19 June 2011
My sources tell me that the Droitwich Canal is opening a bit earlier than the official 1st July celebrations.
I hear that it is actually opening on the 20th June, or at least the Barge Canal is - but I don't know about the narrow Junction Canal which links Droitwich up to the Worcester Birmingham.
Whatever the exact date, this is exciting news for the Midlands waterways as another meaningful canal comes back on stream - and suddenly the Stourport Ring becomes the Stourport figure of eight. As luck would have it, we will be on this route the week following the official reopening, so will be passing through the Droitwich on the 4th July (sure to be fireworks), and again on the 6th!
I typed the route into Nick Canal Planner and was told the route wasn't possible because the Droitwich is still under restoration. Doh! But all isnt lost, this remarkable route planner lets you bring the Droitwich back on line at the touch of a cursor. If only restorations were so easy!
Here's a fond farewell to the 'under restoration' moniker for the Droitwich.
From Nicks Canal Planner:
Excluded Waterways
The following waterways are excluded from planning. To allow them to be used for planning deselect the checkbox
| only navigable by advance arrangement, many craft will not fit. | ||
| under restoration | ||
| under restoration | ||
| closed | ||
| Closed, superceded by Pomona Lock Branch | ||
| under restoration | ||
| abandoned | ||
| under restoration | ||
| under restoration | ||
| under restoration | ||
| under restoration | ||
| closed |
Alright for some! I was looking forward to getting to Droitwich for the official re-opening, but a house in Lancaster calls. . . .
ReplyDeleteOh well, perhaps I'll get there later in the summer. Looking forward to reading about your trip though.
Jim
As soon as I hear it's officially open I'll remove the two from the default list of closed waterways.
ReplyDeleteIt'll then plan a lot of routes that way - it's quite a bit shorter when coming from the north and up the W&B.
People who have their own accounts and preferences will have to do it themselves - once (I'm planning on a little gizmo to change their settings, but - so much programming to do, so much other life to get in the way!)