Chris_d
Well-known member
Went out yesterday for a very pleasant run up to Abingdon, arrived at Clifton lock and no lockkeeper, everybody hand winding the lock. There was an unmanned sign up but no sign of the keeper, occoured to me for a minute that he might be on the weir and in trouble, but no another boater had been told at the lock above there was no keeper today. Apparently it was his day off and the EA would not supply a relief, so it had to be hand operated all day.
I suppose it is still April but in 30 odd years on the river I don't ever remember a lock being left completely unmanned all day, can you imagine this happening at Bray on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Anyway chatting to the lockkeepers mate, who was hanging about on the way back watching the fun, he reckons all the locks will eventualy have the out of hours power system fitted and hence no need for lockkeepers anymore, then the EA could sell the cottages as well for a tidy profit.
Well only a rumour but you can see the logic for the EA with money tight etc... anybody else heard anything?
I suppose it is still April but in 30 odd years on the river I don't ever remember a lock being left completely unmanned all day, can you imagine this happening at Bray on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Anyway chatting to the lockkeepers mate, who was hanging about on the way back watching the fun, he reckons all the locks will eventualy have the out of hours power system fitted and hence no need for lockkeepers anymore, then the EA could sell the cottages as well for a tidy profit.
Well only a rumour but you can see the logic for the EA with money tight etc... anybody else heard anything?
