Towpath Talk - January 2021 - Preview

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1 Issue 183, January 20211

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2021 YEAR PLANNER HERITAGE HARBOUR STATUS FOR EXETER

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Ringing in the new…

The Laughing Buddha atop Tom’s Tree Surgery’s narrowboat Hyperion will hopefully navigate towards good luck, health and prosperity as it passes Shenton on the Ashby Canal.

PHOTO: GRAHAM NUTTALL

WINTER WORK AT WHALEY BRIDGE

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THE BATTLE OF JERICHO

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BOAT REVIEW: HUNKY DORY

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BOATS FOR SALE Starts on

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Funding the fight against climate change challenges PROJECTS aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change on the waterways will receive £2 million funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery.

It comes as part of the recently announced Postcode Climate Challenge initiative, through which players have raised more than £20 million for climate action.

The Canal & River Trust is facing many challenges and this funding will go towards projects aimed at helping build the waterways’ resistance to

climate change, support biodiversity, manage water stewardship, reduce the charity’s carbon footprint and improve the charity’s use of materials and waste management.

CRT corporate engagement partner Jodie Rees said it couldn’t have come at a better time. “There is wide acceptance of the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis we are facing.

“Canals and rivers are uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to improving the well-being of millions of

people. Climate action is an essential part of our ability to protect these precious resources now and for the future, for boaters, walkers, paddlers, anglers, cyclists and all those who value them.”

This funding brings the support the Canal & River Trust has received thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery over 12 months to £4.6 million. The first £2.6 million tranche of funding, which started in May, supports the trust’s programme to enhance the nation’s well-being through caring

for the waterways and their future, including priority infrastructure works at Castleford Weir and the Tees Barrage.

The Canal & River Trust has been supported by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery since the charity was formed in 2012 and has received more than £13 million in funding to support priority projects such as works at the Grade I listed Marple Aqueduct, the Montgomery Canal restoration and emergency repairs to the breach on the Shropshire Union Canal at Middlewich.

Missing mile

Take a seat

Kickstart to careers

NEWS just reached Towpath Talk as we went to press that the first stage of the restoration of the ‘missing mile’ of the Stroudwater Navigation is now complete. Less than a year since the first spade went into the ground, work has finished on the stretch through the A38 Whitminster roundabout. “The Cotswold Canals project can now continue and by 2023 the reinstated canal will be navigable once again,” said AimeeLouise Malcolm, ambassador for the Cotswold Canals Trust.

GRANTHAM Canal Society volunteers have sited more than a dozen new benches along the towpath. These benches were the inspiration of previous head ranger Chris Cobb and the society’s thanks go to all those who donated them for the benefit of all to enjoy and to the Canal & River Trust for agreeing to their installation. Each of the 15 benches will be marked with a tag which, when the QR code is scanned, will link to the society’s online guide to the canal.

THE Canal & River Trust is offering nearly 70 six-month placements for young people to gain experience in waterway management, customer service and heritage skills. Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the Kickstart initiative, they are aimed at young people aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment. The placements start in February at bases including Burnley, Leicester and Walsall and are advertised on www.gov.uk/find-a-job and www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

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WELCOME WELL what can I say apart from – what a difference a year makes.

This time last year I was looking forward to a visit to the West Country to interview Canal & River Trust regional director Mark Evans for our Around the Regions series. It was arranged for March but was the first of my appointments to fall victim to the spring lockdown – we finished up chatting over the phone.

I had also been eagerly anticipating presenting our 2019 Top Team Volunteer of the Year Awards to the very worthy winners but I only had chance to present one in person – to North West waterway chaplains Martin and Fiona Buck at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port, in late February.

The other presentations which had been arranged in March had to be abandoned and the awards posted out to the winners. I do hope we can catch up with them in 2021.

I did manage to get out once in early March to the launch of Louth Navigation Trust’s Canal@250 celebrations with a book signing at the Navigation Warehouse. Coincidentally the only other outside event I have attended in 2020 was also there in mid-September – just before restrictions started to return – for the Heritage & Arts Festival which should have brought a summer of activities to a conclusion. However it was a fitting finale on a beautiful weekend.

A big thank you to our contributors and the waterways societies and organisations who have kept us plied with news during a very challenging autumn for everyone, with events and activities having to be cancelled at very short notice due to the second lockdown and tiers of restrictions.

There is plenty of reading matter in this edition which I hope will interest you as we wait for the days to get longer and, hopefully, restrictions to ease.

Wishing you all a safe New Year

TOWPATH

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Janet

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Major lottery-funded project completed at Crofton Beam Engines Further grant to help it steam again in 2021

CROFTON Beam Engines, owned by the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, has just completed a major £750,000 project to restore and protect its Grade I listed building near Marlborough, Wiltshire.

It houses the oldest working beam engine in the world that is still in its original location and capable of performing the task for which it was installed.

The project to tell ‘Our Crofton Story’,

which was supported by a grant of more than £500,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has also delivered new accessible and family friendly toilets and a disabled ramp to allow better access to the buildings.

New interpretation panels have been installed throughout the site and video screens will show the engines in operation. Improved facilities around the grounds include additional picnic tables and cycle racks. .

The project has enabled the trust to employ a learning and community engagement officer, who has started

developing a programme to provide online resources and encourage school visits.

Because of the impact of the Covid19 pandemic, the Crofton site was only open for a limited period in 2020, and the engines were not steamed. This has had a major impact on revenue.

The trust is therefore very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation, which also supported the major project, for a further grant of £35,000 to help mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in 2020 and move ahead into 2021.

