TowPath Talk April 2018

TOWPATH

The UK’s Number ONE read for all waterways users

A PAIR OF TICKETS TO 10 pairs worth £544

TALK

112 PAGES

Issue 150, April 2018

Boaters’ wedding

NEW

FREE APP!

P66

NOMINATE YOUR TOP TEAM

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE See page 109

P4

DUDLEY TUG WINS HNBC AWARD P5

BIG LIFT BEATS THE FREEZE P16

Newlyweds Kerry and Steve Buckland, back on their narrowboat Kerry Gold on the Trent & Mersey Canal following their marriage at All Saints’ Church, Alrewas. They are accompanied by boat horse Chelsea and handler Corinne Rose. See report on page 2. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES

Levy on widebeam boats announced in raft of licence changes BOAT REVIEW: MOON RIVER

P64

LOOKING FOR A FRIENDLY MARINA?

Find your ideal location using the map in our feature

Turn to

P32

BOATS FOR SALE Turn to

P75

PLANNED changes to the Canal & River Trust’s boat licensing system have met with mixed reactions from boating organisations.

Announced following the outcome to

Middle Level Bill

its licensing review consultation, these include a levy of up to 20% on wider boats for which there will be three pricing bands as well as the existing bands for boat length.

THE Middle Level Bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on February 28 and first reading in the Lords on March 1. A second hearing will take place after a petitioning period, which ran until March 12 and it is hoped that Royal Assent will be gained by Christmas. The proposed legislation, which has IWA support, would enable the Middle Level Commissioners, the navigation authority responsible for the Fenland waterways, to charge registration fees for boats on its waters in line with other authorities, providing income which could offer better facilities for boaters.

HS2 petitions

Commenting on the proposals, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) described it as a ‘missed opportunity’ to solve some of the issues caused by the current system, particularly the

FORMAL petitions have been submitted by the Canal & River Trust and the Inland Waterways Association for changes to the High Speed 2 Phase 2a Hybrid Bill which proposes a high-speed rail link from West Midlands to Crewe. CRT is concerned about three particular locations along the Trent & Mersey Canal: Great Haywood, Fradley Junction and Kings Bromley while IWA fears excessive noise could render whole sections of canal as ‘no-go’ areas for mooring. Petitions closed on February 26 and will be considered by a Select Committee which has the power to amend the Bill.

effect of the continuous cruising option introduced by the British Waterways Act 1995 as an alternative to having a home mooring.

• Continued on page 2

Significant year

THE Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust is seeking a project manager for its Schoolhouse Bridge project. Its rebuilding will open the way to restoration of the last length of derelict canal after the channel has been restored to Crickheath Wharf. The programme supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund will also see the establishment of a new nature reserve at Aston Locks in Shropshire and dredging choked lengths of the canal in Wales. Trust chairman Michael Limbrey claimed that 2018 promises to be the most significant year yet for the restoration of the Montgomery Canal.

2 NEWS/COMMENT

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

WELCOME

Don’t miss out! Get 12 copies delivered to your home for less than £1 a copy

SPRING has certainly sprung on the news front if not yet weatherwise with the ‘beast from the east’ set to return, as I write.

What with the announcement of the new licensing charges by the Canal & River Trust as reported on our front page, plans to sell off BWML – see page 61 – and exciting news for the Montgomery Canal Restoration Project, it’s all happening out there. Between editions, keep up to date with the latest developments on our website, address below.

Inevitably the proposed transfer of Environment Agency navigations to the Canal & River Trust and the Middle Level Bill were among the topics raised during a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Waterways Group which I attended. See my report on page 3.

I also went to the Northern Canals Association spring meeting hosted recently by the Chesterfield Canal Trust, see report on page 5 and am looking forward to getting on the road again to more events as the days get longer.

We need your help! We want to learn more about you, our readers, so we can ensure the newspaper and all our boating products are as relevant as they can be. We’ve created a survey (link located on our website www.towpathtalk.co.uk) By way of thanks for completing the survey all respondents will be entered into a free prize draw. It will only take you a few minutes to complete and I’d be grateful if you could take a little time to visit our website, click the link and give us your thoughts!

Many thanks and good luck in the prize draw!

Boaters marry at Alrewas

By Harry Arnold

Kerry and Steve, with boat horse Chelsea, at the church’s historic lychgate. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES

THE waterways community has lost another of its most ardent campaigners with the death at 81 of Terry Fogarty, writes Janet Richardson.

Best known in recent years for his pioneering Diagonal Lock concept which he was hoping to see come to fruition during his lifetime, he had fought for improvements along his local stretch of the Grand Union Canal from Knowle to Birmingham over many years.

As recently as November he was still campaigning to improve safety of the junction of the towpath with Kenilworth Road in Knowle and held a meeting at his local – the Black Boy pub – to raise

TALK

Editor Janet Richardson jrichardson@mortons.co.uk Publisher Tim Hartley Advertising sales team leader Tania Shaw – tshaw@mortons.co.uk Advertising sales representatives Stuart Yule – syule@mortons.co.uk Christopher Heaton – cheaton@mortons.co.uk Editorial design Tracey Barton Divisional advertising manager Sue Keily Production editor Pauline Hawkins Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Contact us Customer services 01507 529529 Telephone lines are open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-7pm. Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk News & editorial Tel: 01507 529466. Fax: 01507 529495 editorial@towpathtalk.co.uk Advertising Tel: 01507 524004. Fax: 01507 529499 Published by Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 523456. Fax: 01507 529301 Printed by Mortons Print Ltd. Tel. 01507 523456 Next Issue – April 26, 2018

Independent publisher since 1885

Conditions Editorial is accepted subject to availability of space, and editorial policy on content and insertion cannot be guaranteed. The publishers retain the right to edit material submitted. Every effort is made to ensure accuracy through accurate and clear copy, but the publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions.

Independently proven pick up: 34,450 copies

ALL Saints’ Church, next to the Trent & Mersey Canal in the village of Alrewas, was recently the setting for a ‘boaters wedding’.

Boat owners Kerry Buxton and Steve Buckland moor their boat Kerry Gold further down the Trent & Mersey but are regular visitors to Alrewas and decided that the proximity of the church to the canal made it an ideal wedding venue.

Dress – apart from the bride – was boating gear and to add to the scene they brought in a working boat horse, one of those which on certain days pulls the Cromford Canal Society’s passenger boat. Leaving the church after the ceremony the couple passed under an arch of boat shafts held by their friends. The horse Chelsea, with handler Corinne Rose, accompanied Kerry and Steve from the church, through the lychgate and down to their boat.

Kerry is of Irish descent – hence the boat name Kerry Gold – and the entertainment at the reception, at the local William IV Inn, was an Irish band. The couple were lucky with the weather as there was a short afternoon lull in the recent snow storms.

There was, however, no chance of the boat moving on as, with other guests’ boats, the canal was iced over.

Kerry and Steve emerge from All Saints’ Church beneath an arch of boat shafts. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES

Mourners pay tribute to diagonal lock pioneer

Janet

TOWPATH

See page 18 or call 01507 529529

The working model at Fogarty Castings Ltd. PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

this issue. He will be remembered at the pub with a photo at the side of the bar.

Terry invited me to the meeting but unfortunately I was unable to attend and he told me afterwards that there had been a lot of support from local residents and boaters.

In early 2016, he invited me to visit his business Fogarty Castings Ltd at Acocks Green where he had a working model of the Diagonal Lock and the Camp Hill flight which he believed was an ideal location. I was also a guest at his narrowboat Lydia, moored at Knowle Locks, where we had an enjoyable and informative afternoon with Stratford upon Avon Canal Society and former IWA national chairman Clive Henderson who had helped design the model with students from Coventry University.

Terry was particularly proud to have been featured in the Birmingham Post’s Review of the Year for 2015.

He leaves two daughters, Sharon Fogarty and Caroline Crichton, and six grandchildren. Caroline told me that her father had been involved with various canal restoration groups over the years

before coming up with the Diagonal Lock concept in the early noughties.

Encouraged by other people and their positivity he had spent many years passionately talking to people about the design.

Some high-profile supporters included Meriden MP Dame Caroline Spelman, former Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore, Sherborne Wharf MD Earle Wightman and good friend Philip Sharp, who read the eulogy at Terry’s funeral. Around 200 mourners attended the service which took place on March 6 at the Robin Hood Cemetery in Solihull and was followed by a wake at the Black Boy. A skilled engraver by trade, Terry had told me he’d first caught the boating bug after a holiday on the Norfolk Broads and had been boating for more than 60 years. He said he couldn’t afford to buy a boat so had built his own widebeam in his back garden and launched it on the Grand Union in the late 1970s.

Caroline recalled: “As a family we had many holidays up and down the Grand Union Canal and had a fantastic time.”

Diagonal lock pioneer Terry Fogarty at Knowle.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

14 NEWS FOCUS

Back to the future – and it still needs unlocking

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Towpath Talk revisits the man behind the Diagonal Lock concept. Janet Richardson reports.

TEN years ago in one of its early issues, Diagonal Lock but 10 years later it has Towpath Talk carried a two-page feature cost me a fortune. Half of my unit is explaining the Diagonal Lock concept taken up by lock models but there has masterminded by Solihull boater and been no help or Government funding. “ businessman Terry Fogarty.

Terry has worked tirelessly to garner In ‘Unlocking the future’, my support for the project and has attracted predecessor Tony Hoyland explained the interest of local MP Caroline in detail the invention which would Spelman, immediate past national offer engineers the flexibility to replace chairman of the IWA, Clive Henderson, time-consuming and water-hungry lock Dr Peter Best, chairman of the Lapal flights and also link canals to reservoirs. Canal Trust and Birmingham City Back in the day – June 2006 to be exact Council among others.

