Canal boat holidays in the UK and Europe are under threat after the driest July in England and Wales since records began and intense heatwaves on the continent.
Some businesses are losing thousands of pounds in income due to cancellations, with fears growing that more trips could be called off at the last minute.
More than a dozen navigation closure notices, which shut waterways to boat traffic, have been issued by the Canal and River Trust across the UK between late July and early August due to low water levels – several with no expiry date.
The summer of extreme temperatures has seen two record-breaking heatwaves, in May and June, and more exceptional dry and hot weather in July.
While rain is on the way for parts of the UK, some of southern England may still not see a drop, forecasters said.
Parts of the Grand Union Canal in the West Midlands are affected by low water levels. Navigation closures have also been issued for waterways in London and the South East, including for parts of the River Stort in Essex and Hertfordshire.
Rod Auton, secretary of the Chesterfield Canal Trust, which operates trips along the Derbyshire waterway, said they had to cancel bookings after the Environment Agency issued an official order prohibiting abstraction when the river is below a defined flow. Though it was issued in error and later withdrawn, the team had already cancelled trips and issued refunds.
“[The notice] means that they’re not allowed to take water out of the River Rother, which means you can’t operate the canal, because if no water’s coming into the canal and you start operating the locks, then the water just drains away and there’s nothing there. That meant that we had to cancel all our trips,” he said.
“We have two trip boats in Chesterfield, and at this time of year we do trips virtually every day, so that will be costing us about £2,000 a week.”
The Chesterfield Canal Trust team anticipate further notices as dry conditions are set to continue.
In July, Swansea Community Boat Trust announced it was cancelling trips on its Copper Jack vessel because water levels in the River Tawe in Wales were too low.
Auton said: “People will hear that [the boat trip is] cancelled and that the canal’s closed but then they don’t hear that it’s reopened again, so sometimes you’ll get people who will come months later in the middle of winter when we’re doing our Santa specials, they’ll say, ‘Oh, we thought the canal was closed, so we never thought of booking this and that’, and that’s really frustrating.
“Bad news travels really fast, but good news doesn’t.”
A part closure of the Chesterfield Canal was also announced by the Canal and River Trust between 30 and 31 July due to low water levels.
Canal closures can cost the boat trip operators thousands of pounds in losses (Photo: Supplied)Investment needed in canals
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA), which maps the risks to waterways across the entire country, has long warned of the effect of drought on Britain’s canals and rivers.
“Unfortunately what we’ve predicted is coming true,” campaigns officer Amy Tilson said.
She said businesses who rely on the waterways for their income face the biggest impact, along with wildlife such as fish and birds.
“We’re talking high boat companies, any boatyards that need boats to get to them, so it’s going to have a huge impact on them,” Tilson said. “They won’t be able to send people out on the routes that they normally would, and so they people potentially would have their holidays either completely cancelled or curtailed if this continues.”
The IWA is calling for better maintenance and more funding to secure the future of Britain’s canals and rivers.
The Canal and River Trust said it is redirecting as much resource as possible towards projects that help conserve water and keep boats moving, focusing on the routes that are most important for boaters and that support boating businesses.
The measures include repairing lock gates, fixing leaks and actively managing the water in reservoirs to help support the canals for as long as possible.
A spokesperson said: “Hire boat holidays are still running, with companies finding alternative routes for holidaymakers where necessary, and towpaths are still open for people to visit and walk, cycle, and enjoy the many amazing waterside businesses.
“We know restrictions and closures are hugely frustrating for both boaters and canal businesses. We’re sorry for the disruption they cause and thank boaters for their understanding during these challenging times.”
European riverboat holidays hit
Waterways in the Netherlands are popular with tourists (Photo: Abdullah Asiran/Getty)Countries across Europe have also been experiencing lengthy periods of extreme heat, with France recording its hottest-ever month since records began in 1900, the Meteo France weather office said.
In Germany and the Netherlands, the River Rhine has fallen to record low levels, prompting the re-routing of river boat trips.
Holidaymakers have also experienced disruption to their trips after water levels dropped to record lows in the Danube River.
Usually submerged areas of the Danube River lay exposed amid exceptionally low water levels, in Rasova, Romania (Photo: Vadim Ghirda/AP)Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is one of the operators which has had to temporarily adapt its routes as low water levels in the Danube made it impossible to travel through some parts of the river.
The firm said it “continuously monitors river conditions and, when necessary, makes operational adjustments to affected itineraries in response to evolving water levels”.
“While the majority of Uniworld’s cruises are currently operating as scheduled, Uniworld is proactively communicating with travel partners and guests whose itineraries may be affected.”
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