Plans are already in place for steaming

The Grade I listed building which houses the Crofton Beam Engines during the restoration work.

Take a spring cruise to Walsall

to recommence at Easter 2021.Chris Bolt, trust treasurer and project manager for the final stages of the major project, said: “Today is a major milestone for the trust.

The grant from the Wolfson Foundation is a vote of confidence in the whole Crofton team and the unique heritage of the site.”

It is hoped to recommence steaming at Easter.

PHOTOS: JANET RICHARDSON

Steaming over the Nene

By Les Heath

A SPRING cruise to promote Walsall as a destination is being organised by Birmingham Canal Navigations Society.

With the ongoing pandemic the society has decided not to hold its 2021 summer festival but to have a campaign cruise to Walsall instead.

The Canal & River Trust has been looking at ways of attracting boaters to the basin at the end of Walsall Town Arm and the society decided to play a part by organising its campaign cruise.

Well known for the BCNS Explorer Cruise, which had to be cancelled in 2020, the society hopes to run the Walsall gathering of boats and boaters on May 15 and 16.

A suggested route is for boats to meet at Tipton on the Friday, travel to Moorcroft on Saturday, stopping for lunch and helping promote the Bradley restoration effort before carrying on to Walsall for Sunday.

To make it an anti-clockwise round trip it is proposed to cruise to Wolverhampton by Monday evening.

It is hoped that volunteers will be manning the locks at Ryders Green and Walsall.

To make the trip even more enjoyable a work party will be busy at Ryders Green the week before to remove as much rubbish as possible from the canal.

Arrangements are still in the early stages but an entry fee of £10 is anticipated and all taking part will receive a plaque.

Polish Type 0-8-0 tank engine No. 5485, which was built in 1959, heads a train of Wagons-Lits coaches past a boat moored on the River Nene at Wansford near Peterborough on the first day of the Nene Valley Railway’s Santa specials on Saturday, December 5.

PHOTO: ROBIN JONES

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New electric trip boat needs a sparky name

Community boat launches its 2021 calendar

Hoping to be cruising again in the spring – the John Bunyan Boat.

PHOTO: BMK

The design for the port side of the boat – just waiting for a name. PHOTOS SUPPLIED A NEW all-electric community trip boat, to be based in Campbell Wharf Marina at Milton Keynes, has a problem. It has no name.

The charity building the boat, the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, is appealing to the public for help, seeking suggestions for a name, ready for the boat which will be launched next spring.

BoatyMKBoatface, Jolly Roger, Super Trouper, Black Beard and Lekky Boatie have already been suggested, but the trust is looking for ideas that reflect its state-of-the-art electric power and eco-friendly specification, together with its location on the Milton Keynes part of the Grand Union Canal.

Based on a 54ft traditional narrowboat design, the electric motor will provide a unique experience, gliding almost silently along the canal and without any emissions associated with

traditional diesel-powered boats. The boat will carry up to 12 passengers and be fully accessible, with lavatory provision and access lift for wheelchair users.

Trust chairman Jane Hamilton said: “We have commissioned this boat not only to provide a community facility but to also raise funds to take forward proposals for the brand-new waterway park, with a wide canal at its heart linking Bedford & Milton Keynes.”

James Clifton is the volunteer leading the search for a name.

He commented: “It will bring a breath of fresh air to local people, particularly those furloughed or working at home, allowing them to enjoy the scenery and open spaces along this beautiful stretch of canal. The trip boat will be fully Covid-compliant.”

Suggestions should be emailed to boatname@ bmkwaterway.org by Saturday, January 9, so the boat can be launched with a name.

THE John Bunyan Boat has launched a brand-new calendar and diaries, available for sale to raise funds for The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust.

While the JB managed to get some time on the water in the autumn with the help of dedicated and willing volunteers, like most businesses the John Bunyan Boat has been affected severely by Covid-19 in 2020.

The calendars will be available for sale in a range of sizes via the John Bunyan website, with prices starting from £7, and boast an array of beautiful and seasonal views of the boat, and of the River Great Ouse. There is also a diary available from £10 with scenes

from The River Great Ouse and the Grand Union Canal.

If you would like to show your support for the work the John Bunyan Boat is doing, head over to www. johnbunyanboat.org to purchase a calendar. Gift vouchers are also available, and have been extended to two years from purchase date.

The John Bunyan Boat hopes to be back cruising in the spring, with a programme that will suit any restrictions in place at that time. With the building commencing of the trust’s second boat, a 12-seater electrical barge cruising on the Grand Union Canal (see story left), here’s hoping that 2021 is the best season ever!

Boaters warned to guard against Thames penalty charges

The new MK community boat taking shape at Colecraft.

THAMES recreational powered boating organisations have joined forces to warn boaters to take care when mooring to read local notices and comply with terms and conditions.

In a joint advisory notice, they state that the Environment Agency, some local authorities and riparian landowners are making increasing use of third party contractors to manage their moorings on the non-tidal Thames.

Te r m s and conditions regarding registering on arrival, length of stay and

charges do vary, but almost all provide for the issuing of significant penalty charges if boaters fail to comply.

In most cases the first 24 hours may be free of charge but there is usually a requirement to register on arrival and failure to do so may result in a penalty charge of up to £150 being issued.

Boaters are advised that when mooring, they take care to read local notices and ensure they comply with the terms and conditions that apply at the location.

The boating groups concerned are The Barge Association, NABO (National Association of Boat Owners), RBOA (Residential Boat Owners Association), the Thames Motorboaters Association and the Association of Thames Yacht Clubs (ATYC).