– Terry was optimistic that his vision I first saw his working model at Crick from which a concept 3D computer Boat Show in 2010 and he told me then: model had been created by Coventry “Th ere are so many sites begging for University design students would something like the diagonal lock but become reality. He said: “Tony did the finance and natural caution are holding best piece of journalism promoting the it back. ” Terry is now in his 80th year and would dearly love to see the first diagonal lock built in Britain but is disappointed that funding for innovation does not seem to exist and spoke of his frustration at trying to contact the office of former finance and innovations minister Vince Cable. “I have spoken to various other people, all documented, some say they are very interested but no one has come up with any money,” Terry said.

This working model shows how the boat

PHOTOS: JANET RICHARDSON

floats within the tube.

Terry Fogarty meets Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson at Fogarty Castings.

the Birmingham Post in its Review of the Year for 2015.

One of the models shows the Camp Hill Locks in Birmingham which he believes is an ideal location and could form the basis of an urban regeneration project including an underground museum and retail complex and a ‘Brummie’ wall depicting local celebrities and legendaries such as canal engineers and military heroes in similar vein to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We went to the site which Terry used A model showing the canal, road and rail network at Camp Hill. to walk past every day when he went to school. He explained how the locks could where there is a hill in its path. “But the Working models be replaced by the diagonal lock tunnel big issue is the cost.”

I visited Terry at his business – Fogarty with a roof over the whole lot which Castings in Acocks Green – where would help to create building land in a Original idea posters and cuttings about the Diagonal derelict area. “The area has a lot to gain Terry first caught Lock adorn the walls and the working but the boating bug after a it would models vie for space with the tools of his to commit take time. Nobody wants holiday on the Norfolk Broads; now aged themselves to something as 79, he has been boating for more than 60 trade. In fact he was recently featured by complicated, ” he commented. years. “I couldn’t afford to buy one so I Other potential locations include the built my own,” he told me. He recalled Lapal, Lichfield & Hatherton, Stafford the long hot summer of 1976 when water & Worcestershire canals, Somerset Coal shortages forced British Waterways to Canal and the Knowle flight on the close many locks.

Grand Union which, according to Terry, The Diagonal Lock is designed bottom “I had a house at Olton which backed of the tube, the bottom gate would be one of the simplest sites to do. on on a sealed tube allowing boats will open to the canal and could take my boat to enable the boat to exit.

He explained that it was the final flight there to ascend or descend a gradient Conversely to do work on it. When I got back to it will be closed during of locks to be modified just before the Knowle, swiftly and safely, specifically aimed an ascent, the locks were closed so I could ensuring water pressure war and is the last widebeam flight on not at flights experiencing heavy usage is maintained. get back to my own mooring and BW the Grand Union between London and said and traffic bottlenecks.

I had to pay for one.”

A floating bollard, which is Birmingham, the work being completed It allows a boat to float inside essentially The original idea for the diagonal lock a floating dock, will keep before they reached Camp Hill. a watertight concrete tube that the boat came to Terry while he was sitting in the steady, enabling its engine Clive Henderson suggested it could pub having can be customised to meet the to be a glass of beer. “I held the switched off and its crew and be applicable where there is currently glass challenges of diverse terrains and passengers on its side and no matter which way to leave the boat to no flight such as to provide a link from you would be large enough in diameter ascend tip it, the liquid stays horizontal, that or descend unmanned. the Grand Union at Leamington to the gave to ensure that a range of vessels can me the idea for the concept which Benefits: River Avon or on an unrestored canal off be accommodated. ers a more efficient way of moving • Faster transit than via a Water pumped from side pounds boats between different water levels.” conventional flight can be used to increase the water • Capacity He is now a liveaboard at the bottom for level in the lock tube, ensuring that • Prospective larger boats of the Knowle flight, having sold his water conservation the Diagonal Lock can operate • Construction house 12 years ago to pay for the can be integrated at a consistent level irrespective development of the concept, but feels into landscape of variable water supplies in the • Potential let down by the system. “Nobody knows tourist attraction Showing how the Diagonal surrounding waterway network. what to do to get funding, a lot of people • Focal point for regeneration Lock can be integrated into the Where there is a guaranteed water are extremely sympathetic and helpful projects landscape. supply, the lock tube can be filled • No but sympathy does not pay the bills need to keep engine running directly from water pumped out of • Easier and I have spent £80-100,000 over for disabled/elderly boaters ● To see a video of Terry and the canal, eliminating the need for the years to fund the project and had To see computer images and a friends – Acoustic Blue – side pounds. nothing back whatsoever,” he said. simulation of how it works, visit performing his song Beggars When a boat descends to the www.diagonallock.org But Terry remains positive and Terry believes that Camp Hill could believes in Birmingham visit https:// Camp Hill could become the become another Brindleyplace. youtu.be/SujrzaMu6h0 next Brindleyplace.

About the concept

RIGHT: Our 2016 feature on the Diagonal Lock.

One of the locks on the Camp Hill flight.

Canal, railway and road at Camp Hill.

The Knowle flight would be one of the simplest sites to convert, according to Terry.

After donating the boat to a local school, he later joined with a group of friends to buy an ex-hire boat, Lady Nia, in which he enjoyed years of cruising.

More recently he had lived for some 12 years on Lydia, another ex-hire boat.

Another of his loves was music and he wrote a song Beggars in Birmingham which he performed with a group of friends known as Acoustic Blue.

• Continued from page 1

Levy on widebeam boats announced in raft of licence changes IWA national chairman Ivor Caplan commented: “The review does nothing to address two of IWA’s key concerns; the increasing use of widebeam boats on inappropriate waterways to the detriment of other waterways users and ensuring that boaters without a home mooring cruise an appropriate distance.

IWA will continue campaigning for these concerns to be resolved.”

Speaking on behalf of commercial boat owners, British Marine Inland Boating chairman Russell Chase said: “We believe that the CRT has not gone far enough, in both simplifying the licence categories or that they will generate any real extra revenue. We now await CRT to consult with the industry over commercial trade licences in due course.”

Writing on page 110, co vice-chairman of the National Association of Boat Owners, Mark Tizard, described it as a much more complex licence charging process, commenting: “I wonder if there is any other organisation that would consult so widely and introduce changes like this over such a long timescale.”

According to CRT, the changes, to be phased in over five years from April 2019,

aim to ensure the financial contribution made by boaters towards the cost of looking after the waterways is spread fairly across the boating community.

Interim head of boating Jon Horsfall said: “The current licensing system has remained largely unchanged for more than two decades and there have been many changes to the waterways, and to boating, in that time.

“There were over 11,000 submissions to the consultation and I’d like to thank each boater who took part. Ultimately, we’ve aimed to make sure the financial contribution made by boaters is spread as fairly as possible across the boating community.”

Boaters who currently receive a prompt payment discount will see that retained but at a reduced discount and, from 2020, part of this discount will apply for those who manage their payments online (for example by credit/ debit card or by direct debit).

To offset that reduction, CRT plans to freeze underlying licence fees for 2019, which will be confirmed later in the year when prevailing price inflation can be taken into account.

With the exception of the discount

for electric boating, which will be reviewed to see if it can encourage greener boating, all other discounts available, including for historic boats, charity boats and unpowered butties, will remain unchanged.

There will be no difference in licence

fees for boats without a home mooring.

Instead, CRT will be undertaking further work to develop a fair means of reflecting the benefits experienced by boaters without home moorings who remain in the most popular places like London.

A summary of the changes • Changes will be phased over five years, with no changes before April 2019.

• Current length bands remain the same, and three width bands will be introduced: Band 1 being 2.16m (7ft 1in) and below; Band 2 being over 2.16 to 3.24m (7ft 1in to 10ft 7¾in); Band 3 being over 3.24m width (10ft 7¾in).

The two wider bands will attract surcharges rising to 10% and 20% respectively, phased in over four years from April 2020.

• The prompt payment discount will be reduced to 5% in April 2019.

From April 2020 the structure of the discount will be changed so

that a 2.5% discount will be offered for prompt payment in full, and a 2.5% discount for those using automated payment methods (including monthly direct debits).

• All other current discounts remain unchanged, with a planned review of the criteria for the electric boat discount.

• One-day licences will be withdrawn while all other shortterm licences will be retained.

• No link between mooring status and licence fees, but a further review is planned to establish how the significant growth in some popular locations can be addressed.

NEWS 3

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Timetable for transfer: EA and CRT to work on revised proposal

By Janet Richardson

WATERWAYS representatives have welcomed the news that the proposed transfer of Environment Agency navigations to the Canal & River Trust could be back on the table sooner than expected.

Defra parliamentary private secretary Rebecca Pow told members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways that EA officers had been instructed to work with the CRT on a revised proposal on which assets could be transferred and had been asked to report back to the Waterways Minister on April 26.

The Taunton Deane MP was standing in on behalf of Dr Thérèse Coffey who had been called away to an emergency Cobra meeting and said she would feed back all comments to the minister.

She said Dr Coffey recognised support for the transfer from APPG, IWA and many of the boating community and this remains the Government’s ambition on terms which will result in the best deal to taxpayers.

Reading from the minister’s notes, Ms Pow said: “The value of our inland waterways cannot be disputed and are an intrinsic part of the landscape. They have been a catalyst of regeneration and growth.”

As well as their benefit to health and wellbeing, she also mentioned their role in leisure and transport, adding that in her own constituency proposals had been put forward for a ‘park and glide’ scheme in Taunton.

The creation of the Canal & River Trust had been the first major transfer and had been an impressive achievement. Referring to the grant of £800 million over a 15-year term from 2012, review work would start in 2021-22 towards the setting of future requirements for Government support.

Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant called for face-to-face meetings to take place between EA and CRT, blaming Government inaccessibility for the rejection of the initial proposal, and Lord German added: “Now we know of the instructions given to officers of EA to work with CRT to look at the transfer of assets, we need to put forward a timetable for that.”

British Marine chief executive officer Howard Pridding said he was really disappointed that the minister had not been able to attend as BM wanted to send a very strong message that it wants

IN BRIEF Annual survey

this transfer to happen. “Someone has to come to the table and start talking positively about that,” he commented.

Funding package

Canal & River Trust chief executive Richard Parry agreed that there had been a lack of feedback from Defra regarding the EA transfer and some sort of funding package would have to be agreed if CRT was expected to take on larger assets such as structures on the River Thames.

The more costly the asset, the more funding would be needed, possibly an additional £10-12 million a year on top of the £70 million required at present; for example there are 120 weirs on the Thames. Whereas the Canal & River Trust navigations comprise three quarters canals and a quarter rivers, the EA’s 640 miles of navigation are all rivers. “There is quite a lot at stake in respect of the costs involved,” he added.

“We want to be a responsible partnership with Government. In the meantime we are conscious that we have 2000 miles of network to run and have also had good discussions with the local authorities (Surrey & Hampshire county councils) who own the Basingstoke Canal, a candidate for transfer as well.”

Basingstoke Canal Society chairman Philip Riley said that there are around 30 waterways in the national network which for historic reasons are not all in public ownership and queried whether a national waterways strategy had been considered to bring them all into CRT control.

Regarding the long-term settlement beyond 2027, CRT would be making a very strong case to Government when the time was right, having proved itself a success during its first five years in what was uncharted territory.

Stewardship of the network’s assets had continued to improve as had longterm planning. There had also been considerable growth in income from investments and through new funding opportunities such as corporate sponsors and the People’s Postcode Lottery as well as individual donors.

“We have eight million people on our doorstep and much of our charitable funding is about programmes reaching out to these communities. We have also seen large-scale growth in the use of towpaths.

“It feels as if we have made great strides in the past five years. It is

Parliamentary private secretary Rebecca Pow, centre, with from left, Canal & River Trust chief executive Richard Parry, Michael Fabricant MP, John Grogan MP, Environment Agency chairman Emma Howard Boyd, Lord German and IWA national chairman Ivor Caplan.

PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

all about expanding, exploring and stretching the model to its full potential,” Mr Parry added.

Asked by Michael Fabricant whether CRT receives any income stream at all from the TV production companies which are using the canals as a basis for their programmes, he replied: “We get a small amount from filming – around £100-200,000 a year – but there is no doubt that the increased visibility is a very good thing and the hire boat industry prospers from wider awareness.”

Working together

IWA national chairman Ivor Caplan stressed the importance of volunteering and engaging with local communities for which the benefits had been well established. “How can we roll this forwards with EA and other navigation authorities so we can achieve the same benefits for them?” he asked.

“We should be playing to each other’s strengths and we are very keen to make sure we work together.”

He also stressed the importance of sustained funding for the EA navigations and cited the example of the failed bridges in Scotland which had caused the closure of the Forth & Clyde Canal.

Association of Waterways Cruising Club chairman Ann Banks commented on its consensus with IWA over failed structures.

The progress through Parliament of the Middle Level Bill was also discussed.

The Private Members Bill received its third reading in the House of Commons on February 28 and first reading in the House of Lords the following day.

As well as bringing Middle Level Commissioners (MLC) into line with other navigation authorities it would enable the commissioners to levy charges for vessels which would also be required to hold insurance and to comply with the Boat Safety Scheme which is currently not the case.

MLC chief executive David Thomas

thanked everyone who had supported the Bill so far. “We are very much looking forward to moving forward together with other navigation authorities.” He commented that the approach that CRT and EA currently make to the matter of unlicensed boats currently differs and asked whether there are proposals to bring these closer together.

Richard Parry replied: “We have put a lot of resources to make sure boats are licensed on our network.” The changes just announced, including increased charges for wider beam boats, would bring CRT slightly closer to the EA position.

IWA chief executive Neil Edwards commented that the waterways are seen as providing cheap housing in cities such as London and wondered if the Government could do anything to help that situation.

Mr Parry responded: “We recognise that situation and are working as actively as we can to make sure boats don’t stay in London too long.”

He acknowledged that visiting boaters could sometimes have difficulty finding places to moor and while CRT had been talking to city authorities regarding this matter, it would not be looking for active support from Government on this issue.

Alan Wildman, chairman of the Residential Boat Owners Association, said they understand the problem in urban areas and referred to the Government’s commitment to reducing the problem of housing shortages.

“RBOA would like to seek Government help in taking away some of the obstructions in the way of finding an adequate supply of residential moorings.” Many possible sites were lying idle because of their designation and he suggested local authorities could generate income through council tax.

Richard Parry responded that CRT wants to encourage more responsible living on the waterways but such places needed to be found around the places where people want to live.

BOATERS have until April 7 to complete the 2018 National Boat Owners’ Views Survey, which is sent out by the Canal & River Trust to a third of its boat licence holders. CRT is calling on boaters to share their thoughts and feelings about their experience of the waterways and aims to have contacted most boaters on its waters over a three-year cycle.

The survey is accessed via a link in an email or letter. Paper versions can be obtained by contacting the customer service team on 0303 040 4040.

Barrier campaign

A PETITION has been launched calling for safety barriers along Manchester's city centre canals, writes Geoff Wood. The online campaign follows the death of Manchester student Charlie Pope, 19, whose body was found in the Rochdale Canal, just off Whitworth Street West. The petition on the Change.org website calling for barriers to be put up across the city centre’s waterways had already attracted more than 12,000 signatures at the time of going to press.

Moving on

BRITISH Marine has announced that its chief executive officer Howard Pridding will be leaving the company at the end of June. He has worked in a variety of roles at BM for more than 27 years and was appointed as CEO in October 2012. Howard said he was looking forward to seeking new opportunities. The BM board has started recruiting a successor and hopes to make an appointment before Howard leaves.

Busiest locks

THE Oxford Canal is the busiest canal in the country, according to an annual survey of lock usage published by the Canal & River Trust. There were 9552 lockages last year at Hillmorton in Warwickshire, from a total 3.8 million across 1586 working locks on CRT’s 2000 miles of waterways. The Oxford Canal connects the city with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury junction.

Quick quick slow

A MAJOR arts project with exhibitions across East Lancashire has been given a £1 million fast track to continue for the next three years, writes Geoff Wood.

The ‘Super Slow Way’ programme, which takes its inspiration from the 200-year-old Leeds & Liverpool Canal, has been awarded the grant by the Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme.

4 NEWS

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Help us choose theTowpath Talk Top Team for 2018

Your team could win the hire of one of ABC Leisure’s day boats. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES

✄

Name...............................................................................................................................................................................................

TEAMS of volunteers help to maintain the network of more than 4000 miles of inland waterways across the British Isles.

From the Waterway Recovery Group to the local taskforce adopting their ‘own patch’ of towpath, thousands of unpaid hours are contributed each year.

And it’s not just maintaining the canal and river infrastructure but providing voluntary crews for the community boats which provide such a valuable service in enabling disabled and vulnerable people to enjoy a day out in the countryside or preserving 200 years of heritage for future generations.

Last month we announced the launch of our new Towpath Talk Top Team award. The launch will take place on Tuesday, April 3 at Ellesmere Port on board the Daniel Adamson, which is another example of how a team of volunteers can achieve great things.

The award, which has evolved from our individual Volunteer of the Year, has again been generously sponsored by ABC Leisure Group Ltd, which will be giving the hire of a day boat carrying up to 10 people which can be taken from any of the following locations: Alvechurch, Aldermaston, Anderton, Whitchurch, Blackwater, Gayton, Goytre or Hilperton.

To nominate your top team, please either complete the form on this page, online at www.towpathtalk.co.uk or pick up a nomination form at either the Crick Boat Show or Braunston Historic Boat Rally.

Contact details............................................................................................................................................................................

Judging panel

Help us find our Top Team for 2018

The hunt is on for contenders for our new-look Towpath Talk Top Team award and we’re asking readers to nominate any group which they think would be a worthy winner.

Teams of volunteers help to maintain the network of more than 4000 miles of inland waterways across the British Isles. From the Waterway Recovery Group to the local taskforce adopting their ‘own patch’ of towpath, thousands of unpaid hours are contributed each year.

And it’s not just maintaining the canal and river infrastructure but providing voluntary crews for the community boats which provide such a valuable service in enabling disabled and vulnerable people to enjoy a day out in the countryside or preserving 200 years of heritage for future generations.

The WINNER will receive the hire of a day boat carrying up to 10 people courtesy of ABC Leisure Group Ltd and the four shortlisted finalists will each receive a commendation and donation towards their volunteering organisation.

Nominate your top team online at www.towpathtalk.co.uk or fill out this form and send to Mortons Media Group Ltd, FAO Janet Richardson, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

About the team you are nominating:

...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Nominations close on June 30, 2018,

after which an expert panel of judges will shortlist four finalists which will each receive a commendation and donation towards their volunteering organisation.

Our judging panel will again include waterway journalist, author and photographer Harry Arnold, who was awarded the MBE in 2010 for his services to the inland waterways; Haley Hadley, sales and marketing director of award sponsor ABC Leisure Group Ltd and Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson.

We are delighted to welcome John Dodwell, who recently completed his five-year term as one of the Canal & River Trust’s founding trustees, as the fourth member of the judging panel.

