At the end of our last ‘heritage spotter’ article about water-saving side ponds, we ended by suggesting that perhaps they weren’t just a piece of heritage - in these times of uncertain water supplies, they might have a future. By contrast, in the case of this month’s subject there’s absolutely no question of them simply being a part of the canals’ heritage, they’re very much still part of the operation of the waterways network indeed, they were quickly deployed as a first response to the Scottish breach reported on our news pages. But in the way that different canal companies approached the issue in different ways which can still be seen today, they qualify as ‘heritage’ too.
STOP PLANKS: WHAT ARE THEY?
At their most basic, we’re talking about something very simple here: look at the head or tail of most locks, or the narrow masonry-lined channel under a typical bridge, and as likely as not you’ll see a matching pair of vertical ‘slots’ or recesses, one on each side of the canal, a few inches wide, and usually lined with a length of metal channel. These are ‘stop plank grooves’, and they provide a method of temporarily damming the canal off either to drain a limited section of canal for scheduled engineering work, or in an emergency (such as a breach or structure failure) to limit the loss of water.
Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Canal Boat.
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Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Canal Boat.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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HIGH AND MIGHTY
Acorns make the perfect store food for jays’ larders
TAKING THE PLUNGE
Why Chris and Sarah Atkin will never forget tying the knot
LABELLED WITH LOVE
Helen Tidy enjoyed one weekend moored next to The Beer Boat ... simply the perfect solution to collecting bottle tops for her next project
MIDDLE THAMES
In the second part of our guide, we follow the Thames upstream from Reading through the steep sided Goring Gap and quieter countryide to reach Oxford
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Robert Davies recalls childhood memories of a popular holiday destination and uncovers a reminder of the golden age of canals
FIT FOR PURPOSE
Terry Hibbard from Harworth Heating offers his expert opinion following our feature on onboard stove safety
BUCKING UP...
We join Waterway Recovery Group’s first canal restoration working party in six months - as WRG’s volunteers help the Buckingham Canal Society get the project back on track after lockdown
ART ON THE WATER
Graphic artist Katie Ruby lives and works on 32ft narrowboat Poppy
GO WITH THE FLOW
What makes a boat truly stand out from the crowd? Sometimes you just need a little finesse and a taste for adventure
A GLASS HALF-FULL AT BUCKBY WHARF
Tim Coghlan raised a glass on the Grand Union Canal as The New Inn reopened to the relief of regulars