NABO will be advising all its members to keep a record and evidence if they can of their time of arrival and any contact with the car parking company that has been awarded the contract on the EA visitor moorings and other sites.

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Historic ship canal granted Heritage Harbour status

The entrance to Exeter Ship Canal at Kings Arms.

Exeter Canal Basin.

EXETER Ship Canal and Basin has become the fourth Heritage Harbour in the joint initiative by Maritime Heritage Trust and National Historic Ships UK to recognise the status of historic ports and harbours across the UK. Britain’s oldest ship canal, part of the Port of Exeter, was awarded the recognition following an application by the Friends of Exeter Ship Canal.

To coincide with this incentive, the Friends of Exeter Ship Canal have published a radical revival programme for the waterway, entitled Making the Canal Matter Again to Exeter.

Friends chairman John Monks said: “We want to see more boats on the canal and more businesses connected with the waterway, as well as a welcome for the restoration of historic vessels. There is also an opportunity for the return of commercial usage on a small scale to begin with.

“Exeter Ship Canal was built for the Port of Exeter for vessels to navigate from the coast to the city’s heart, so the Heritage Harbour designation takes in all aspects of the port today. If opportunities are grasped the waterway can attract new business and visitors

Tranquil: the Exeter Ship Canal approaching the city.

and facilities than they have at present.

But there is enormous willingness and commitment among canal users, stakeholders and volunteers to see the waterway thrive. Exeter City Council, Exeter Canal and Quay Trust and the Port of Exeter Authority should respond with common objectives.”

The Friends of Exeter Ship Canal is a voluntary group dedicated to preserving and bringing new life to the heritage of the canal as an integral part of the city’s life and economy and for the enjoyment of everyone today and in the future. It is also a corporate member of the Inland Waterways Association.

and its heritage will be preserved for everyone’s enjoyment. We would like to see the wider community working with Exeter City Council, the canal’s owners, on plans that will be game-changers for the canal.”

Coun David Harvey, lead councillor for environment and city management for Exeter City Council, also welcomed the designation. “Heritage Harbour status carries the potential to unlock all sorts of exciting opportunities. I am grateful to the Friends of Exeter Ship

Canal for the work they have done in gaining this recognition," he said.

Brian Corbett, trustee of Maritime Heritage Trust and the Association of Gaff Rig Sailing and their representative on European Maritime Heritage, said: “The real nomination of a Heritage Harbour arises from the enthusiasm of its waterways community to form a group aspiring to maintain a working maritime heritage for the benefit of everyone. The Friends of Exeter Ship Canal already constitutes that group.”

John Monks explained that Making the Canal Matter Again to Exeter is also a programme Topsham Lock for revitalising Exeter’s and cottage. centuries-old maritime tradition. The vision had been put together with support from the Inland Waterways Association West Country Branch and its chairman, Ray Alexander.

“These ideas point the way forward but are only a start,” John added. “The canal and basin need much better marketing

Part of the Exeter Ship Canal Basin with the river beyond.

PHOTOS: FRIENDS OF EXETER SHIP CANAL

VISION HIGHLIGHTS Easier and cheaper navigation

which will be available when the headroom beneath the bridges across the canal in Bridge Road, Exeter, is raised by Devon County Council.

Historic vessels, such as wooden sailing craft, being restored at the basin, creating opportunities for skilled jobs and training.

Commercial use with fresh fish and shellfish landed at the basin and produce transported by water.

Holiday attractions such as boat lets and picnic boats; combined bus and ferry tickets from the city centre to Double Locks and Turf Lock; and a horse-drawn canal barge.

A boost to community life with an annual canal carnival and cavalcade and the purchase of the old gas works social club adjacent to the basin for conversion to a new canal office and community activities focusing on the waterway and its heritage.

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Breach on the Ashby Canal

A gate being replaced at the Blue Bank Lock on the Grand Union Leicester Line.

Breach hole which formed in the canal bed.

East Midlands waterways get a winter makeover Bridge works at Bramcote Road Bridge on the Ashby Canal.

PHOTOS: CANAL & RIVER TRUST

THE Canal & River Trust is investing £4 million on a four-month programme of repairs on waterways in the East Midlands.

As part of the programme, which will continue until March, the waterways charity’s teams will be replacing lock gates, dredging sections of canal and carrying out a host of tasks to keep the 200-year-old network working.

CRT regional director Phil Mulligan said: “This winter’s works are obviously important for encouraging boaters to visit the East Midlands but, with research telling us that time spent by the water can help us to feel happier and more relaxed, they will also contribute to improving people’s

mental and physical well-being.

“Our waterways have offered a really important lifeline for so many people this year, providing the perfect spots for local recreation, exercise or just to unwind. That’s why it’s so important that we keep them open and safe for everyone to use, whether you’re out on your boat or enjoying the towpath.”

This winter the trust is investing more than £45 million on waterways across England and Wales. The lock gates on the East Midlands’ waterways weigh several tonnes and typically last around 25 years. Each new gate is made to measure and hand-crafted from seasoned oak so that it fits perfectly in the lock chamber.

East Midlands winter works

• New hand-crafted lock gates being installed at Blue Bank Lock, near Glen Parva in Leicester. Works are also taking place to repair historic brickwork within the lock.

• A new control system being installed at Stamp End Lock in Lincoln, the East Midlands’ only guillotine lock (where gates are lifted overhead rather than the more common gate opening).

• A new pedestrian footbridge being installed at Derwent Mouth Lock in Derbyshire, making it easier for people to make their way over the lock.

• New lock gates installed at Stanton Lock on the Erewash Canal.

