Canal coronavirus lockdown Updates

The canals have been ‘open for business’ since August but there are still restrictions on how many people can occupy a boat. Restrictions differ across the United Kingdom, some local areas may have tighter regulations because of  Coronavirus ‘hotspots’ and regulations will change depending on the severity of outbreaks.

Update September 17th 2020
Restrictions have been tightened from Monday 14 September, ‘.. when meeting friends and family you do not live with (or have formed a support bubble with) you must not meet in a group of more than 6, indoors or outdoors.’  Many hire firms are interpreting this as meaning that no more than 6 people can hire a boat unless they live together. Contact your hire firm for details.

Update June 28th 2020
CRT says that Boat Hire can recommence on June 5th provided it follows ‘the Government’s guidance on social distancing and hygiene, and …. at the present time bookings must be restricted to household groups who live together.’ This applies to England only.

Most of the rest of this report is now out of date.

The UK Government updated its Guidance and Support for England on 11th May 2020 with a plan ‘to return life to as near normal as we can, for as many people as we can, as quickly and fairly as possible ...’ One relaxation is that people are now allowed to spend more time exercising outdoors, to engage in more leisure activities and to travel further to exercise.

It also published (13th May) an updated ‘Guidance on accessing green spaces safely’ which specifically mentioned allowing ‘all forms of water sports practiced on open waterways, including … the use of privately-owned motorised craft‘. Restrictions on travelling any distance to go boating have been lifted with the proviso that’you should not stay overnight’.

The Canal and River Trust updated its advice on May 13th in the light of these Government statements. This is our understanding of the current situation on English canals based on CRT sources. It may not apply to waterways outside England and those governed by different navigation authorities such as the EA and Broads.

Private Boaters
From May 13th private boaters may take ‘short’ canal trips on their boats but may not stay overnight on their boat. The restrictions of social distancing mean that you must only boat on your own or with members of your ‘household’, or presumably with one person from another household provided you stay 2 metres apart. However boaters should avoid ‘use of locks and any staff-operated structures if possible‘. CRT states ‘it will take time to get the entire network fully operational’. Canoeing and kayaking are now allowed.

Liveaboard Boaters
The mooring restrictions on ‘Continuous Cruisers’ – boaters living on their boat without a home mooring – which have been relaxed for the last couple of months are being re-imposed from May 23rd. Boaters are expected to leave the place they have been moored and continue their movements within 14 days but ‘limited navigation’ will be allowed until the system returns to normal working.

Holiday Hire Boaters
No dates have yet been set for the resumption of hire boating. However there is hope in the industry that Government restrictions will have been sufficiently reduced, with the canals back in full operation, to allow weekly and day hiring to resume by early July. Customer handover enhancements, especially regarding boat cleaning, will be needed and are being planned. But unless the current social distancing rules have changed by then hire might only be restricted to members of a single household, gathering in other groups of more than two is still prohibited. It seems unlikely that pubs, restaurants and canal attractions will be allowed to open then. Nonetheless the hire firms expect strong demand, given that overseas holidays will not be possible, that this is the peak of the season and that there may be a boat shortage because some hire firms have been forced out of business by the lockdown.

Towpaths
Towpaths have stayed open through the emergency to walkers, runners and cyclists although people were not meant to travel long distances to enjoy them. Now in England unlimited travel is allowed to access canals for leisure. Angling is also now allowed. You should continue to ‘follow the advice around social distancing at all times, keeping your distance from both other people and moored boats where people may be living aboard‘.

Canal Network
CRT expects that on June 1st their ‘navigations will re-open in full, subject to some exceptions, and you will be able to undertake longer journeys’. However the situation on Welsh and Scottish canals will depend on the restrictions imposed by their devolved Governments. At the time of writing the North Wales police are still stopping vehicles entering Wales and turning back those without a ‘reasonable excuse for essential travelling’. It will be interesting to see if they stand guard at Chirk Tunnel on the Llangollen Canal!

Staying Safe
Government recommendations are;
take hygiene precautions when you are outside
wash your hands as soon as you are back indoors
keep at least two metres apart from anyone outside your household at all times
take hand sanitiser with you when you set off in case there are no handwashing facilities.

Information from Canal and River Trust and UK Cabinet Office online documents. Check their websites for latest updates.