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hi all which are the uks quietest canals least used?


colin1325

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Yes, it's always a surprise to meet a boat on the HNC. Where did you moor, Dave? There aren't very many places!

Aspley Wharf. Possibly, technically the HBC? On the cusp, I'd say! I miss it too. Although no good for a quick evening cruise of an hour or so. It's half a day or nothing.

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Not a canal really , but the drains around Boston . Black sluice also . One chap ran off to get his camera because no one would have believed him that a boat was there.. Chesterfield and parts of the BCN. .Bunny .

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Driffield Navigation the other side of Brigham Bridge is fairly quiet. Perhaps 50 boats a year on a good year!

 

It gets even quieter above Wansford Bridge; the low headroom restricts through passage to canoes and similar small craft, although there is now one larger boat, Driffield Navigator (an ex oil rig lifeboat) bought by the Driffield Navigation Trust earlier this year, which is based permanently in the top section. It will be offering public trips from next year.

 

Howard

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  • 1 month later...

Not a canal really , but the drains around Boston . Black sluice also . One chap ran off to get his camera because no one would have believed him that a boat was there.. Chesterfield and parts of the BCN. .Bunny .

 

When we went down the Witham Drains in 2015, the chap who lived at the cross-roads near New York said we were the sixth boat along there that year...

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Well Creek (on the Middle Level, through Upwell and Outwell) in winter is not crowded. I have seen only one canoe and one narrowboat pass our house this month - and the narrowboat belongs to a chap who lives 300 yards down the road.

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Of the disconnected canals still in water, there must be many with no traffic at all, and I nominate the section of the Croydon Canal in Betts Park, Anerley:

http://www.londonslostrivers.com/croydon-canal.html

I've been there often but never seen a boat of any sort on it, and doubt whether there's been one since 1836. It'll be hard to beat that.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if there a number of short back waters of the connected system which are navigable but haven't seen a boat for years, particularly some dead end in an ugly industrial area with no safe mooring along it.

 

For a more substantial chunk of canal with hardly any boats, I'm not sure because as I crew for other people who are usually looking to cover a distance, most of my boating tends to be on busier parts of the system. But I saw hardly anything else moving when hackenbush and I took his boat from March to Stanground Sluice (admittedly in October but it was a fine day) along what should be the busiest part of the Middle Levels. So I'd imagine that those who have named other parts of the Middle Levels would be right that they are very quiet indeed.

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I saw hardly anything else moving when hackenbush and I took his boat from March to Stanground Sluice (admittedly in October but it was a fine day) along what should be the busiest part of the Middle Levels. So I'd imagine that those who have named other parts of the Middle Levels would be right that they are very quiet indeed.

That's a continuation of the bit which I mentioned earlier. There's an active hire fleet out of Fox's Marina, of course some turn left towards Salter's Lode and Ely, rather than taking the Whittlesey-Stanground-P'boro route. But their hire season ends some time on October, so I guess that you went along that stretch just after they'd packed up.

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I think it's private, though there is a working yard at the end of it where old working boats are being renovated. Reports that they are currently building a large wooden horse may, however, be exaggerated.

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Bridgwater and Taunton canal.

Theres boats in Bridgwater Docks but most can't leave cos they are widebeams.

And the ones that can can't get far due to rubbish in the canal.

They're widebeam locks, though? Looked like 12' or 14' wide when I walked along it earlier.

 

The main issue with it may be the depth, you could see the bottom all the way along the cut, it looked about 18"-2' deep.

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They're widebeam locks, though? Looked like 12' or 14' wide when I walked along it earlier.

 

The main issue with it may be the depth, you could see the bottom all the way along the cut, it looked about 18"-2' deep.

13'6" wide I think but might just be 13' - not that any of the gates open fully though. Depth is worst in the cutting coming out of the docks but not great anywhere, should think 2' would just about be OK but might struggle in places. No worry about passing other boats as you won't see any on the Bridgwater and Taunton canal!

 

Tom

Edited by Tom and Bex
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Well there is one canal which is connected to the system with several locks which has had no boats on it for at least two years, that I am aware of, although it is currently closed due to a stoppage, UFN due to network rail, not that that matters as one can not get to it at the moment as the connecting river is also closed for the winter. However I would expect it to be avialable by the coming summer.

Any Guess.

The same canal is also trailerable (has slip ways) further up, in two places, but again I am not aware of any boats travelling along it for a good while (many years)

cheers Ian Mac

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