• Replacing the concrete cill, which forms a watertight seal with the bottom of the lock gates, at Long Buckby Lock in Northamptonshire.

• Lifting in new gates at Lock 15 of the Grand Union Canal, Northampton Arm.

LOCALS woke up to the sound of running water on the Ashby Canal on Sunday, November 27.

A hole had developed in the bed of the canal near Snarestone in north-west Leicestershire. Water poured into the nearby ditch as moored narrowboats settled on to the canal bed.

Volunteers from the Ashby Canal Association, boaters, a local farmer and members of the public were soon on hand to put in stop planks at specially built narrows. This stemmed the flow and the job was successfully completed by lunchtime.

ACA chairman Peter Oakden said: “We used anything we had to hand and soon developed an effective method of installation.”

Leicestershire County Council, which owns this length, was informed, as was Canal & River Trust, which manages the

Part of the towpath was washed away.

Volunteers installing stop planks.

Narrowboat Waterloo Sunrise stranded at its moorings.

PHOTOS: GEOFF PURSGLOVE

adjacent waterway feeding the length.

The CRT supervisor was soon on the scene and complimented the volunteers on their rapid response and efficient approach to the installation of the stop planks.

Geoff Pursglove moors his narrowboat Waterloo Sunrise at the bottom of his garden on the affected length of canal.

“It doesn’t look like we will be going anywhere on the boat at the moment!” he said. “A few boats are stranded, but hopefully it will all be sorted out soon.”

The navigation reopened as we went to press.

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Whaley Bridge warehouse relaunched as craft centre

A HISTORIC Grade II* listed canal warehouse at the head of the Peak Forest Canal in Whaley Bridge has been relaunched as a traditional craft skills centre, run by a new community interest company.

Owned by the Canal & River Trust, the Transhipment Warehouse has just benefited from a £100,000 upgrade project to make the roof of the 200-year-old building secure and watertight.

Funded by the trust and a

Neville Clarke with the second-hand kiln.

£10,000 grant from High Peak Borough Council, the project has also included dredging of the narrow boating channel inside the warehouse which will make it possible for a canal boat to moor once again inside the Peak District stone building.

This investment has allowed the warehouse to be repurposed from an empty shell into a vibrant new heritage craft skills centre, courtesy of a dedicated band of volunteers led by Neville Clarke, Gemma Roe and Ian Kidd, who have formed the community interest company, Whaley Bridge Canal Group.

Gil l ia n Re n s haw , Whaley Bridge community engagement manager with CRT, said: “The group has always had the community at the heart of everything they do, working tirelessly and voluntarily to transform this important heritage building into a central hub for everyone to love, use and enjoy.”

Their new High Peak Heritage Crafts Centre will offer a range of public courses in traditional skills like pottery, felting, green woodworking, weaving, glass

The Whaley Bridge Transhipment Warehouse.

blowing, textiles, sign writing and silversmithing.

Due to current Covid-19 restrictions, courses will probably not start until early spring but are booking now.

Over the last few months, the volunteers have been preparing their new home by painting the warehouse interior, installing new work benches, creating new outdoor picnic benches and landscaping the waterside grounds of the beautiful canal basin.

They have also sourced a

second-hand kiln from a nd cottage at Bugsworth Basin CRT North West regional director Daniel Greenhalgh, seco and ke Clar lle Nevi , and transported it along the from left, with group founders Ian Kidd canal, courtesy of a local Gemma Roe. Canal & River Trust workboat.

Gillian added: “To do all Built in 1801 and extended manufactured and raw goods this under a global pandemic in 1832, the Transhipment led to Whaley Bridge developing and two national lockdowns Warehouse would have been a from a small hamlet into the is incredibly impressive and scene of constant activity, with thriving town it is today. clearly demonstrates the passion boats loading and unloading and determination of all the inside the warehouse, volunteers involved. For this p ro t e c t e d f ro m reason alone they deserve our the weather by the support, and we wish this new interior channel. The venture every success, now and success of the canal for many years to come.” trade in limestone,

Gemma Roe with the warehouse logo. PHOTOS: CANAL & RIVER TRUST

Janet Clay and Ian Kidd with the group’s foodbank.

For more information about High Peak Crafts or to book a course, please go to www. high-peak-crafts.co.uk or email info@high-peak-crafts.co.uk

MP shows support for canal charity

By Les Heath

VOLUNTEERS working on the restoration of the Cromford Canal had a welcome surprise during the second lockdown in the form of a membership application from Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales.

After seeing a copy of Portal, the official magazine of the Friends of the Cromford Canal, the MP was so impressed with the organisation and its work that she decided to become a member.

She said: “Your hard work and dedication to the canal throughout lockdown is both a testament to your organisation and to the fantastic piece of infrastructure you look after

so diligently.” She added that it would have been so easy to forget the imagery, importance and uses of the canal were it not for the Friends.

Apart from expressing a desire to follow the ‘excellent progress’ of the charity, she looked forward to visiting the section of canal in her constituency to learn more about the ambitions for the waterway.

The Friends membership secretary, Yvonne Shattower, said: “Sarah has commended our work on the canal and hopes to come and see us in action when conditions permit and we are thrilled to have her support.”

Derbyshire Dales MP Sarah Dines.

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Macclesfield and Peak Forest canals get winter makeover THE Canal & River Trust is carrying out a major winter makeover of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest canals.

Boaters, walkers, cyclists and anglers will notice significant improvements to both canals over the next few months as trust staff and an army of 70 volunteers work across 43 miles of waterways in East Cheshire and Derbyshire.

