I HAD to smile when I saw the photograph of the lock gates at Wichelstowe showing part of the re-dug Wilts and Berks canal. This is a project that will never become what its adherents desire, unless it seriously considers the only way this canal will be able to cross Swindon is if it does so by aqueduct. Otherwise it will remain odd stretches of water, unconnected and impossible to navigate.

I had a narrow boat for over ten years on the Kennet and Avon at Great Bedwyn so I can appreciate the problems of pumping water to the stretches that are higher than the other links of the canal.

Think about the public draw of a waterway that goes above the rooftops and makes its way from the Faringdon link to Kingshill. It would be a wonder to perceive, that would draw boaters from all over the country for the chance to cruise this unique waterway. It’s a simple solution to the impossible problem of digging through all the water pipes, electricity cables and sewage outfalls. Re-routing these to go underneath the canal would be an astronomical cost and will never see the light of day. Also the disruption to traffic, as existing roads would have to be permanently shut off, is another reason why a gridlocked Swindon is out of the question.

So there we have a possible solution by way of prefabricating concrete sections of the canal and craning them into position to be supported on pillars. A deep lock gate at each end and constant pumping of water to this higher level would do the trick. There is a system in Scotland that does exactly this, so it has been done before. All it takes is money and engineering.

As an ‘old’ design engineer, aged 72, I can see no other possible solution of trying to link up a defunct section of canal across a busy town. Otherwise the digging and refurbishing of the canal around Wichelstowe is just a waste of money and time. I might also point out that I fished the section of canal that was adjacent to the Kingshill stretch for many enjoyable years. It was a new haven for wildlife and an interesting eco-system, but as a navigable narrow boating exercise – forget it, unless those involved are prepared to grasp the nettle and become really visionary. I would like to live long enough to see this, but then I would need a lifespan of several hundred years I guess.

It would take that long to make a decision and gather the funding.

BARRY E WOODHAM Scotby Avenue Swindon