Towpath resurfacing.

British Waterways are in the process of re-surfacing the short stretch of towpath which slopes up to the lock. This entailed digging out loads of earth, edging the path with strips of wood, laying tarmac, then tar spraying and sprinkling a pea grit surface. This has involved four men with mini machines all week. A Portaloo was also installed for their convenience.

Of course the area was surrounded by a high wire fence barrier and we had to walk on the grass while the work was being carried out. You may wonder why so much attention has been given to this short sloping area of towpath, well it is all in the interests of Health and Safety.

We can’t help thinking that many of the towpath improvements aren’t always done with boaters safety in mind though. The surface areas around the locks are in a pretty poor state of repair.

The three locks at Hillmorton each have duplicate ones which have been closed off during the winter months for repairs. I wonder if this large crumbling lock landing slab will be replaced?

    

The bricks surrounding the lock areas have all disintegrated. We could do with a nice new non-slip surface being laid here too for the safety of the boaters who use them. One of the middle pair of locks has been drained while work is done on the paddles and gates.