He is chairman of the Montgomery Canal Partnership, a trustee of the Waterways Pension Fund, marketing and corporate affairs officer of the Commercial Boat Operators Association and a member of the CRT Freight Steering Group.

Having started volunteering in 1962 on the Basingstoke Canal at Woking, he regularly worked on the Stourbridge Sixteen Locks restoration from 1964-67 and also on the Upper Avon rebuilding from 1969-73. John has also volunteered as a visitor on the Kennet & Avon, Droitwich, Ashton and Lower Peak Forest Canals and is a firm believer in the ability of volunteers to think outside the box, to deliver value to navigation authorities and enable them to do works their resources don’t allow.

“I am keen that volunteers work alongside staff, not separate from them,” he said.

Why they deserve this award............................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

About you: Name...............................................................................................................................................................................................

Address.......................................................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................Postcode.......................................

Email.........................................................................................................Tel.................................................................................

Terms and conditions apply. For full terms and conditions please see www.towpathtalk.co.uk By completing this form you are allowing Mortons Media Group Ltd to contact you and the nominee regarding the Towpath Talk Top Team award.

Please tick here if you consent to being contacted by Mortons Media Group and Towpath Talk regarding offers on products and services that we believe may be of interest to you. [ ] CLOSING DATE: SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2018.

John Dodwell on board his 1942 BCN tug/icebreaker, Helen.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

NEWS 5

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Northern restoration groups get together for spring talks

By Janet Richardson

CCT trustee and volunteer work party organiser David Kiddy, in hard hat, with NCA members under the new Eckington Road Bridge.

TOPICS ranging from HS2 to the transfer of Environment Agency navigations and the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) were discussed at the spring meeting of the Northern Canals Association hosted by the Chesterfield Canal Trust.

Representatives of some 20 waterways organisations were welcomed by Robin Stonebridge, chairman of the trust, to its headquarters at Hollingwood Hub on Sunday, February 25.

He told members that the hub had now been open for six years, having been built as an extension to the old lock house. This is situated on the site of one of the largest industrial complexes even seen in the 19th century – the Staveley works.

Robin said that HS2 had blighted the progress of the canal’s restoration in 2013 but in the public

consultation, Chesterfield Canal had attracted the largest number of respondents – 506, even more than for Sheffield Station.

The announcement of the preferred route last year meant that HS2 would be working alongside rather than crossing the canal. “We have equipped and tooled up the trust and we can drive restoration forward,” he continued.

Emphasising the motto ‘We aspire’, he added that there is £500 million private sector funding for the Chesterfield Waterside development and plans for the regeneration of the Staveley Works Corridor.

Giving an update on current and future developments for the Canal & River Trust, its chief executive Richard Parry told the meeting that a steady growth of income and investment money is being spent in generating income.

Third party funding projects include the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal by the Welsh Government and the cost of towpath improvements

by Birmingham and other city authorities. Progress on Heritage Lottery-funded projects on the Grantham, Pocklington and Montgomery canals was also proceeding apace.

New structure

The remains of the Staveley Puddle Bank where two walkers are following the canal line.

Richard referred to CRT’s focus on establishing itself as a waterway and wellbeing trust and explained the new structure with a move to a regional model with new director appointments due to be made in April.

On the subject of the shelved transfer of Environment Agency navigations, he said: “We are still committed; we will take them if there is the right deal.”

Since he last attended an NCA meeting in October 2014, hours contributed to volunteering had risen from 350,000 to around 550,000; adoptions from 65 to 190 and friends from 7500 to 24,000. In answer to a question from the floor, Richard indicated that he would like to see an affiliation scheme for members of canal societies with CRT. David Pullen, honorary engineer with the

Chesterfield Canal Trust chairman Robin Stonebridge, front right, with NCA members during the site visit to Staveley Town Lock.

PHOTOS: JANET RICHARDSON

Sleaford Navigation Trust, spoke about a| do-it-yourself approach to the new EA environmental permits.

He explained that the former Flood Defence Consent (FDC) had applied to main rivers with drains requiring the consent of the internal drainage boards. Any flood risk activity with an FDC now comes under environmental permitting rules.

Whereas the Flood Defence Consent cost £50 and lasted three years with the Water Framework Directive statement optional, an Environmental Permit costs £190, lasts one year and the WFD statement is mandatory; however it does have useful derogations, David added.

Questions followed during which IWA chief executive Neil Edwards answered queries about the new data protection regulations which come into force on May 28.

He said that when someone pays a subscription, they would expect the society to communicate with them regarding membership and through a newsletter. But any other data requests such as date of birth or health questions should be proportionate to what they are going to be used for with the person’s permission and must be kept up to date. A fact sheet and presentation are available from IWA. After lunch, NCA chairman Chris Hayes requested verbal reports from delegates of the participating societies and trusts. In bright but cold sunshine, a site visit was then made to Staveley Town Basin where Chesterfield Canal Trust volunteers meet every Sunday to work on the lock and Hartington Harbour as well as a view of where the Staveley Puddle Bank carried the canal across the Doe Lea Valley.

HNBC announces Hemelryk award winner THE Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust’s tug Bittell is the winner of this year’s Hemelryk award announced by the Historic Narrow Boat Club.

This award is given annually to the most improved steel or composite narrowboat and was due to be presented at the HNBC AGM on March 3 which had to be cancelled due to the weather conditions.

This year, the Keay award for most improved wooden boat was not awarded.

There were several very high quality entries for the Hemelryk award, and the committee took a

while to reach a decision. In the case of Bittell, it was the relative rarity of the boat as well as the calibre of the work that set it apart.

Bittell is one of two tugs (Number Four and Number Five) commissioned by Stewarts & Lloyds Limited from Yarwoods at Northwich, Cheshire in 1934. The two tugs were used to tow coal boats, known as ‘joeys’. In June 1958 Tug Number Five was purchased by British Waterways.

From the mid 1970s until 1985 it was kept on behalf of British Waterways by Charlie Atkins Junior;

the son of ‘Chocolate Charlie Atkins’ who used the tug for maintenance jobs and moving boats. It was during this time the tug was named Bittell. Tug Number Four came to be named Pacific.

Bittell continued to be run by British Waterways until 1990, when it was acquired by the Dudley Canal Trust. The trust has maintained the boat continuously since then but the works for which the Hemelryk was awarded began in 2016 when it was found that major hull repairs were required to prevent the boat from sinking.

This year’s Hemelryk award winner Bittell, pictured on the Dudley No 2 Canal at Coombeswood. PHOTO: KEV MASLIN Work to replace 20ft of the middle section of the hull and chines was carried out by Ian Kemp at Dadfords Wharf, using traditional riveting methods and materials. The cabin was also refurbished and repainted, with signwriting by Dave Moore.

Steve Bingham of the DCT carried out interior works.

The club was impressed by the quality and authenticity of the work, carried out to restore this rare tug, such that it can continue to be used to support the work of the Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust.

NEWS 6

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

IN BRIEF Laundrette list

THE 2018 edition of Aylesbury Canal Society’s Laundrette List is now available. It contains details of towns and villages with laundrettes near to canals and navigable rivers with directions from the waterway and other useful information. Canals and rivers are listed alphabetically, also showing the towns and villages on those navigations where laundrettes exist.

It can be obtained from IWA Sales at https://www.waterways.org. uk/shop/ and is listed under Code CC02 or from IWA Sales, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WA (01494 783453) for £4.50 (payable to IWA Sales) including postage to UK addressees.

Waterways chaplain A NEW deputy national senior waterways chaplain has been appointed with special responsibility for the Midlands and North of England. Liveaboard boater Debbie Nouwen, who is a trainee Anglican priest, will oversee a growing band of volunteer chaplains. Yorkshireborn Debbie will be working with senior chaplain, the Rev Mark Chester, who described her appointment as ‘a great step forward’. Around 50 waterways chaplains walk the towpaths and befriend boaters and others who live and work close to the waterway network.

Visitor complex planned for Burnley wharf THE Canal & River Trust has submitted plans to transform Finsley Gate Wharf in Burnley into a hive of activity for the local community and visitors.

Known locally as Mile Wharf, it is one of the oldest wharves on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, dating from between 1700 and 1830.

CRT development surveyor Ian Sprott said: “The proposals have generated a lot of positive interest locally and we are excited to bring this community facility to life.

“The site will become a real hive of canalside activity for Burnley, offering a space where people can learn about the waterway environment, get out on the water and simply spend time relaxing and enjoying the fresh air.”

Grade II Listed buildings include three warehouses, a canal cottage, outbuilding and blacksmith forge which are in a poor state of repair having been unused for several years.

CRT began making plans to bring

the site back into use three years ago, achieving initial Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) support to carry out emergency repair work and take the project forward.

HLF has approved a £2.5 million grant through its Heritage Enterprise programme, which helps when the cost of restoring a historic building is so high that, without additional financial intervention, putting it back into use would not be commercially viable.

This has allowed CRT to prepare plans and submit a planning application to Burnley Council. A decision is expected in late spring and work could start over the summer, taking around 12 months to complete.

The project will see the site transformed into a leisure attraction and community and educational space, offering boat trips and boat hire, a cafe and visitor accommodation. A function room and learning area would also allow local community groups and schools to enjoy and find out about Burnley’s

Mill fire memorial

VOLUNTEERS have been working with the Canal & River Trust to create a memorial garden on the canal bank where Atkinson’s Mill stood – the scene of a fire tragedy 200 years ago when 17 young girls who were mill workers lost their lives, writes Geoff Wood. All that remains of the mill at Colne Bridge is the wall bordering the towpath of the Huddersfield Broad Canal.

Local schoolchildren have been creating 17 sculptured birds – one for each of the victims.

PHOTO: CANAL & RIVER TRUST

waterway heritage, wildlife and features.

