Tight Spots & Pinch Points

A listing of the narrowest, lowest, shortest and least draughted places on Britains waterways where you can take your boat. These are structural problems incidentally - rather than dredging or similar issues (although we are of course interested to hear about those as well!). Tight spots are those where structures have moved (eg lock walls) whereas pinch points are those where something (eg a bridge) was built wrongly in the first place. Please send contributions, including updates/amendments on the following, to the webmaster - using the email link on the menu on the left.

Chesterfield Canal

• Restored section, locks at Shireoaks causing some problems to full beamed craft below water level.
  Please advise specific locks and actual problems

Grand Union Canal - Birmingham line

• Shrewley, Br 59 reported as only 12' 3" due to extra concrete added to towpath edge
• Blue Lias bridge reported too narrow for breasted pair = pinch point
• Fosse bridge reported too narrow for breasted pair = pinch point

Grand Union Canal - Leicester line

• Br26 on summit reported less than 14ft gauge due to piling in bridge hole.
  Confirmation required of actual beam

Huddersfield Narrow Canal

• Several locks causing some problems to full beamed craft.
  Please advise specific locks and actual problems

Llangollen Canal

• Hurleston Locks: A variety of different problems reported over the years by different boats in one or other (but not both!) of the bottom two locks at Hurleston. Some Grand Union boats have trouble, others do not. General perception is that things are gradually worsening following droughts, frost etc
• July 2008: report from hotel pair owner that they have had to tirfor and flush in/out of Hurleston bottom lock for the last ten years AND that it is getting more difficult to do so. I am promised a photo of the curve in the lock wall which indicates movement around bottom gates...

Oxford Canal - South

• Napton 4 (bottom lock) reported July 08 that little Woolwich and an iron BCN dayboat conversion had problems when they haven't previously
• Napton No 5 (ie second one up) bulge in wing wall on offside below lock causing some boaters to requre tirfor in and flushing out
• Marston Doles top lock tight on top gate recess
• Claydon middle lock tight

Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal

• Long standing problems at Compton Lock & Wightwick (Wightwick Mill?) Lock with width
  Current status requested. Anybody got stuck revently?
• Rodbaston lock near Penkridge. Reported narrow for some craft
  Current status requested. Anybody got stuck revently?

Stratford Upon Avon Canal

• Long standing problems with width at Wilmcote Locks (Bottom & next to bottom?)
  Current status requested. Anybody got stuck revently?

Trent & Mersey Canal

• Tail of Stenson Lock 6 - extra timbers added for strengthening lower gates - too narrow for breasted GU pair. Some joshers ok.
• Tail of Weston Lock 4 - too narrow for some GU pairs = pinch point
• Tail of Aston Lock 3 - too narrow for some GU pairs = pinch point

Witham Navigable Drains

Cowbridge Lock: Discovered spring 2007 that a full length GU boat can no longer ascend this lock due to 'protective mesh' placed within the guillotine gate. A full length 'Josher' in the same group was however able to.

Tight Spots & Pinch Points - Success Stories!

Places where pinch points have been sorted out to allow narrowboats of the fullest designed sizes to pass through

Lower Avon (Warwickshire)

• Evesham Lock
  For the first time ever, the Club provided extra funding to improve navigation by its own boats. In this case it was to allow a cill to be modified, as part of rebuilding work, so that full length narrow boats could pass through without having to go down backwards!

Ribble Link

This new waterway was squeezed through a tortuous route and is built to a broad/double gauge. It was recognised early on that full length broad beam craft would not be able to get through and plans were for the locks to be built correspondingly short. However, following pressure, and cash offers from the Club and others, the locks were built full length so that all narrow boats could access the Lancaster Canal via this route. The locks leading to the Douglas from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal were also shown to be capable of passing narrow boats (but not wide boats) several feet longer than the official gauge of 62 feet. Further improvements could be made there with only minor changes to lock cills and gate angles as part of any future rebuild, or regating, plans.