I might be getting the wrong end of the stick here (apologies if so) & I have no wish to be controversial for the sake of it, but a member on here raises a very valid situation where she was almost seriously hurt, or worse, & the only two replies so far are arguing the case that closing towpaths for safety or repair reasons can inconvenience birders & anglers. Have some of us not got our priorities askew?
Steve Suttill said
Tue Jan 1 7:33 PM, 2013
In Mossley, a canal-side garden collapsed onto the towpath. The dispute over who should repair it (householder or British Waterways) has been going on for over five years and all this time the path has been closed
JOHN TYMON said
Mon Dec 31 6:44 PM, 2012
Karen Foulkes wrote:
I was out birding along the Peak Forest Canal towpath between Hyde and Dukinfield this morning, when the canal towpath gave way. The ground literally opened up and attempted to swallow me!
Fortunately I was able to get away, but I looked at the hole and it appeared as if the soil had eroded near the roots of a tree and this was the cause of the sudden appearance of the hole.
I'm sure that there are probably other sites that will have the same problems, so this is a word of warning.
I have of course informed the appropriate authorities, but just be wary of all possibilities
A fisherman did the same on the sanky canal ,reported it,and they shut 2 miles of canal path for 3 years on health and safety grounds,and stopped the fishing on it forever
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Monday 31st of December 2012 08:07:01 PM
Karen Foulkes said
Mon Dec 31 3:56 AM, 2012
I was out birding along the Peak Forest Canal towpath between Hyde and Dukinfield this morning, when the canal towpath gave way. The ground literally opened up and attempted to swallow me!
Fortunately I was able to get away, but I looked at the hole and it appeared as if the soil had eroded near the roots of a tree and this was the cause of the sudden appearance of the hole.
I'm sure that there are probably other sites that will have the same problems, so this is a word of warning.
I have of course informed the appropriate authorities, but just be wary of all possibilities
A fisherman did the same on the sanky canal ,reported it,and they shut 2 miles of canal path for 3 years on health and safety grounds,and stopped the fishing on it forever
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Monday 31st of December 2012 08:07:01 PM
Fortunately I was able to get away, but I looked at the hole and it appeared as if the soil had eroded near the roots of a tree and this was the cause of the sudden appearance of the hole.
I'm sure that there are probably other sites that will have the same problems, so this is a word of warning.
I have of course informed the appropriate authorities, but just be wary of all possibilities