In a massive project to upgrade the waterways, both canals are being dredged, boundary fences mended, overhanging vegetation cut back or removed and dry stone walls repaired.

New smart signage is being installed at key locations and towpaths improved.

To accommodate the need for social distancing, staff and volunteers are divided up into dedicated work parties, so different tasks can be tackled simultaneously at locations across the two canals.

Maintenance work on the Marple lock flight should be finished by Christmas in time for the Peak Forest Canal to reopen to boaters for the festive holiday.

CRT local operations manager Tracey Jackson said: “It is vitally important to keep our 200-year-old

canals in good working order for the thousands of visitors and local residents who enjoy spending time by them.

“A few years ago the Macclesfield Canal became the first canal in the country to gain a coveted Green Flag Award, confirming that it’s a quality green space, offering visitors a first class experience. This has since been joined by the Upper Peak Forest, from Whaley Bridge to Marple Aqueduct,

and new this year, beautiful Sutton Reservoir which supplies water to the two canals.”

Today the 26-mile Macclesfield Canal and the 16-mile Peak Forest Canal form part of the popular 100-mile Cheshire canal cruising ring, which provides boaters with a chance to combine the beautiful rural Cheshire scenery with the urban waterways of Greater Manchester.

One of the old gates is lifted out.

PHOTO: LOUIS STILLMAN

A 17-tonne crane is use d to lift the gates. PHOTO: CANAL & RIVE

R TRUST

Massive new gates for the Mon & Brec

Smart new signage is being installed. PHOTOS: CANAL & RIVER TRUST

Canal & River Trust staff and volunteers removing overhanging vegetation on the Peak Forest Canal, from left: Hugh Wheeler, Paul Hardman, Alan Jackson, Tracey Jackson, Paul Chapman, Neil Holladay and Grant Aston.

Fences and dry stone walls hav e been mended – Grant Aston places in a final coping stone.

To join the volunteers on these two canals, please contact the trust’s local volunteer co-ordinator Neil Holladay. Email: neil.holladay@ canalrivertrust.org.uk For more information on the Canal & River Trust’s vital winter waterway repair programme or to attend a virtual open day, visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

GLANDWR Cymru – the Canal & River Trust in Wales – has been replacing three massive lock gates on the Green Flag award-winning Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.

The new lock gates, which weigh a total of 5.4 tonnes, replace the gates at Lock 64, which have reached the end of their 20-year lifespan.

Mark Evans, Glandwr Cymru director, said: “This year we’re spending almost £1 million on our winter works programme in Wales, including this one at lock 64. Set against the challenges of the pandemic, and with research showing being by the water improves well-being, it has never been more important to keep the waterways open and available.”

Work began with a specialist fish rescue to temporarily relocate resident tench, pike and bream in the canal. The lock, and a 450m stretch of the canal, was drained for the project, expected to take four weeks.

Heavy lifting power has been supplied by a 17-tonne crane that will be brought to site to manoeuvre the gates in and out of the lock. The bottom gates measure 5.2m tall by 2m wide while the top one

is 1.6m tall by 2.5m wide.

Because no two locks are the same size, each gate has been individually made at the trust’s workshop in the West Midlands. There, a team of carpenters use traditional methods to transform sustainably grown green oak, together with steel brackets, into bespoke lock gates.

One of the new gates in place.

PHOTO: CANAL & RIVER TRUST

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Getting ready to rebuild Schoolhouse Bridge in the spring

Finishing off the bypass road. PHOTOS SUPPLIED THERE was dramatic progress when volunteers returned to complete their preparations for the reconstruction of Schoolhouse Bridge on the Montgomery Canal south of Crickheath, near Oswestry.

After the crops were harvested, the restoration team were able to access the final field by the bridge site thanks to generous agreement from the farmer. The field was fenced and the track to bypass the construction site was completed.

The work involved volunteers using the machines on site to drive fencing posts, lay the track and roll the track surface. The materials for this work were generously supplied by the Tudor Griffiths Group at cost, as will be those for the bridge itself next year.

Tudor Griffiths himself has been interested in the restoration for a long time: he has provided the land for the nature reserves by Aston Locks, near Queen’s Head, and many years ago he volunteered when the Inland Waterways Association’s Waterway Recovery Group were restoring the locks themselves.

A further development at the bridge site was the arrival of a welfare cabin, transported from the Pocklington Canal restoration in Yorkshire.

The water main in the lane is being diverted through the fenced area with the kind permission of the landowners.

In November contractors were due to drill an underground route through the fields and under the canal bed, avoiding the bridge site, ready for Severn Trent Water to make the connection to the existing main and to cut off the supply across the bridge site.

The project to reconstruct the bridge is scheduled to start in spring 2021 and will involve closing the highway through the summer while the bridge is rebuilt to modern highway standards.

Speaking for the Restore the Montgomery Canal! group, chairman Michael Limbrey said: “This final stage of this year’s volunteer effort at Schoolhouse Bridge has been a modest project compared with what we shall be undertaking next year but it has shown what skilled and other volunteers can

do. Each day substantial pieces of equipment were used by qualified drivers. And each stage finished early.

“The main work starts next year.

In the spring we have to excavate the old embankment across the canal and construct the reinforced concrete base and abutments for the bridge. Contractors will then install the bridge arch – and it will be really exciting when they crane the arch into position.”

He continued: “The final stages will involve building up to road level, surfacing, kerbing and landscaping.

This will be one of the major canal restoration projects of 2021 and it has to be completed in a matter of months.

We shall be using contractors for the specialised works but to keep the cost down will use volunteers where we can.