Burnley Council leader Mark Townsend said: “It will help to kickstart the regeneration of the part of the historic Weavers’ Triangle area joining Burnley town centre and Burnley Wood.

The Finsley Gate restoration project plays a key part in joining up that investment in these areas.”

Glenn Davidson and Lee Shepherd, directors at tenant Finsley Gate Wharf Ltd, added: “We are both thrilled and excited by the regeneration of Finsley Gate Wharf and look forward to bringing new life to the area. Finsley Gate Wharf is going to become a national tourist destination that will make the people of Burnley proud.”

April date for Wey & Arun celebration

Symbolic step THE return of a boat to a disused stretch of Shrewsbury to Newport Canal for perhaps the first time in more than 70 years is said to have been a symbolic step towards the ambition of restoring the whole canal, which closed in 1944. The small plastic dinghy was being used by the Shrewsbury Watering Group to tidy and clear the canal near the mouth of the Berwick Tunnel.

One of the oldest wharves on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the Grade II Listed buildings include three warehouses, a canal cottage, outbuilding and blacksmith forge which have been unused for several years.

The newly restored Gennets Bridge Lock. PHOTO: WACT

THE Wey & Arun Canal Trust will celebrate the official completion of Gennets Bridge Lock on Saturday, April 21.

This is the trust’s latest restoration project and also marks the retirement of Eric Walker, leader of the volunteer team which has worked on the lock for the last two years.

Guest of honour will be Nigel Gibbons, who has also been a huge support during the project.

Work started in June 2015 after the required protected species measures were complete. The lock is situated on the Surrey/Sussex border path.

“Most of the work has been carried out by volunteers but some critical parts of the construction project were undertaken by

Funding for Oxford flood alleviation scheme

By Elizabeth Rogers

THE long-running planning process for the building of a flood channel to protect vulnerable areas of Oxford from flooding has moved on but still has more obstacles to overcome.

Good news is that the Government is to provide help towards the current shortfall in funding for the £120 million scheme but there is a major hold-up in that several of the landowners who are involved in negotiations are still unwilling to concede.

Reasons include the effect on the natural environment and the loss of wildlife habitats.

Oxford City Council has, however, decided to make available several areas of land under its control. In the case of areas still the subject of the negotiations, the Environment Agency is expected to use Compulsory Purchase powers.

EA was expected to submit a planning application in March for the scheme which, if approved, will take about three years to complete. It will create a 3.1 mile (5km) channel across a flood plain between Botley Road in west Oxford to the River Thames near Kennington.

RIGHT: The Oxford flood plain to the west of the city. PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

contractors,” said Sally Schupke, trust chairman.

“The piling and concrete shell were installed by our contractors, Burras Ltd, with the rest of the work completed by our team of volunteers.”

Visitors are invited to join in the celebrations at the lock side at noon on April 21. Parking will be available at Loxwood North Hall (on the B2133 in Loxwood village) and it is a short (but maybe muddy) walk to the lock.

A map and souvenir brochure will be available from the WACT publicity stand at Loxwood North Hall.

Further details are available at www. weyandarun.co.uk together with details of boat trips from the canal centre during the day.

RYA SPOTLIGHT 7

www.towpathtalk.co.uk The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the national body for all forms of boating, including dinghy and yacht racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sports boats, powerboat racing, windsurfing, inland cruising and narrowboats and personal watercraft.

Spring-clean your skills – refresh your training RYA inland waterways trainer Malcolm Allcard has more than 60 years’ experience to draw from and he is still learning! So we asked ‘the boatmaster’ how to prepare for the coming season and how to take your inland waterways experience to the next level.

So Malcolm, why do we need to refresh our skills?

MA: Well, as spring approaches and we look forward to getting back on the water, this is a great time to reflect.

Think about what went well last year, and what didn’t. Were there stressful mooring sessions for instance? Did I bring the boat in too fast? Was it at the right angle of approach?

A review of your skills for

the new season means you can improve the bits you feel less confident about, which means you’ll enjoy your next trip away even more. Boating on our inland waters is supposed to be a relaxing experience, after all.

Why do we need more advanced skills?

MA: You may feel confident boating in your usual area, but the UK has many different

Observation is another key skill to safe and pleasurable boating, particularly at locks.

landscapes and permeations of canals. The fact that each canal was created by individual companies means there are many types of lock mechanisms.

If you are moving off your usual patch you may need different bits of kit. For example, there’s one canal in Yorkshire with a lock that uses a big wooden spike instead of a windlass. Here in Marple there are flights of locks to consider, 16 in fact, rising just over 200ft in a mile, one of the highest in Britain – an amazing sight. With the right preparation you’ll be ready to take on a challenge like this. Make it a team effort with your crew and you’ll all enjoy it more – one of you keeping a lookout, and letting you know that other boats are coming, another working paddles and gates.

Even on your home waters you may know the track well, but the weather conditions and other boat movements are always different, so a higher level

There are many types of lock mechanisms, willowwrentraining.co.uk

of skill equals a higher level of enjoyment and satisfaction.

How can you tackle difficulties that may arise?

MA: I live by two little phrases when I’m boating – ‘expect the unexpected’ and ‘what if?’ If you expect that a vessel is going to come around through a blind bridge you can plan ahead and if there isn’t a boat, it’s a bonus.

Observation is another key skill to safe and pleasurable boating, particularly at locks.

If you want to visit a new area, find out what kind of problems you might come up against before you go: is it a wide canal or a river with water flow? What kind of lock gear will you encounter?

And check the cruising guides before setting off. Nicholson and Pearson are good, plus the internet has lots of information.

How can you lift your skill levels?

MA: Many inland boaters are self-taught and there is nothing wrong in that, however often

Inland waterways training at an RYA recognised training centre, www.bishamabbeysailing.co.uk PHOTOS SUPPLIED they plateau at the ‘get by’ stage.

If you have never had any formal training, you’ll be surprised how much more you can learn on the RYA’s two-day Inland Waterways Helmsman Course. When I ran our training centre, our students ranged from complete novices to serving masters of ocean-going ships, they all learned something!

If you have already taken this course and want to work on a particular skill, many RYA centres run one-day refreshers.

Want to take your boat abroad? The RYA’s Inland Waters Helmsman Course certificate is formal evidence of your competence and skill. To apply for an RYA International Certificate of Competence (ICC) you will need to supply a copy of your Inland Waterways Helmsman certificate with your application. You will also need to complete the RYA CEVNI test on the European Waterways regulations, which can be done online or at an RYA training centre. The ICC is free for RYA members.

So what are your top three takeaway tips?

1 Master the art of very slow speed boat control and hovering.

When you become proficient you will be able to hold the boat on station, the most useful tool of all.

2 Develop an interest in boat and rope handling and, like me, always try to improve.

Set yourself a new challenge, master it, then when you need to put it into practice it will be second nature.

3 Enjoy it! The more you learn, the more fun it is. ● RYA Inland Waterways Handbook is available from rya.org.uk/go/ shop. Simply look up G102 or E-G102 for your printed or digital copy.

8 NETWORKING

SOCIETY NEWS Waterway park

THE Ty Coch Waterway Park project has been awarded £10,000 for a feasibility study, a public consultation having taken place in February. This proposal is to use the land above the Ty Coch workshop as a small marina, in which small boats and several holiday ‘pods’ could be moored. The vision is also to create a community-engaged farmers’ market and restaurant, with a visitors, education and meeting centre incorporating the restored lock keeper’s cottage and 200-year-old saw pit. It would also act as a large side pond when the locks are being operated. (MBACT E-Mag, February)

Diglis survey

THE Worcester Canal Corridor Group is planning to survey the Worcestershire & Birmingham Canal at Easter from Diglis Basin to Six Ways Stadium. Knowing where there are bottlenecks and stretches which are not friendly to wildlife will be a real help in its future work. The group evolved from a successful wildlife week in September 2016 since when work parties and other activities have been held with a range of organisations to improve safety and create habitats.

PCAS adoption

POCKLINGTON Canal Amenity Society (PCAS) has formally ‘adopted’ the 2.5-mile stretch from Melbourne to Bielby Arm, including Walbut Lock which its volunteers are currently working on. As well as carrying out restoration projects, the volunteer group works in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, helping to maintain the canal through weed cutting and maintaining the Canal Head picnic area.

Canal memories

KEITH Tassart of the Friends of the Lancaster Canal spoke about how life on the canal had developed, and about his own career with the former British Waterways, to members of Bolton-le-Sands Horticultural Society. With his farming background he soon became an expert hedge layer, drystone wall builder and other such jobs, slowly taking over the tug boat and later the dredger and the ice breaker in the winter.

Trips success

THE Basingstoke Canal Society’s trip boats enjoyed a successful season in 2017. In Hampshire, the John Pinkerton II carried more than 5000 passengers on 187 trips while in Surrey the 12-seater trip boat Kitty had a great first season of operation on the Woking Pound, carrying nearly 500 passengers on 56 trips. (Basingstoke Canal News, Winter 2017)

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Aviva Award furthers Wilts and Berks community ambitions

By Helen Gazeley

THE Wilts and Berks Canal Trust’s ambitious plans to establish the canal as a vital community resource have been given a boost with an Aviva Community Award of £9945 towards its Transition Project meeting rooms at Dauntsey Lock Canal Centre Project.

This will go towards equipping rooms in The Peterborough Arms. The pub at Dauntsey Lock, which now forms their headquarters, was bought in 2014 with loans raised by the WBCT when its quick action resulted in the pub being made an Asset of Community Value, preventing Wadworth Brewery from selling it off for housing and allowing the trust to move out of rented offices and expand its community involvement.

“The money will go towards art equipment, carpentry and gardening tools,” said WBCT’s Patricia Clements.

