Good to see a narrow boat passing through the Woodham flight of locks this morning. The Basingstoke canal was only reopened to navigation earlier this year, after a three-year closure. The boat was moving along quite gingerly, as the water levels were quite low, and a canal authority van was hard on its heels. Passing through the locks has always had to be regulated and monitored for this reason. Yesterday I saw a pretty large fish staying at the surface along a low section of the canal, it may have been struggling for air. Meanwhile new sets of mooring bollards have been installed at the locks along the Woodham flight, so it would seem navigation is being encouraged. They just have to make sure the back-pumping system keeps the water levels up
Archive for Basingstoke canal
Walking along the canal
The months of June and July are really the best time to be walking along the canal, if the sun and light is right. You get fantastic greens and browns. I treat the canal as an extension of my back garden, and feel a sense of ownership. I started walking along it regularly two years ago, to help repair my back, and wondered why I had not done it years before. Funnily enough, my back is playing up again. The picture of a heron fishing was taken a week ago
