the narrowness of the towpath through bridgeholes. Doing the work by hand on long stretches is not really economical.

In addition, C&RT also receive many complaints from boaters about overhanging vegetation on the off-side which narrows the channel available for navigation and, in some cases, reduces visibility on bends.

Now canal chiefs believe they may have found a solution. It was noted that rural councils often use tractors fitted with large mower/trimmer devices that can trim grass verges or hedges as the tractor dives along. In a simple extension of this idea, such trimmers have been fitted onto a boat. They are attached to hydraulic arms so that they can be adjusted to any height or angle.

There are separate grass mowing and hedge trimming devices so that the operator can move the boat along the middle of the canal, simultaneously mowing the grass along the towpath edge and trimming back the vegetation along the offside.


Prototype trimming boat on trial.

The boat is also going to be fitted with a third arm that has a standard dredging scoop attached so that small spot-dredging jobs can be tackled while the boat is in the vicinity.

The head of the Canal and River Trust's Blue Sky Thinking section, Maureen Wring, said that this re-affirms the Trust's commitment to boaters. "We are calling it the Edge Veg Hedge and Dredge Pledge," she explained.

The new boat has not satisfied everyone, however, with one towpath walker remarking: "It's all very well trimming the grass but what about all the mess left as a result of thoughtless dog-owners? The boat could do with being equipped with a super pooper scooper."

Unabashed, Ms Wring continued: "You could describe the boat as a floating swiss army knife. There is no end to the variety of attachments that we could include eventually. Our C&RT technologists are working on a scanner attachment which bounces radar beams off the canal bed at 45 degrees that can show up potential leaks and weaknesses. We call this our Oblique Leak-Seek Technique. It could save the Trust a fortune by nipping problems in the bud."

The Trust is working in partnership with All Purpose Roving Implements Limited to develop this truly fantastic boat, which makes a special appearance on the morning of Easter Monday. Those of you interested in seeing it at work are advised to check the date.

For more information about All Purpose Roving Implements Limited and the design of the boat, please click here.