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116 PAGES
Issue 151, May 2018
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WHEELYBOAT GOES P6 INTO ACTION
A CANAL CHARACTER’S P9 TALES NEW SERIES: PETS ON P14 THE CUT
Montgomery milestone Cracker tows fly-boat Saturn down the entrance locks to the Montgomery Canal at Frankton. This is a big year for the waterway’s restoration with progress and events all along its 35-mile length. See feature starting on page 4, advertisement on page 6 and leaflet inserted within the paper... and of course Cracker’s Chat on page 116. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES
Breach repairs could be delayed by badger setts
MONSTER OF THE CANAL
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BOATS FOR SALE Turn to
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REPAIRS to the breach on the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal were still to be scheduled as Towpath Talk went to press. Survey information showed that 2800 cubic metres of the embankment was washed away and will need to be replaced – amounting to more than 200 lorry loads.
DODGERS DOWN
The presence of badger setts could also delay work starting while the necessary disturbance licence is obtained. A Canal & River Trust spokesman told Towpath Talk: “We can’t at this stage give an estimate of timings. It is difficult to do this with any certainty at the moment.
THE Canal & River Trust’s annual national boat count shows that licence evasion on its waterways is at its lowest-ever level, with 96.9% of boats holding up-to-date licences (2017: 96.3%). Interim head of boating Jon Horsfall reported 108 boats were removed from CRT waters as they were unlicensed or in breach of its terms and conditions. The figures also paint a picture of the changing numbers of boats across the country. CRT waterways in London have seen growth slowing: up 2.4%, compared to more than 9% in 2016/17. The North also saw an increase of 2.3%, while other areas remained static.
“We would expect to be in a position to confirm realistic budgets and timescales by the end of May, but at the moment our best estimate is that repairs would take six months at a cost of between £2-3 million.” In the meantime CRT has launched an emergency appeal to help fund the repair bill.
KILL THE ENGINE
THE Boat Safety Scheme has a blunt warning for boaters using petrol engines – if you can smell exhaust fumes in the boat, kill the engine(s) and get out fast. A major carbon monoxide (CO) risk comes from either big inboard petrol engines producing lethal volumes of the highly poisonous gas in seconds, or from outboards and other portable engines steadily increasing CO in the cabin. Over the previous two boating seasons four people have died and another two had emergency medical treatment when engine-exhaust gases were drawn inside through the open flaps of cockpit covers. For safety information see www.boatsafetyscheme.org/co
Continued on page 3
It is believed that the most likely cause was an increased flow of water along the canal due to paddles at lock gates being left open. This is thought to have overtopped the canal at the breach site which, together with an already sodden embankment following a wet winter, caused the bank to wash away.
BOATING ON RISE
A RECORD 3.96 million UK adults took part in one or more of 12 core boating activities in 2017, according to the annual Watersports Participation Survey. This is the highest volume recorded since this research was first launched in 2002. Boat ownership has also increased, with more than 690,000 boat-owning households in the UK. Canoeing and motor boating saw the largest increases and the popularity of canal boating and stand-up paddleboarding remains strong. The growth in sailing, motor boating and canal boating was described as excellent news for boatbuilders and hire boat companies by British Marine chief executive Howard Pridding.
2 NEWS/COMMENT
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WELCOME JUST when things seem to be going swimmingly, something happens to throw a spanner in the works. I’m sorry about the mixed metaphors but as you have probably guessed I am referring to the breach on the Middlewich Branch which happened just after we went to press with our April edition. The dramatic pictures were reminiscent of previous embankment collapses, most recently at Dutton on the Trent & Mersey Canal, underlining the impact that water or weather conditions can have on a 200-year-old infrastructure. It also immediately rang alarm bells, not only for the boaters stranded on the branch which links the Shropshire Union and Trent & Mersey Canals and is part of the Four Counties Ring, but also for the hire bases whose customers use these waterways as part of their cruising plans. They have been quick to reassure people that alternative routes are available, particularly to holiday hotspots such as the Llangollen Canal, see page 74. The combination of unseasonal weather and an early Easter were not an ideal start to the season but boaters have been out and about. Dodging the snow which closed the Peak passes, I drove over to Ellesmere Port on Easter Monday for the final day of the annual gathering at the National Waterways Museum. I was surprised to find that they had enjoyed some sunshine – a bit different to the east of the country – and a successful weekend on which we will be reporting next month although Harry Arnold covers the celebrations to mark the Grundy family’s 50 years of cruising on board Beatty in CutNotes on page 113. The following day we boarded the Daniel Adamson for the launch of Towpath Talk’s Top Team award, see page 4. We were also treated to the sailpast of some of the Historic Narrow Boat Club members’ boats on their way back up the Manchester Ship Canal towards the River Weaver.