“We have had a really good group of volunteers from local canal teams for these two weeks of preparation.

Qualified volunteers were driving the machines we hired, from the big 13-tonne tracked digger/excavator to the smaller compaction roller used to finish off the surface of the track.”

Michael added: “We are always on the lookout for more volunteers to help us next year, especially anyone with construction site experience – though that’s not essential. With enough volunteers signed up we would not need everyone on site every day and of course the project will only be running for a limited period. It would be great to hear from anyone who would like to help this exciting project.

“We are particularly keen to bolster the site management team for next year:

Stone being delivered for the track.

this could be valuable experience for a younger person looking to build up a CV, or an opportunity for someone between jobs or retired or approaching retirement.”

“Over the years we have been planning this project we have had a great deal of support and help from local residents and from Shropshire Council and the Canal & River Trust. The rebuilt bridge will remove a major obstruction to our ambition to reopen the canal to Llanymynech and into mid-Wales, restoring the connection to the national canal network that was lost more than 80 years ago.”

The Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal is run by the local canal charities supporting the Montgomery Canal restoration: the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, Shropshire Union Canal Society and the Inland Waterways Association.

Offers of help can be sent to project team member Ken Jackson kgjackson@btinternet. com or 01584 823401 or 07778 417315. More at www.

RestoreTheMontgomeryCanal.uk/ getinvolved.html

Sunken hoppers revealed during canal stoppage WINTER works around the canal network include the replacement of lock gates at Ell Meadow Lock No 89 on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal west of Wigan, writes Colin Wareing.

A temporary fibre dam was constructed around the lock and the work boat that has transported the new gates to the lock has been used as the crane for the work.

The canal has been closed to navigation and a safety fence erected around the lock although the towpath has remained open.

The reduction of water levels in the pound between the Ell Meadow and Pagefield locks exposed some old mud hoppers that are usually submerged and are slowly rotting away. They used to be employed when dredging was carried out on a more regular basis and are in the flashes – a wider part of the canal that boats don’t normally navigate into.

Bringing in the tanks to stabilise rebuilt bank SHROPSHIRE Union Canal Society volunteers’ restoration of the Crickheath section of the Montgomery Canal continued until the recent lockdown with further reinstatement of the 50m subsided areas of bank.

In very wet conditions, these were built up much closer to the actual finished height, with a massive 250 tonnes of type one stone being laid. This section proved to be very difficult due to the unstable prevailing ground conditions.

The actual reconstruction involves substantial layers of earth and stone being compressed on top of a geotextile grid to stabilise the mass, which should then settle to the height required by August next year.

This compression will take six months and the pressure will be created by 100 very large water tanks known as IBCs (intermediate

The stone embankment.

PHOTOS: SUCS

bulk containers) placed over the treated area. A culvert was also installed near the winding hole next to Crickheath Bridge, to duct run-off rainwater under the canal.

Half a mile closer to Llanymynech, another restoration group completed the second section of the base for a road diversion, to prepare for the very challenging construction of a new road bridge near School House, in Long Lane, next year.

The IBC water tanks being stacked.

Canal restoration plan set to solve Cranleigh road headache RESIDENTS in the Surrey village of Cranleigh could see a solution to a problematic one-way road if the Wey & Arun Canal Trust is granted planning permission for a proposed canal restoration project in the area.

The trust has submitted an application to Waverley Borough Council to widen the single-lane Elmbridge Road that runs from the A281 to create a two-way road and footway. The road widening would include a replacement canal bridge, allowing restoration of the Wey & Arun Canal beneath the major obstacle that the current road represents.

Project manager Tony Ford said: “For several years, the canal trust has been working with Surrey County Council and the adjacent landowners on this comprehensive project which provides multiple benefits with improvements to road and footpaths and restoration of the canal where it was long-ago filled in within a residential site.

This proposal will benefit Cranleigh residents in many ways.”

Surrey County Council had identified Elmbridge Road as a priority project, setting aside Section 106 funding (developer contributions) from new housing and these funds

will be used for the road widening, while the trust will fund footpath improvements and restoration of the canal itself.

The proposal includes the restoration of 330m of the canal south of Elmbridge Road. The level of the canal will be lowered by about 2m to pass through the new bridge without excessive raising of the road.

New lock

This will in turn require a new lock to be built, towards the southern end of the restored length, and the line of the towpath will be adjusted to cross the canal twice, once via the new bridge and again via a footbridge at the lock.

The project involves extensive improvements to existing footpaths with widening and resurfacing and the creation of a new dedicated route for the residents of the nearby retirement village to reach Cranleigh’s centre.

Responses to a public consultation held in October last year were overwhelmingly positive, with respondents believing the plans to be an enhancement of the current road situation and enhancement to public access to the canal and countryside.

The crane lifts one of the new wooden lock beams from the boat’s hold on to the lock side.

Reduced water levels have exposed the rusting remains of these mud hoppers.

PHOTOS: COLIN WAREING, COLIN AND CAROLE’S CREATIONS

Elmbridge Road will be widened as part of the scheme. PHOTO: WACT

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Characters of the Cut

Zara’s at home on the river

Alice Griffin meets the young liveaboard whose social media posts inspire followers all over the world.

WITH nearly 7000 followers on Instagram, 27-year-old Zara Humphrey is certainly flying the flag for narrowboat living with her quirky and friendly posts about life on the Kennet & Avon.

Her 43ft boat, Yarrow, even has her very own 2021 calendar!