“We’re working with groups, many

of whom are vulnerable and socially isolated, doing things that encourage social skills and other skills that they enjoy and might help get them back into work.”

The Transition Project is very much focused on providing a safe learning environment where individuals can identify their goals and be helped to achieve them, and the WBCT’s vision has already resulted in partnerships with groups such as SWADS – Supporting Wellbeing And Developing Stability, a group that works in the field of recovering dependencies, and Stratton Community Art Group, which helps people who are socially isolated.

Pilot scheme

As Royal Wootton Bassett is just down the road, many ex-military personnel live in the area. “Some suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” said Patricia, “some were in the military a long time

and find it difficult to adapt. Here they can take little steps, do what feel they want to do, and progress to ‘dirty boots’ work if they want—whatever makes them feel part of community.”

Last year, a pilot scheme – begun in January in partnership with The Inclusion Project – offered work placement taster sessions to young adults with learning difficulties and proved highly successful.

“Now what we want is a little bit more funding to start schemes in full-blown activity,” added Patricia. “We’re hoping to be ready to start the programme in April. Any community group – the socially excluded, vulnerable, people with dementia –all those groups are most welcome to come and use our facilities.”

This community-engaged approach has attracted interest from as far afield as The Netherlands, as well as from other canal trusts in this country. “Once we’re

Heritage Heroes involved Help for Heroes veterans in restoration work at Pewsham Locks, near Chippenham. PHOTO: HELP FOR HEROES up and running, people from other canal trusts will come in and watch what we do, take our footprint,” Patricia said.

The WBCT sees the canal, nearly 70 miles long, as not only offering a car-free corridor that will connect the Avon at Melksham, Wiltshire, to the Thames at Abingdon, but as a vital link in other ways.

“It’s the fact that canals link houses and people,” added Patricia. “If you think more and more have dogs or love cycling – all these things are a real connection from one community to the next, and now more than ever it seems more important to have that link.”

Boaters clear litter from K&A towpath A GROUP of 10 liveaboard boaters have cleared around 25 bags of litter from the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal.

The team picked up rubbish from the towpath, hedges and ditches between Semington and

Sending a message to the local householder not to dump rubble.

Bradford-on-Avon Marina. The boaters also removed bulky items such as bicycles and rubble.

“It’s obvious that all types of canal users leave rubbish behind. We can tell that dog walkers, cyclists, boaters, anglers and people who just like to come to the canal for a picnic all drop litter,” said boater Pamela Smith .

“Others deliberately come to the canal to fly tip, such as the local householder who dumped rubble and left packaging with his name, address and mobile number on. We have contacted him!

The Kennet and Avon canal is our home, please don’t use it as a dump,” she continued.

The boaters were helped by Canal & River Trust, who provided a skip to take away the rubbish that they collected.

One of the towpath tidying team. PHOTOS SUPPLIED

New commodore for the Middle Level Watermen’s Club THE Middle Level Watermen’s Club voted in their new club commodore at the club’s recent AGM after Bill Barry stood down from holding the rank for the past six years.

Taking over at the helm is Sylvia Keane. She and her husband Bernard are avid boaters and have a narrowboat moored in March.

A vote of thanks was proposed by the club’s PR, Mike Daines, thanking Mr Barry for his unstinting service to the club while in office and also to Mr Barry’s wife Lynda, who has also stood down as club secretary, having held that office for the past six years.

“I feel it is a privilege in being asked to stand as commodore and that people have put their trust in me,” said Sylvia. “I would also like to add my personal thanks to Bill and Lynda for all their hard work and effort in helping to run our club these last six years.

“It’s also nice that we have some new members who have stepped forward to take up officer roles and to join our committee and that’s really encouraging as any club including ours couldn’t function without members willing to contribute to our ongoing success”.

Dudley Canal Trust celebrates double award success

New Middle Level Watermen’s Club commodore, Sylvia Keane, centre, holds the commodore’s pennant between the outgoing secretary Lynda Barry and commodore, Bill Barry. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Destination South Kyme project secures EU funding SLEAFORD Navigation Trust has secured funding for its project Destination South Kyme to create two landing stages in the Lincolnshire village.

Following a successful application for EU funding under the Kestevens

Visiting boats at last year’s South Kyme gathering.

PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

LEADER Fund, the agreement has been signed between the trust and the funding agency.

Destination South Kyme aims to encourage temporary mooring by visiting boats and while both landing stages will be accessible to narrowboats and smaller cruisers, one will be at a lower height to facilitate canoe access.

Awareness that there is safe mooring without having to resort to the use of a gangplank will help make the Sleaford Navigation and South Kyme an attractive diversion and stoppingoff point for boats travelling along the River Witham and help to make more people aware of the navigation.

An easily accessible path to the landing stages will provide the facility

for local residents and visitors alike to enjoy being close to the water.

The funding also allows for a series of interpretative boards, making visitors by land and water aware of the heritage of waterway which brought trade and prosperity to Sleaford in the 18th century.

Information will also help visitors to explore South Kyme and point them to other linked locations and venues where they can learn more about the historic importance of the navigation to the local economy.

The trust will be working with North Kesteven District Council to develop the connections with the Sleaford Museum, Navigation House and Cogglesford Mill in Sleaford.

DUDLEY Canal Tunnel & Limestone Mines have won not one but two prestigious awards recognising the attraction.

It marks the second year running that the charity has won Visit England’s Best Told Story award but a first for the title of West Midlands Attraction of the Year, from tourism experts Going Places.

“We’re delighted to have been recognised for our excellent customer experience in this way,” said Traci Dix-Williams, chief executive of Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust. “It’s a lovely start to an exciting year for us. We’ve got a lot planned for 2018 with new events and the return of old favourites.”

Visitors wishing to see the awardwinning attraction for themselves can take a boat trip from 10.30am to 3pm seven days a week. Prices start from £6 for children and include a free return for a year if visitors are willing to Gift Aid their ticket.

Operations manager Becky Wright with volunteers Stewart Langstone and John Raycord holding the award from Going Places.

PHOTO: DCT

NETWORKING 9

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Former marine John Dutson now leads a team of lock keepers. PHOTO: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

River people

Elizabeth Rogers finds out why working on the waterways is a labour of love for Environment Agency team leader John Dutson.

FROM boyhood days enjoying life beside the canals in Manchester, followed by service in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, John Dutson now has a second career on the water – with the Environment Agency.

He is a team leader, covering a stretch of the River Thames from Bray, near Maidenhead, to Molesey in Surrey. It is a role he has been thoroughly enjoying since taking it over in August 2016.

John first joined the EA staff to become a seasonal lock keeper, working during the busy summer months from May to October alongside the full-time ‘keepers.

This was covering the stretch from Northmoor Lock to Mapledurham Lock and from that he moved up to a full-time post of his own working at Teddington Lock.

John readily took to life on the river instead of that sailing the seas. “There is the same sense of camaraderie, and of everybody working together,” he told me. “We all work towards the same goals.”

He had first joined the Royal Navy then after three years joined the Royal Marines where he served for more than 16 years.

Following his full-time service he continued as a reservist until fully retiring.

John’s brother Mick had preceded him into service with the Royal Navy, where he stayed for 27 years. “I used to be sent postcards from him from all over the world, and that is what made me want to join up myself,” said John.

Mick also preceded him in joining the Environment Agency, becoming a waterways officer and a technical officer before retiring and settling in Wales.

As boys they had spent time beside the canal near their home, enjoying helping boaters through the locks.

John finds that all his experience of his lifetime’s association with boats and the water is extremely valuable in his dealings with the boaters and other people he meets on the river, as he can speak from his own personal knowledge.

This has been particularly

useful during the time when he was a waterways officer carrying out enforcement duties in his early days with the Environment Agency. Ensuring that all boaters pay their dues is essential in maintaining revenue to continue the smooth running of all aspects of the rivers.

“Education and advice are the best means of helping people to understand the importance of abiding by the rules governing the river – rather than going in with a heavy stick,” he commented.

“People have to abide by the rules, as we all want the same thing; for the river to be run efficiently and for boaters to have the best time enjoying it.”

On the stretch of the River Thames for which he is team leader John has a staff of 14 and is currently recruiting for two more. All but two of the 10 locks in his patch have resident lock keepers, with full-time relief ’keepers providing extra cover for days off, holidays and illness.

There is a team of seasonal lock keepers retained during the busy months of the year too, for additional support.

And then there are also the volunteer lock keepers, taking part in a scheme which in 2017 was in its sixth year. “They do a fantastic job,” said John.

“Their contribution is great, the scheme really works well.

They work really hard, and play their part in our objective of keeping the river running as well as can be. That is something to be celebrated.”

Waterways officers and technical officers are also part of his team. There is a great range of matters and situations to be overseen: “From river levels to ecology,” John explained.

Maintenance and memories Then there are planning issues which can have an effect on the river and its immediate surroundings. When a planning application is made to a local authority, for something such as a boathouse in a garden that reaches down to the river, or a major riverside development,

the Environment Agency is a consultee.

During the autumn and winter it is the time and opportunity for maintenance work to keep the fabric of the locks in top-class condition. Gate repairs are frequently a major part of this.

“We are getting ready for the new season,” said John.

The work usually involves full or partial closures of locks during the maintenance period. “But we aim to make this as short a time as possible.”

Asked if he has any memories of his own days as a lock keeper that illustrate its always varied days, John recounts the occasion when a boater went to the aid of another craft which had lost a bucket into the water.

Unfortunately, he found himself with an even greater predicament, resulting from his stern rope becoming caught in the propeller.

On a lighter note, there was the occasion when he was a relief lock keeper and going to operate the weir at Culham Lock.

