Taunton& Great western canals

[monty]

Hi All

Does anyone no what these canals are like to live on?

 

And can you access them from the inland waterways from Uxbridge

 

thanks for any replies

[sueb]

Hi All

Does anyone no what these canals are like to live on?

 

And can you access them from the inland waterways from Uxbridge

 

thanks for any replies

I haven't a clue whether you can live on them but they are only accessible by sea. Grand Western hasn't been restored yet.

Sue

[magpie patrick]

Hi All

Does anyone no what these canals are like to live on?

 

And can you access them from the inland waterways from Uxbridge

 

thanks for any replies

 

 

They are both landlocked, albiet the Bridgwater and Taunton only by a concrete dam from the Parret

 

Devon County Council own the Grand Western, and do not permit residential moorings, even informally

 

There are one or two liveaboards in Bridgwater Docks but you will need your boat to be craned in

[Hobbler]

I haven't a clue whether you can live on them but they are only accessible by sea. Grand Western hasn't been restored yet.

Sue

 

Neither is accessible by sea and its only the connecting section from Taunton to the Grand Western that has not been restored - the rest of the Grand Western canal to Tiverton has been open for many years.

[sueb]

Neither is accessible by sea and its only the connecting section from Taunton to the Grand Western that has not been restored - the rest of the Grand Western canal to Tiverton has been open for many years.

Well there you go! I have worked on the Grand Western as well

Sue

[Josher]

Good news ...

 

22 February 2011 Last updated at 16:45 BBC

 

Grand Western Canal culvert maintenance work begins

 

 

Grand Western Canal basin Maintaining the culverts is essential work to protect the canal and prevent flooding, the council says. A three-year programme to maintain the Grand Western Canal in Devon has begun. Only an 11-mile section of the canal, which was built in 1812, remains open and it is now a designated country park and local nature reserve.

 

Devon County Council took the canal over from the British Waterways Board in 1970 and manages in partnership with Mid Devon District Council. Specialist contractors have been employed to carry out the £330,000 programme of works. Each of the 33 brick or stone culverts under the canal bed will be cleared of silt and vegetation, then repaired and re-pointed as necessary.

 

Councillor Roger Croad it was essential the culverts were properly maintained. "The collapse of a culvert would not only seriously affect the canal, but could result in significant flooding of surrounding land, including farmland and residential areas," he said.

 

 

Horse-drawn barge at the canal basin, Tiverton. A horse-drawn barge has been offering trips along the canal for more than 30 years

 

Des Hannon, a Devon county councillor and chairman of the Grand Western Canal's joint advisory committee, said: "The fact that the council is embarking on this vital maintenance in these hard times shows the canal's importance - both historically and to our economy today."

 

The canal runs from Tiverton in mid Devon to Lowdwells, near the Somerset border. The country park is popular with walkers and cyclists and can also be used for boating and fishing.