Zara, who works as a duty manager for an airline at her local airport, said she didn’t expect to find herself on the water. However, after watching her mum and dad sell the family home in 2017 to move on to a widebeam, the idea began to take shape. “As I was visiting them on a weekly basis I realised what a lovely life they were living.

“I was in a long-term relationship and we were saving for a deposit for a mortgage but unfortunately the relationship came to an end. The money I’d saved came in very handy when the boat next to my parents came up for sale!”

By Zara’s own admission, she was a bit of a princess when it came to renovating Yarrow. “She was very dark and dirty when I bought her, but my dad worked day and night for five months on her renovation.” Combined with help from friends along the way, Zara got her dream of not moving on board until she was ‘pretty’ and nowadays Yarrow is certainly that!

With her light and bright interior, she is the picture perfect tiny home – a movement that is big, particularly with young people struggling to get on the housing ladder. “It was never my intention to buy a tiny home but I’m so glad I did! It’s so cosy and more than enough space for me.

I have everything I need and it makes me so happy!”

Another thing that makes Zara happy is her ducks. “I have

Zara’s favourite Halloween countdown photo is of the pumpkins coming out of her washing machine.

PHOTOS SUPPLIED

Zara Humphrey in her narrowboat home.

Zara has produced her own Yarrow calendar. always had a love for all animals but when I moved on to the water and discovered how cute and friendly the ducks were, I fell in love!” Some of her ducks feature in the Yarrow calendar and make up an important element of Zara’s life on the river. “They are always around, sitting on the roof and following me. They also sit on my paddleboard and make a huge mess so I decided to make them their own floating home.”

Called Duckingham Palace, this pink house is suspended from the side of Yarrow and has already been home to the pitterpatter of tiny feet this year.

Zara’s followers certainly go crazy for the duck updates, but she also has a fun way of engaging her community in other ways. “In October I reached 6000 followers so taking inspiration from other Instagram accounts, I decided to do a Halloween countdown. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realise there were 24 days left at that point and I had to be creative to make my pumpkin pictures interesting.

“My favourite was the pumpkins coming out of my tiny washing machine!” Zara regularly posts pictures of everyday

life from her permanent mooring including swimming days, paddleboard yoga and Yarrow’s first time as a party venue!

It’s clear that life afloat suits Zara and she’s keen to grow the adventure, with her big aim for 2021 being to gain confidence in her cruising skills. “There is something scary about taking your whole home out on the river with next to no experience, but at the same time I know you can only build experience by throwing yourself into it.

“My dad has taken Yarrow out with me in order for me to practise, but we always end up dancing and singing and not getting any learning done!” Zara is determined though. “The idea that I can just move my home and change the view out my window makes me happy!”

This happiness shines out from Zara’s Instagram feed and it’s clear she is an inspiration to people all over the world who love not only her floating home but also her fun and cheery personality. Her advice to anyone else thinking of taking the plunge: “I would 100% say go for it! It’s an amazing way of life and one I want more people to experience and enjoy!”

Zara also encourages others to take lots of pictures and share them, and why not. We have an amazing network of waterways that we can be proud of and it’s a joy to see young folk like Zara promoting the beauty of life on the river in this way.

Alice Griffin is a writer and intermittent boater, currently spending time in the Scottish Highlands.

I n s t a g r a m : alice_is_in_wanderland www.alicegriffin.co.uk

Yarrow moored on the Kennet & Avon Canal with Duckingham Palace alongside. Inset: A duck stands proudly watching her brood.

Instagram: Yarrowthenarrow Etsy shop: yarrowthenarrow.etsy.com (where you can buy a copy of Yarrow’s 2021 calendar!)

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Getting ready to spring into action THIS year’s Covid-19 restrictions meant that Uppermill Community Action (UCAN) volunteers couldn’t work in their normal groups.

They decided to spend this time taking stock of progress to date and planning initial activities in readiness for when they can resume work alongside the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, hopefully in early 2021.

A number of key items had been planned including the completion of preparation work on the pond project in the Viaduct Woodland in order that it could fill with rainwater over the winter months.

Volunteers would have also ensured that the bird and bat boxes were clean and completed the planting of bulbs ready for spring flowering.

Good progress had been made with regular litter-picking; even after many months with no UCAN work and despite much heavier incoming traffic during lockdown, most parts of the canal corridor have remained remarkably litter-free.

The group has received feedback now that some walkers regularly pick up litter which they notice during their daily exercise. One of the original aims in establishing UCAN was to improve the local environment and it is a credit to all concerned – local residents, businesses and visitors alike – that they are well on the way to achieving this objective.

Members are looking forward to the day, when the regulations allow, when they can meet again and resume their regular voluntary work on all of the above, and more, armed with their ‘to do’ list for 2021.

UCAN is always pleased to welcome new members when its voluntary work can resume; anyone who is interested and would like further information can contact Peter Killan on 01457 878361 or email peterkillan@hotmail.com

Making a clean sweep for hospice funds TO CELEBRATE his 80th birthday, Peter Killan – team leader with Uppermill Community Action (UCAN) – decided to clear leaves to raise money for a local good cause.

He felt that while spending his time voluntarily clearing the towpath during November and December he could help raise donations for Dr Kershaw's Hospice and make a real difference to the hospice and the patients.

He aims to single-handedly continue clearing the fallen wet slippery leaves from the canal towpath to ensure that the Uppermill length of the canal is completely clear by Christmas. To keep everybody safe, he has been working at quiet times on weekdays only and observing social distancing.

UCAN team leader Peter Killan clears the leaves from the towpath in Uppermill to raise funds for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice.

PHOTO: UCAN

Peter has appealed for support to raise funds for the hospice’s Furnish with Love – Give the Gift of Comfort appeal.