The lock keeper looked around him and said: “I think I can see something over on the bank, among the trees.” This was in the early morning and it was misty.

“What I saw through the mist was something that was the least likely thing that I had expected,” John recalled. “It was a dinosaur!”

It turned out to be a prop that had been made for the film Jurassic Park and now stands in a riverside garden.

John pays tribute to the members of his team for all their dedication to their roles.

He points out that the boaters passing through a lock in the calm of the day might not know that the lock keeper on duty may have also been up in the middle of the night to attend to the weir.

For a man so immersed in enjoyment of the water and its boats, what else would he have among his leisure interests but his own boat.

“She is a wooden boat, and currently out of the water as I have some work to do on her,” said John.

That sounds like yet another boating labour of love.

10 COMMUNITY BOATING

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

BEDFORD BOAT TEAM LAUNCH 2018 CRUISE PROGRAMME

Electric trip boat Kathleen on the River Stour.

Seeking volunteer skippers on Constable’s beautiful River Stour THE River Stour Trust is looking for volunteers to join its team of skippers and crew operating its fleet of electric launches on the River Stour in Suffolk, made famous in John Constable’s paintings.

The launches carry visitors to the river on trips from Flatford and Sudbury on weekends from April to October. They also raise funds vital to the work of the trust in restoring and maintaining the navigation for all to enjoy.

Over the past 50 years it has restored or rebuilt four of the 25-mile waterway’s 13 locks, two slipways, and a visitor centre. Tens of thousands of people have travelled on the river, and the annual Sudbury to the Sea canoe rally attracts 500 entrants.

The 21ft launches are simplicity itself to drive, with

smooth, quiet electric motors, and maximum speeds of 4mph.

Anyone who can handle a narrowboat or river cruiser will be able to drive one, but full training and familiarisation with the river will be provided.

The river is peaceful, with just swans and occasional rowing boats to negotiate and you will find yourself drifting back 200 years to the days when it was a busy commercial waterway, with 50ft lighters towed in pairs by horses through 13 locks from the sea at Manningtree to Sudbury.

Or you can join the elite team operating the trust’s restored 19th century River Stour lighter, John Constable. This is 50ft long, with

two powerful electric drives and it is a test of skill to manoeuvre this 160-year-old craft through locks, with only inches to spare.

The boats operate every weekend from Easter to October, and occasional weekdays, but you can volunteer for as many or few days per year as you wish.

People are also needed to look after the shore side of the operations, taking bookings and money, so if you are not as active as you once were you can still be a part of this worthwhile operation, and get to meet the many visitors who come from every nation of the world to visit Constable Country.

What better way to spend a pleasant day on a new waterway!

● For more information contact: 01787 313199, email administrator@riverstourtrust.org or visit: www. riverstourtrust.org

The restored 19th century River Stour lighter, John Constable. PHOTOS SUPPLIED

FOLLOWING its most successful season in 2017, the John Bunyan boat team has announced its cruise programme for the 2018 season including the public and special favourites as well as some new ones.

This year’s public cruises launch on Saturday, April 7 with an evening fish and chip supper cruise from Sovereigns Quay which is next to Star Rowing Club and close to Riverside Bedford.

The first monthly jazz cruise of the season sails from The Barns Hotel on Thursday, April 19 along with a Motown-soul cruise with DJ Keith Stewart on a monthly basis starting on Thursday, May 10.

Afternoon tea cruises to The Barns Hotel start on Wednesday, May 2 and run throughout the season.

The standard Sunday afternoon cruises sail from Priory Marina and Sovereigns Quay from May 13 with the Thursday afternoon cruise sailing from Sovereigns Quay from June 14.

Saturday afternoon tea cruises with the Bedford Swan Hotel run from the Swan Steps,

at the bottom of Newnham Road, from June 2 while the Saturday evening sunset cruises with the Bedford Swan Hotel run from May 26.

The Anchor lunch cruise to The Anchor Inn, Great Barford with return by coach sails from Priory Marina, the first one being on June 20 at 10am.

One innovation is a walkers special run on Thursdays at 1.30pm offering a one-way ride from Priory Marina to Sovereigns Quay in the town centre. The passengers are then free to enjoy Bedford town centre with a walk back alongside the river to Priory Marina visiting the cafes etc. on the way!

Another new cruise is ‘folk on the boat’ run in association with Mill Race Folk and will feature various folk music artistes.

The first of these is on Thursday, June 14 from The Barns Hotel. ● Full details of the cruises, times, prices etc. can be found at www. johnbunyanboat.org

A busy John Bunyan turning into Sovereigns Quay. PHOTO BEDFORD B.I.D. ‘LOVE BEDFORD’

New season on the Pocklington Canal THE Pocklington Canal Amenity Society’s trip boat New Horizons ran 88 trips in 2017 carrying 2593 passengers and raising over £10,500 in income to the society.

Its 2018 season starts on Good Friday, March 30. Sundays and bank holidays are solely for the short 30-minute ‘taster’ trips which run between noon and 4.15pm. No booking is required for these days but please be aware that you may have to queue at busy times.

New Horizons is also available for exclusive bookings and can be booked for any other day of the week to suit the customer.

Evening trips are possible on long summer evenings, light permitting.

Saturdays are obviously the most popular and soon get booked up. However, with a

bit of careful management, it is sometimes possible to arrange two bookings.

PCAS can offer booked trips from between two and seven hours. The most popular destinations have traditionally been for trips to Gardham Lock, Hagg Bridge and occasionally East Cottingwith. However, from the end of July PCAS will also be able to offer trips on the newly restored two-mile stretch to Bielby.

Open trips of around three hours are also offered for individuals, couples and small groups who want the opportunity of a longer trip but don’t want an exclusive booking. These are on Saturdays, to help accommodate those who are working during the week. In 2018, the open trips will be on the following

dates: Saturday, June 23, 3pm, Gardham Lock (3hr); Saturday, August 4, 11am, Gardham or Walbut Locks, to be confirmed (3hr) and Saturday, September 19, 2.30pm, Walbut Lock (3hr).

Places on the open trips are limited and will be filled on a first come, first served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. The timings are approximate and include time for a stop for a snack or to stretch your legs. You are welcome to bring a picnic. Tea and coffee is provided on all booked trips but please be aware, there are no toilets on board. ● For more information contact Bob Ellis on 07946 209644, email book. newhorizons@gmail.com

The Pocklington Canal trip boat New Horizons at its Melbourne berth. PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

HERITAGE 11

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

Back to their waterway roots

By Janet Richardson

A CHANCE roadside meeting led Joe Beesley and his wife Jill to embark on a journey of research into their family’s waterways history.

The blacksmith from Shilton, near Coventry, was shoeing a traveller’s horse when a woman drew up having spotted his name on his van.

She told him that the Beesley family were included in a book Fisher Row by Dr Mary Prior which charts the history of fishermen, bargemen and canal boatmen in Oxford from 1500-1900.

“That was 20 years ago and we are still friends today,” Joe told me.

The Beesleys contacted Towpath Talk about their research after reading about well-known boating couple Joe and Rose Skinner in the feature about their historic narrowboat Friendship (Treasure, Issue 146, December) – now a static exhibit in the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port.

Joe Skinner was Joe’s great-uncle through sister Eliza Skinner’s marriage to his maternal grandfather Leonard Gibbons.

“All the family were boating people, my father, both grandfathers and all four great-grandfathers,” Joe said.

“Dad’s family were boat people from Oxford and the Thames. His father John married one of the Coles from Kidlington – another boating family.”

Joe said his parents Harry and Maud Beesley came off the boats at the start of the Second World War. Born in 1943, he was the youngest but one of the couple’s eight children.

Having lived for some time in Cornwall, where he used to shoe some of the travellers’ horses, Joe and Jill moved back to the Coventry area where he continued to work as a farrier and ironworker until retirement enabled the couple to spend many hours researching their family history.

“We have been to the records office and churches and have also come across lots of other members of the family who we never knew. We have proved all our stuff from birth, death and marriage certificates and have been told we have enough information to write a book,” Joe continued.

Plates and windlasses

They have also collected memorabilia including two plates from Joe Skinner’s boats and his greatgrandfather John Beesley’s windlasses. John Beesley, who had a boat called Envy Not and also owned Providence, tragically died in Hilmorton Locks in 1914. “When they took his body back to Oxford all the locks were open ready,” said Joe. His widowed grandmother Phoebe, a daughter of Thrupp boatman Thomas Coles, then married Abel Skinner. ●

Thomas Beesley/Mary Oakley 1668 6xGrt grandparents ●

William Beesley/Sarah Cowill 1693

Family history: Jill and Joe Beesley with the book Fisher Row which inspired their research. Behind them are some of the historic photographs they have collected.

PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

Another Abel – Joe’s great-great-grandfather Abel Beesley, born in 1814, had married Eliza Culpepper from another well-known boating family. The Beesleys have collected many black and white photographs including one of Abel’s son, also Abel, an Oxford waterman who was also a champion punt racer, winning the national title six years running before retiring undefeated.

“We can link up from my ancestors in Oxford in 1690 right up to today. They were on the canals and before that on the River Thames.”

On the city’s western edge, Fisher Row was the home of the boatpeople of Oxford for many generations – initially fishermen and then bargemen (river boatmen) and canal boatmen.

Before the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the houses had belonged to Oseney Abbey and were leased to their occupants. By the 19th century most of the property was in the hands of the large breweries in the parish of St Thomas’s.

According to Dr Prior’s book, written in 1980, the community lay on the western side of the Castle Mill Stream, Fisher Row standing on an island running north from St Thomas’s High Street along Warham Bank. Putting it into today’s context, between the Bodleian Library and the railway station.

