Search the full route
Look beyond the next lock. A closure several days ahead can leave you committed to a canal with no convenient turning place.
Read the detail
Notices may affect specific dates, hours, boat dimensions or one direction only. Check whether a restriction has been updated or lifted since you first saw it.
Build a fallback
Keep an earlier mooring and a route alternative in mind. If a stoppage prevents passage, do not assume a towpath rumour overrides the authority's notice.
Before you go
- Search the whole route
- Read dates and dimension limits
- Keep a turning or stopping option