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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 Holly Furness Divisional advertising manager Sue Keily Production editor Pauline Hawkins Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole
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Spring arrives at Braunston ALTHOUGH unlucky for some, spring finally arrived at Braunston Marina on Friday, April 13 when the sun came out to grace the famous quayside Pandora blossom on trees that bravely came to life a week earlier in the chilling wind and rain. The four mature Pandora cherry trees were planted in 1995 to celebrate the twinning of the English Grand Union Canal with the Irish Grand Canal. The one seen on the right was planted by the Irish Senator Pat Magner who then held political responsibility for the Irish canals, and the other three by Daventry’s then MP Tim Boswell (now Lord Boswell), Bernard Henderson, the then chairman of British Waterways, and the then Mayor of Daventry and chairman of Daventry District Council, Coun Steve Osborne. In the years that followed, Senator Magner enjoyed saying that his tree had done so much better than the others – and ‘without recoursing to giving it Liffey water’. More than 2000 trees have been planted at the marina since it was acquired by Tim Coghlan in 1988. Last year it won the Dennett’s Garden Centre Cup for the best business garden in Braunston.
The cherry blossom makes an attractive backdrop for historic Fellows, Morton & Clayton narrowboat Monarch which will be participating in this year’s Braunston Historic Boat Rally, see preview on page 20. PHOTO: TIM COGHLAN
All change at the top of Scottish Canals
Cicely Oliver asks: will there now be more direct focus on the waterways? SCOTTISH Canals chief executive officer Steve Dunlop has been appointed to lead Scottish Enterprise, taking up the post on Monday, May 21. He has been at the helm of SC since 2006, when he joined British Waterways as Director Scotland. While SC (in receipt of a significant annual grant from the Scottish Government) has received plaudits for its performance against the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes and Indicators – a framework containing broad measures of national well-being covering a range of economic, health, social and environmental indicators and targets – its primary responsibilities are to maintain the Scottish canal network. The effective closure of the Forth & Clyde Canal, through inoperable bridges and restricted operation, calls into question SC’s successful performance in
maintaining the canals and managing navigation. Public spending and available resources are limited, particularly when set against the challenges of maintaining a diverse and ageing canal network: one that is in its entirety a Scheduled Ancient Monument, complete with 22 adjacent Sites of Special Scientific Interest. However, given the fact that the positive performance of SC along the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals is viewed in the light of the reopening and upgrading of the navigation to Cruiseway status, it could be said that closure of the navigation will herald not just encroachment from weed and silt, but see a return to the desolation that restoration addressed in the first place. In March 2014, the Canal & River Trust, in conjunction with Inland
On the move: Steve Dunlop will head Scottish Enterprise from May 21. PHOTO: SCOTTISH CANALS
Waterways Association, published a report based on Nottingham University’s study Water Adds Value, highlighting the impact of restoration across Britain’s waterway, summarised as: “Living waterways transform places, and enrich lives.”
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Boats cruising the Forth & Clyde Canal at Twechar in happier times – movement of boats is a key element in the value and health of a canal. PHOTO: JONATHAN MOSSE
Case study
The report demonstrates how a restored canal delivers real and measurable economic, environmental, health and social improvements, taking the Forth & Clyde Canal as one of its case studies. It is, therefore, not too much of a stretch of the imagination to expect canals closed to navigation – bereft of that much-vaunted background ‘wallpaper’ of boating activity – to revert to the dirty, litter-strewn ditches they were before: places that no one would want to live or linger by. Consequently, although Scottish boaters are but a small element of those gaining benefit from the waterways, their outrage at the canal’s closure is well worth acknowledging. It is a fact that movement of boats is a key element in the value and health of a canal, and that descent from picturesque, tranquil waterway to dirty, unpleasant ditch can take but a few years. A further stretch of the imagination leaves one wondering whether, in recruiting a new CEO to lead Scottish Canals, the Government might take the opportunity to prioritise SC’s statutory and regulatory obligations, leaving the provision of added-value benefits to the nation’s overall health and welfare in the hands of a separate or partner organisation.
NEWS 3
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Road upgrade threat to waterway link By Janet Richardson
A PROPOSED upgrade to the A421 south of Milton Keynes could jeopardise the future of the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway, supporters fear. The road scheme announced by the Transport Minister Chris Grayling is aimed to relieve congestion on the route from the M1 into the town. The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust has been in discussion with the two local authorities involved in the scheme, Milton Keynes Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, for well over two years to ensure that the protected route of the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park is not blocked when the A421 is dualled. But it appears their effort has been to no avail as the proposed scheme will now block the waterway route. According to the trust, the Waterway Park is now at a critical stage and is capable of transforming the area between Milton Keynes and Bedford and bringing environmental, economic and social benefits for all.
Protected route
Existing culvert under A421 between M1 J13 and Bedford. • Continued from page 1 The canal was initially drained between Stanthorne Lock and Wardle Lock, on the south side of Middlewich town centre, a distance of just over three-quarters of a mile. The towpath has also been closed along this stretch. Several boats were left stranded and arrangements were made to move them. According to CRT, contractors Kier have just completed the installation of the stone access road to the compound area. Stock-proof fencing has been erected, the topsoil stripped and the stone hardstanding for the compound is currently being placed. Following this the temporary stone ramp to allow construction plant
CONTINUOUS cruiser Sean Chambers was left counting the cost after ‘joyriding’ thieves took his narrowboat from its mooring at Saxilby on the Fossdyke Canal. When he eventually found Cockney Rose at Stamp End in Lincoln, it had been trashed and his dog was missing. Property including a camera drone, watch and TV had been taken – the thieves also broke engine parts and Sean has no idea how much it will cost to repair. A Facebook appeal found his dog and prompted several sightings. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident No 473 of April 16.
