You know there is a water shortage when;

You know there is a water shortage when; -- or at least it's apparent that there's a shortage of something when it's also apparent that the navigation authority doesn't understand that the way locks must be left set isn't dependent on whether or not the last boat through was heading upstream or down.

Is the EA having its Navigation Notices scripted by C&RT now ?  That notice could be taken by the terminally stupid - of which there are limitless numbers to be found on pleasure craft - to read that downgate pens are to leave the guillotine gate fully raised, . . as usual.

So you remember me saying this was bloody inconvenient?

We stayed at Alwalton last night - travelling upstream, result! no need to empty the lock and with any luck it will still be set for us ready to head home the next day.

The reality? The vee gates were shut, We moored up adjacent to the lock - opposite the Friends of The Nene moorings, something that took 5 minutes tops. I step off the boat and go and have a look at what was a full lock not 5 minutes ago - oh dear, that’s not very promising…






I reckon that’s about 10 course of bricks so a good 30” lost in a matter of 5-10 minutes.


The scene this morning?

An empty lock with both ends shut up tight - bit of leakage through the vee gates, but the drum tight sluice on the bywash meant that didn’t matter too much.





So no water saved, the only real thing saved is a bit of time for a downstream boat not having to drop the gate.

An upstream boat loses out as per normal - the gate needs raising to allow passage upstream, the only consolation is you leave it as you find it so no more double handing of the lock thanks to sone inconsiderate arsehole travelling upstream ahead of you.

It does beg the question as to why we don’t adopt the same leave the lock as you find it operating method used on the Great Ouse - a river in the same EA region and under the same management as the Nene!

Left hand, right hand, arse and elbow springs to mind.

Not by that much anymore - the idiots have bolted at least one 6” lintels to many of the v doors to prevent them over topping and the risk of inundating 70’+ narrow boats helmed by people who can’t keep well back against the guillotine…

See this photo of Alwalton, Titchmarsh, Yarwell, Wadenhoe etc.

This is something the EA have done over the last 10 years at pretty much every lock that overtopped at normal summer levels. I reckon there are only a few left where the water trickles over the gates now, Upper Barnwell is the first that springs to mind.

There is also no truth in the rumours that adding the lintels to the upstream gates helped hide the chronic need to dredge in certain places - at the trade off of reduced headroom, be that a bridge over the river or at the tail of the lock…..

The river once was largely self regulating with all weirs and sluices sized correctly for a given reach, that’s all been cocked up over the years, and with it the very real need to leave the gate raised. It isn’t all that long ago they had daft notices up saying the gate needed to be left in the raised position to help protect fish!

When I was a kid we hardly ever needed to wind an vee gate paddle, so much water crashed over the gates it wasn’t really worth the bother!

That's right, . . or at least it was.  The tops of the mitre gates were (in the 1960's) at the intended weir/retention level for each stretch of river above each of the guillotine locks, and the tops of the guillotines something like 9'' to 10'' higher.

With the hosepipe ban, just how is Rishi Sunak and his tax-dodging wife going to fill their new £400,000 swimming pool?