Pocklington Canal

NAVIGATION

The Pocklington Canal has natural banking and the aquatic plants and other wildlife are protected. The whole canal is included in three Sites of Special Scientific Interest and British Waterways have recently announced that the Pocklington Canal is in the top ten places for wildlife on their waterways. Please treat the canal with the respect it deserves by following this Code of Practice for Boaters, developed in cooperation with British Waterways, English Nature and the Environment Agency.

CODE OF PRACTICE FOR BOATERS

· Avoid excessive speed
In order to protect the special features it is recommended that you do not exceed a speed of 3 mph on the canal. Be prepared to travel even more slowly where it is shallow.

· Think about other waterway users
Be considerate to anglers and towpath users.

· Avoid disturbing wildlife

· Avoid creating turbidity
Plants need light to grow in the water. Keep the boat in the channel, where the water is deepest, to avoid stirring up mud from the canal bed and eroding banks.

· Avoid damaging water plants
Rotation of the propeller and movement of the boat can tear out roots and damage plants.

· Take particular care when mooring or stopping to operate locks and swing-bridges
Approach the bank gently and avoid running the engine at high speed to stop the boat. Moor only at appropriate mooring points.

· Avoid causing pollution
Take particular care to ensure that oily bilge water, detergents including washing-up liquid, cleaning agents, and fuel are not discharged into the water. Be careful with fishing tackle: discarded line and weights can kill wildlife.

Visiting the canal
It is not possible to bring a boat onto the canal at present because Cottingwith Lock can not be used until the gates have been replaced. New gates have been made by British Waterways but funds are not available to install them and do work on the structure of the lock.

Navigational challenges and hazards
During the summer the Pocklington Canal becomes very weedy and you will need to take great care to keep your filter clear if your engine is cooled by canal water.

You will need a handcuff key (T-key) to open two of the swing-bridges. Please ensure that these bridges are kept locked to prevent vandals swinging the bridge to damage the brickwork, which has recently been repaired by BW.

The notorious Pocklington Weed will wrap itself around the prop shaft and you will need to clear it periodically. A quick burst of reverse may remove the weed but anything more will just wrap it around in the opposite direction. By keeping in the centre of the channel, avoiding ploughing through floating weed and keeping your speed down you will minimise the problem. Expect to get to know your weed hatch and enjoy the novelty of finding weed rather than the plastic and other detritus normally found in this habitat. Think twice about visiting this canal if your boat has a greater draught than most narrowboats or if it is difficult to clear your prop.

Cottingwith and Gardham locks have no ground paddles, so you need to be careful with the gate paddles when ascending in these locks. Beware of the swing-bridge across the chamber of Gardham Lock. This could cause a lot of damage if it is not kept fully open when using the lock.

Apart from the floating pontoon below Cottingwith Lock, there are currently no landing stages at the locks and swing-bridges.

Moorings and boaters' facilities
There is a 48 hour visitor mooring at Melbourne Arm. The sanitary station has a toilet and a sluice for emptying chemical toilets. The other facilities available are water, rubbish disposal, car parking and a nearby pub. Water is also available at Hagg Bridge.

The only permanent moorings on the canal are at Melbourne Arm. Search for available moorings on the BW Waterscape website.

Head of Navigation plaques

Oval brass Head of Navigation plaques are available by post from the Secretary of PCAS, price £10 including postage. Please include a photo of your boat in the Melbourne Arm.

At present we only have black plaques remaining. More will be ordered but the price may be significantly higher.

You can collect a plaque, price £8.50, when you visit Melbourne Arm. Contact details are on the noticeboard inside the BW sanitary station.

Navigation of the Pocklington Canal and access via the tidal Ouse
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