The coming of the railways and the growing car industry led to the demise of Fisher Row; the houses and pubs being subsequently demolished between 1914 and 1954 to make way for road and bridge improvements.

● Fishermen or boatmen

on the River Thames ● Canal boat men and

women

●

John Beesley/Ann Mollineaux 1725 ●

Thomas Beesley/Ann Wheeler 1768 ●

Abel Beesley/Eliza Culpepper 1814 ●

John Beesley/Mary Evans 1843 ●

●

●

●

Thomas Coles/Louisa Humphries 1842

John Beesley/Phoebe Ann Coles 1871 ●

●

John Coles/Rosetta Williams 1796

Mother and father of Phoebe

●

Harry Beesley/Maud Gibbons 1899

●

●

●

●

Daniel Gibbons/Eliza Edgar 1813 Samuel Gibbons/Eliza Goodway 1841 ●

Mother and father of Maud

●

Leonard Gibbons/Eliza Skinner 1878 ● (sister of Joe Skinner)

Olive Beesley Leonard Beesley Dorothy Beesley Harry Beesley 1929 1930 1932 1935 Ronald Beesley Joseph Albert Beesley Cyril Beesley 1941 1943 1945

Maud Beesley 1939

An excerpt from the Beesley family tree following the male line of the Beesley family tree from Joe’s parents Harry Beesley and Maud Gibbons back to his six times greatgrandparents Thomas Beesley, born 1668 and Mary Oakley. Inset: the detailed family tree.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

12 IWA ROUND-UP

www.towpathtalk.co.uk

IWA names its Parliamentarian of the Year THE Inland Waterways Association acknowledged the support for the inland waterways by a West Midlands MP at its 2018 Parliamentary Dinner.

Wendy Morton, MP for AldridgeBrownhills, was presented with the Association’s Parliamentarian of the Year Award at the evening event, which took place at the House of Commons on March 6.

Presenting the award, IWA national chairman Ivor Caplan said: “Wendy has been a great supporter of the inland waterways over a number of years, not least when IWA held its Festival of Water at Pelsall, in her constituency, in 2016, and more recently in her support for the Middle Level Bill when it returned to the Commons in October 2017.”

Those present at the dinner, which included MPs and peers as well as

representatives of several navigation authorities and other national organisations, heard Ivor Caplan call for increased funding for the publicly funded navigation authorities.

He also reminded MPs and peers of the importance of navigable waterways to the health and wellbeing of the UK population and the contribution they make to the UK economy through regeneration, tourism and leisure.

Emma Howard Boyd, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency manages over 2500 assets which include locks, weirs, laybys and bridges for the benefit of 26,000 boat users over 1000km of inland waterways. These are an intrinsic part of the landscape but there are challenges ahead. We need to look at new ways of raising revenue.

The National Trailboat Festival at Chesterfield in 2016.

PHOTO: JANET RICHARDSON

Wendy Morton MP receiving her IWA Parliamentarian of the Year Award trophy from IWA national chairman, Ivor Caplan, along with John Grogan MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Waterways Group which hosted the dinner.

PHOTO: IWA

“Our aim is to create a five-year charging plan and a charging scheme that is fit for the future. The Inland Waterways Association is a vital champion of safe and sustainable navigations, so partnership working will help ensure waterways continue to provide an enjoyable experience for everyone.”

AROUND THE BRANCHES WITH IWA’S GEMMA BOLTON

Could you host a trailboat festival?

THE Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is seeking groups to host its annual National Trailboat Festivals.

In particular, IWA is looking for good organisers who are keen on canal restorations and wish to actively assist for a short period with the promotion of the restoration in their locality.

Their task will be to form a canal festival organising committee with the purpose of enabling the local population to enjoy seeing a large number of brightly decorated trailer boats on their waterway for one weekend.

This will provide a much-needed stimulus for greater efforts in making progress with the restoration.

Organisers will need to know of an isolated short section of navigable water with a slipway, and be able to form and lead a project organising committee of representatives from the local council, the restoration group, local IWA group and any other interested parties.

Detailed information and advice is available, and for further information you can contact Derek Smith at derek. smith@waterways.org.uk

IWA WORK PARTIES IN APRIL Anyone intending to attend one of these events for the first time should contact the organisers beforehand and wear suitable clothing and footwear. If staying all day take a packed lunch unless other arrangements are indicated.

WEST

NORTH

Every Tuesday & Saturday in April

Saturday April 7 and Tuesday April 24

IWA West Country Branch (Taunton): Work parties in the Taunton area. 10am-1.30pm.

Please let us know if you intend to join us, by 6pm the day before. For further details Contact Steve 07855 794256, steveb.215@ hotmail.com IWA West Country Branch (Bridgwater): Work parties in the Bridgwater area. 10am-1.30pm.

Please let us know if you intend to join us, by 6pm the day before. Contact Mike Slade 07977 263840, mike.slade@waterways.org.uk

EAST

The annual festival on the River Lee at Ware. PHOTOS: IWA

This is Ware you can go in July FOLLOWING on with the theme of boat gatherings, IWA Lee & Stort Branch is organising its annual boat festival from July 6-8 on the River Lee in Ware.

Visitors will be treated to a weekend of fun and frolics on, in, and around the river and the town.

Visit www.waterways.org.uk/leeandstort to find out more and book a mooring.

Summer boat gathering in Chester Basin IWA Chester & Merseyside is hosting an informal boat gathering in Chester Basin from June 8-10. Meet and chat with fellow boaters, see old friends and make some new ones.

Take part in a guided walk around the local area including the River Dee locks and the historic Taylor’s boatyard during

the weekend and enjoy a hog roast on the Saturday evening.

On Saturday afternoon there will be a grand unveiling of a plaque commemorating Mike Carter. The plaque is being installed at Northgate Locks where Mike led so many working parties during his time on the branch committee.

Big winter litter pick A GROUP of volunteers organised by IWA Northampton Branch recently carried out a large winter litter pick on the riverfront in Northampton.

They collected more than 100 bags of rubbish, 10 shopping trolleys and other general rubbish.

IWA’s Mick Butler and Nick Cook from Network Rail, who attended along with five other volunteers from the company, agreed the event was “a good example of a group of volunteers coming together and achieving a tremendous amount of work for the benefit of Northampton”.

RIGHT: Volunteers with the haul of litter collected in Northampton.

Following on from the weekend, boaters can join a short cruise to Ellesmere Port, entering the Manchester Ship Canal and exiting at Marsh Lock.

There is no charge for moorings but please visit www. waterways.org.uk/chester to reserve your space and find out more about the event.

Sunday April 8

IWA Lincolnshire Branch supporting Sleaford Navigation Trust: Regular work parties on the second Sunday of the month.

Volunteers carry out a variety of tasks to maintain the navigable section of the Sleaford Navigation. Dates and locations are subject to change so contact Chris or Steve Hayes 01522 689460, workparties@sleafordnavigation.co.uk

Wednesdays April 11, 25 and Saturday April 28 IWA Peterborough Branch: Work party clearing vegetation on Horseways Channel and carrying out maintenance of Horseways Lock, 10am-3pm. Access is via and by permission of Allpress Farms, Byall Fen Drove (B1093) PE16 6XQ. Contact David Venn 01366 324102, david.venn@waterways.org.uk

MIDLANDS Sunday April 1 and Tuesday April 17

IWA Northampton Branch: Work usually includes a variety of tasks such as painting, vegetation clearance and litter picking. Contact Geoff Wood: geoff.wood@waterways.org.uk.

Friday and Saturday April 13-14

IWA Milton Keynes Branch: Collecting rubbish from the towpaths and hedges or help workboat retrieving items under the water.

Day 1, meet at 9.30am at Fenny Lock MK1 1BY. Day 2, meet at 9am Giffard Park Bridge 78 MK14 5QN. Contact Les Franklin 01525 385246, les.franklin@waterways.org.uk

IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch supporting the Burslem Port Trust: Twice-monthly work party on the Burslem Arm, 10am to 3pm. Meet at Luke St, Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 3LY. Contact Steve Wood 07976 805858, steve.wood@waterways.org.uk

Thursday April 12

IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch and the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust: Monthly work party on the Uttoxeter Canal at Bridge 70, Crumpwood.

10am-3pm. No parking at site so meet at 9.30am at Denstone Village Hall, College Rd, Denstone, Uttoxeter ST14 5HR for a lift, or on site at Bridge 70 at 10am if on foot. Contact Steve Wood 07976 805858, steve.wood@ waterways.org.uk

Thursday April 19

IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch and Trent & Mersey Canal Society: Work party on the Cheshire Locks, Trent & Mersey Canal. 10am to 3pm. Meet at Church Locks 47 & 48 adjacent to All Saints, Church Lawton, ST7 3DD. Contact John Brighouse 07808 878317, john.brighouse@waterways. org.uk

Saturday April 21

IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch: Working at various locations alongside the Shropshire Union Canal. 10am to 4pm. Work will include painting and vegetation clearance.

Contact Jason Watts: jason.watts@canal rivertrust.org.uk IWA Manchester Branch: Monthly work party, 10am-4pm. Tasks will include vegetation clearance, litter picking, painting and pulling rubbish out of the canal. Contact 07710 554602, secretary@manchester-iwa.co.uk

SOUTH Tuesdays April 17 and 24

IWA Oxfordshire Branch supporting Banbury Canal Partnership: Work party on the Oxford Canal near Banbury. 9am to 1pm. Contact Colin Garnham-Edge: bcpontheoxford@gmail. com.

For further information on any of these events please contact Gemma Bolton on 01494 783453 or email gemma.bolton@waterways.org.uk Details can also be found on IWA’s website at www.waterways.org.uk