The water shortage season is under way

BW issued a couple of restriction notices today: one for part of the South Oxford (Marston Doles Lock 15 to Claydon Lock 21); and one for part of the Leicester Section of the GU (Kibworth Lock 18 to Kilby Lock 30). The reason given, in both cases, is extremely low water levels in the reservoirs which feed those particular sections of canal.

Amusingly the advice for the (narrow) Oxford Canal was this:

It is essential that boats double up when using locks in this location, we ask that boaters be patient and wait for other boats in order that we can conserve the little water we have available.

Double up? In narrow locks? To be fair, forty minutes later an amended notice came through:

British Waterways asks that people are patient and wait for boats approaching in the opposite direction before proceeding.

(Ah - that's better!)

So that this post is not devoid of photos, here are a couple from our April cruise. We moored at Aldersley Junction on the Staffs and Worcs on 7th April after Capt. Ahab accompanied us down the 21. This photo was taken the next morning.


And here's Tunstall Water Bridge 65 twenty minutes later.