Latest news with #MaureenReadle
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
UK's deepest canal lock gets spring clean
The UK's deepest single canal lock has been partially drained for a spring clean. Canal & River Trust volunteers are removing debris and litter from Tuel Lane Lock, on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, in preparation for the busier boating months ahead. The lock lowers and raises boats almost 20ft (6m) as they make their journeys over the Pennines, the trust said. The charity said it recently launched its biggest ever volunteering campaign to ask for help protecting its 250-year-old network of waterways and historic structures. Unlike most locks, members of the public are not allowed to operate the mechanisms themselves, because of its depth and its proximity to a tunnel. Instead, the trust said that lock-keepers helped crews to negotiate the gates. The lock is so deep because it replaced a pair of earlier locks when it was built in 1996 to enable the canal to tunnel under a road built on its original level and provide a more efficient route. Volunteer Maureen Readle said: "I've enjoyed lots and lots of canal boating holidays with my husband. We wanted to help give back to the canals by volunteering when we retired. "I have also adopted a stretch of the canal, too, which my husband and I look after. "When I took part the first time two years ago, I'd never worn a pair of waders before, let alone being waist high in water, helping to look after the UK's deepest lock." Sean McGinley, regional director, Yorkshire & North East at Canal & River Trust, said: "Lock-keepers, many of whom are volunteers, are the face of the canals and play a vital and iconic role within our charity. "Lock-keepers have been a presence on Britain's canals for hundreds of years, although the role has changed over time. "Today, they help to look after the nation's beautiful waterways, assist boaters on their journeys, provide information and advice to visitors on the towpath, and maintain historic locks." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Canal charity offers public lock-keeping lessons Canal & River Trust
BBC News
03-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Tuel Lane Lock: UK's deepest canal lock gets spring clean
The UK's deepest single canal lock has been partially drained for a spring & River Trust volunteers are removing debris and litter from Tuel Lane Lock, on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, in preparation for the busier boating months lock lowers and raises boats almost 20ft (6m) as they make their journeys over the Pennines, the trust charity said it recently launched its biggest ever volunteering campaign to ask for help protecting its 250-year-old network of waterways and historic structures. Unlike most locks, members of the public are not allowed to operate the mechanisms themselves, because of its depth and its proximity to a the trust said that lock-keepers helped crews to negotiate the lock is so deep because it replaced a pair of earlier locks when it was built in 1996 to enable the canal to tunnel under a road built on its original level and provide a more efficient Maureen Readle said: "I've enjoyed lots and lots of canal boating holidays with my husband. We wanted to help give back to the canals by volunteering when we retired."I have also adopted a stretch of the canal, too, which my husband and I look after."When I took part the first time two years ago, I'd never worn a pair of waders before, let alone being waist high in water, helping to look after the UK's deepest lock." Sean McGinley, regional director, Yorkshire & North East at Canal & River Trust, said: "Lock-keepers, many of whom are volunteers, are the face of the canals and play a vital and iconic role within our charity."Lock-keepers have been a presence on Britain's canals for hundreds of years, although the role has changed over time."Today, they help to look after the nation's beautiful waterways, assist boaters on their journeys, provide information and advice to visitors on the towpath, and maintain historic locks." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
‘There's a magic about it': the UK's deepest lock gets a spring clean
It is said that an imitation Rolex watch was once found during the spring clean of the UK's deepest canal lock. Today the most glamorous discoveries are a Tesco shopping trolley and an empty can of Sprite – but spirits are still high. 'I did once come across a full jar of pickled onions,' said Maureen Readle, a volunteer. 'But that was a bit further up. Here it is mostly leaves.' Readle is not wrong. There seems to be tonnes of them lying in the murky water at the bottom of Tuel Lane lock in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire. For the lock to properly function it needs to be cleared, and the only way that happens is for dozens of volunteers to don waders and hard hats and climb down into the freezing cold waters of the Rochdale canal. Once there, they push leaves and other debris for hours along the bottom in shifts. The spring clean began two years ago and is now an annual event, shining a light on the importance of volunteers in keeping the canal network going. 'It is quite hard work actually,' said Andrew Shephard, a retired video game accessory company boss from Cliviger, near Burnley, who volunteers. 'This is a complete change to my working life,' he agreed. Unlike many of the volunteers there, Shephard was never a boater. 'My daughter got me involved in this about two years ago,' he said. 'She said: 'I've found the perfect thing for you. You've been in an office all your working life, it's time to get outside, get some fresh air.'' A normal day volunteering might involve painting lock gates or general tidying up and maintenance, so to be inside the UK's deepest lock was a genuine thrill, he says. Tuel Lane lock opened in 1996, the last link in of the restoration of the Rochdale canal – sometimes known as the Everest of canals because of its steepness over the Pennines – which began in the 1970s after its closure in the 1950s. The lock is essentially a double depth lock and is considered one of the most remarkable in the UK, lowering and raising boats by 6 metres (almost 20ft). 'There is an absolute magic about it,' said Peter Burton, the lead volunteer. 'When you come out of that tunnel it's like seeing York Minster, it is a real experience. People will come this way just to say they've been in the deepest lock. We give them a certificate. 'Because it's a concrete base, it fills up with leaves and rubbish and debris; it just builds and builds and boats might struggle to get passage. We need to give it a good scrape.' Before the cleanup operation all the volunteers watch a confined spaces awareness video that warns people: 'If in doubt – stay out.' They are reassured that the Tuel lock cleanup is a low-risk venture. No one has been lost, yet. The Canal and River Trust, which looks after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales, said the nation's canals are more popular than ever before with more boats using them than at the height of the Industrial Revolution. More volunteers are always needed, it says. The spring clean is hard work and it is freezing cold in the water but people are having fun. Readle said she had enjoyed lots of canal holidays over the years so volunteering was a way of giving something back. 'When I took part the first time two years ago, I'd never worn a pair of waders before, let alone being waist high in water … but here I am.'