He has had an amazing response from local residents and towpath users alike and reached his original £1000 target in under five days from the JustGiving page going live. By the end of November, the total donated was £1422.

Peter said: “The leaf clearance is going very well and, with another month’s fundraising, the sky’s the limit. Our Saddleworth community has been so generous and is owed a massive thank you.”

If you would like to support Peter’s effort, visit https:// www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Peter-Killan

Tim Coghlan named as patron of the Narrow Boat Trust

A few of the beautiful daffodils from last spring which UCAN is expecting to bloom again in 2021. PHOTO: UCAN

THE Narrow Boat Trust has announced that Tim Coghlan of Braunston Marina has agreed to be its patron.

He has been an enthusiastic supporter of historic working narrowboats for many years; his regular gatherings of historic craft at Braunston are an important feature of the inland waterways calendar and have become immensely popular.

Tim has always been very generous to the Narrow Boat Trust and, as reported last month, his £1000 donation at Stoke Bruerne in its 50th year was very welcome at a time when the trust has had to carry out extensive work on its motor boat Nuneaton. Thanks to the generosity of Friends of Raymond, of which Tim is also patron, the NBT was able to carry out its autumn solid fuel run, its main source of income, by using FoR’s motor boat Nutfield with NBT butty Brighton.

Boating with the Seamasters

THE main boating season has come to a close but Seamaster owners do tend to carry on through the winter; not as often, but they find dressing suitably means life on the water is still pretty good.

Winter cruising has its benefits – there are not so many people and vessels about and nature is more relaxed and is not in hiding. Birds, mammals, animals and fish can all show their magnificence on a calm day.

There are 25 models of Seamaster including power and sailing types. If you do own a Seamaster, or are thinking of buying one – think also about the Seamaster Club, which has been in existence since 1992.

The club has information on all of the models constructed from 1953 to 1981, together with the details of the motors fitted to them and if you are stumped with the electrics, each of the circuit diagrams too. Information on ‘how-to-do’ it is readily available, as is the date the boat was manufactured, providing the HIN is still present – found usually near to the helm.

Members of the Seamaster Club are scattered over the whole of the UK and Ireland – and some overseas. Each area has a local organiser who arranges events and trips where members meet up – with or without a boat!

Tim Coghlan with David Suchet at Braunston Historic Boat Rally in 2008.

PHOTO SUPPLIED

Great social events usually take place throughout the year with an AGM held at a different venue each time consisting of a mini car boot sale and a buffet lunch prior to the start of the meeting which usually includes a talk by an informed person about local history, happenings or other local interests. This is always a well-attended event and generally lasts over the weekend.

To keep members in touch and informed, each member receives a colour magazine six times throughout the year.

After Seamaster Ltd ceased production, some moulds were purchased by, significantly, Viking Boats and they are once more in production.

If you are interested in Seamaster boats or the Seamaster Club, please contact Sandra on seamaster.sandra@outlook.com or David Revill on 01603 738648.

A Seamaster can take it! This is a Seamaster 27 off the East Anglian coast recently. But most owners stay on the rivers and canals where it is often a lot quieter. PHOTO SUPPLIED

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Green light for Stafford marina basin project

Excavations under way with Kingston Hill in the background.

THE Stafford Riverway Link community interest company has welcomed the news that Stafford Borough Council has approved its proposal to complete the marina basin and open up a canal link.

A Crowdfunding site has been set up to help raise the finances needed to progress the project, the final aim of which is to reinstate the canal basin and link to the River Sow to once again allow canal boats to travel into Stafford town centre.

However SRL proposes to proceed one phase at a time which will bring benefits such as the provision of moorings and a winding hole, allowing pleasure boats and Canal & River Trust work boats to turn around. Boaters will be able to explore the local area on foot or cycle, visit nearby pubs and restaurants and shop in Stafford town for provisions.

SRL volunteer Clive Cropper said: “We’re delighted to report that SRL’s planning application to complete the marina basin, open up a link into the basin from the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and construct a bridge over it for walkers and farm traffic has

now been given the go-ahead

by Stafford Borough Council.

“Our thanks go to the council for this. After the significant progress made on the site last year, 2020 has been a frustrating year for obvious reasons.”

He added: “This planning approval provides the opportunity for us to work towards completing the project’s next phase. It also brings us closer to restoring a part of the town’s historical heritage and we look forward to the continued support of partners and the people of Stafford.”

SRL has been campaigning for several years to restore the canal junction, basin and riverway link at Baswich which was removed during the first half of the 20th century. Last year the landowners agreed to lease it to the group for a peppercorn rent.

According to a statement submitted in support of the planning application, the proposed channel entrance to the new basin will be located at the site of the previous junction with the canal, where the canal naturally widens.

It continued: “As the new channel will involve cutting

through the towpath and sluice operated weir, it is proposed to form a new weir further to the west and a new bridge providing continuity to the towpath combined with vehicular access to the farmland.

“The bridge will take the form of a traditional red brick arch and curved wing walls to reflect the style of existing historic bridges in the vicinity found along the canal waterway.”

Of similar design to the previously demolished bridge, it will comply with current legislation and DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) requirements and Canal & River Trust criteria.

The Crowdfunding site can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gofundme. com/f/stafford-riverway-linkbasin-amp-bridge-project For more information about Stafford Riverway Link, please visit: https://m.facebook.com/ StaffordRiverwayLink/ or https://www.staffordriverway-link.co.uk/

Work recently restarted on the Stafford Riverway Link project. PHOTOS: SRL

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