Every so often a single update tells you everything you need to know about the state of our waterways. Ahead of today’s cruise, Fund Britain’s Waterways shared just such a story.
Three plans, two dead ends
As the campaign explained on 8 July, the flotilla gathered at Ellesmere Port ready to cross the Mersey to Liverpool. That was Plan A, and a lock failure put paid to it. Plan B was to head for Salford Quays and up onto the Bridgewater Canal, only for low water levels to close that route too. Plan C, the one that carried the day, was to make for the Anderton Lift on Friday 10th. Two of the three routes blocked: it’s hard to think of a plainer picture of a network under strain.
Why this matters
Fund Britain’s Waterways is a coalition of organisations speaking up for the hundreds of thousands of people who use and love Britain’s canals and rivers. Stories like this are exactly why the campaign exists: when locks fail and water runs low, it isn’t just an inconvenience for a flotilla, it’s a warning sign for the whole system. Keeping these routes open takes proper, sustained funding, and that is what the campaign is asking government to provide.
If a tale of two blocked routes has got you thinking, the most useful thing you can do is add your name. Please sign the petition and help keep the pressure on for the funding our waterways so badly need. #FundBritainsWaterways
