Not a lot of good as a canal looking like that.
Is being an SSSI incompatible with having a functional waterway?
No, not at all, in fact the whole of the River Derwent & Pocklington Canal are SSSI. The section you see there is classed as being in 'favourable' condition, where as the other side of the bridge (that I was standing on), upstream is 'unfavourable & declining', so the navigable bits are actually in better condition. The only reason that it's not navigable further up is because the preservation society haven't got the locks & dredging done yet.
Once it is in water there is no reason why not. All sorts of things used to be transported by water, and by railway too. One of our firewood customers family transported their entire farm including animals by rail to our area. Sadly the bull had enough by the time it got to the station and ran off. It was interesting getting it back on track I understand. Luckily in those days it was a market town including animals so not completely unknown and didn't cause armed police, RSPCA marksmen etc. to be called out.
You are probably lucky not to have the landings or you would have people wandering all over your land. You could try putting a couple of landings in with chains or barriers on the canal side to stop the boaters. We have been narrow boating and always tried to be considerate to land owners, but sadly some aren't.
I think we'll stick with the tractor. All the land is behind some pretty big becks, so public ingress isn't much of a problem away from the road and footpaths. Few people venture far off the beaten track down in the Ings, which is wise if you don't know the landscape very well.
That looks lovely Rob. A few years ago there was a rape field in flower with poppies in it. Rather garish, but very colourful. Yours looks in far better taste. Is it a crop or grass field, and what are the white flowers? Rather difficult to tell from the picture.
The white flowers are oxeye daisy - and it's a stubble field that hasn't been cropped for two seasons, not one of ours but an adjacent field. It's been a good year for poppies, we have quite a few in the grass (as well as some ragwort...)
Thought they might be, but they look a bit shorter than the poppies, and I would expect them to be taller round here. We get a lot of them on the verges. Has your neighbour left the field for a reason of just not got round to doing anything with it?
Luckily in those days it was a market town including animals so not completely unknown and didn't cause armed police, RSPCA marksmen etc. to be called out.
All the land is behind some pretty big becks, so public ingress isn't much of a problem away from the road and footpaths. Few people venture far off the beaten track down in the Ings, which is wise if you don't know the landscape very well.
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