“It will establish a new sub regional linear park which will create a real sense of place for new developments,” said chairman Jane Hamilton. “The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust hopes that Towpath Talk readers will help us campaign to ensure the future of this fantastic project is assured.” New sections of the waterway are being built into Campbell Park Marina and Bedford Commercial Park near Wootton. A culvert was included under the A421 Bedford Southern Bypass when it was built and the Waterway Park is central to a scheme for 5000 new homes in Central Bedfordshire. Current proposals from O&H Properties Ltd will secure 6km of the waterway between Brogborough and Stewartby Lakes. The route is protected in three local plans so that no development can block it. Large sections of the land required for the waterway have been transferred to the local authorities and are managed by the Milton Keynes Parks Trust and the Forest of Marston Vale until such time as
access to the bed of the canal will be installed. The canal bed will be exposed, removing all soft silt material over the length of the embankment, and a PVC impermeable lining system will be used to create a watertight canal bed, protected by a layer of concrete. CRT explained: “It should be noted that due to the varying condition and form of existing canal walls over the embankment, the connection details for the new liner and replacement walls will pose some significant challenges which are currently being considered. “There has been no structural damage to the arch of the aqueduct, however due to the loss of fill material, a careful assessment is required to confirm any restrictions that will be necessary for
IN BRIEF Joyriders trash boat
The Grand Union Canal by Campbell Park. PHOTOS SUPPLIED the whole Waterway Park can be built. Jane continued: “We have asked for a culvert under the A421 to be included in the new upgrade, similar to that provided under the Bedford Southern Bypass when it was built. This would ensure the route of the waterway stays open, consistent with local plan policies. “This would also ensure that there are cycle and pedestrian routes under the road as well. However, the A421 upgrade is going ahead without a culvert and will consequently block the waterway route.”
The sign showing where the proposed Waterway Link will start. construction plant crossing it.” There are badger setts on the offside embankment and while the main sett is not directly affected by the excavation for the breach repair, it is close to the access route and western section of lining and will therefore require a disturbance licence, which CRT is currently preparing an application for. There are outlying badger setts in close proximity to the breach site which will need to be removed to complete the breach repair. Camera traps have been set up to monitor these and if they are inactive, these can be quickly excluded, allowing the works to proceed under the disturbance licence. However, if the outlying setts are still in active use, then a licensed exclusion
New homes
Over £9 billion is being made available by the Government for road and rail schemes in the Oxford/Milton Keynes/Cambridge corridor which are needed to support growth and the delivery of new homes. Although essential, these schemes will have an unavoidable impact on the environment and could result in the loss of greenspace along their routes. The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Park could provide an ideal opportunity to mitigate these impacts and create a new linear greenspace at a strategic level, providing people with an opportunity to relax and get away from rushing about on road and rail, something which recent studies suggest is vital to the health and wellbeing of communities. Jane added: “The decision to upgrade the A421 without a route for the waterway is not only against council policy but is regrettably short-sighted and will leave behind sections of what could be a transformational project but with no ability to join the whole route up for maximum benefit.” www.b-mkwaterway.co.uk process would be required. This is a lengthy process and a licence for exclusion would not be granted before June at the earliest.
Pub plan dispute A ROW has erupted over plans by the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust to carry out improvements to the Peterborough Arms, a listed building at Dauntsey Lock. These are now due to be determined by Wiltshire Council at the end of April and proposals include a new outdoor seating area, repositioning the footpath and access gate adjoining the lock and a timber smoking shelter in the forecourt. Ownership of part of the land has been disputed by objectors.
Ferry resumes THE Fleetwood to Knott End ferry service in North Lancashire has been relaunched to the delight of passengers on both sides of the Wyre Estuary, writes Geoff Wood. Ferryboat Wyre Rose made her first sailing in months after contractual wrangles held up a hoped-for relaunch earlier this year.
Prince at helm DURING a recent visit to Cumbria to officially mark the Lake District National Park’s UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription, HRH The Prince of Wales travelled on Ullswater from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge aboard Ullswater Steamers’ historic passenger boat Lady of the Lake and had an opportunity to steer the vessel during the trip.
Planning battle
Surveyors are on site assessing the damage to the Middlewich branch following the embankment collapse. PHOTO: CANAL & RIVER TRUST
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to preserve a heritage site near Burnley want other residents to join their cause, writes Geoff Wood. They claim the tranquillity of the Grade II listed Greenberfield Locks in Barnoldswick has been threatened with plans for hundreds of homes overlooking the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and want to protect it for future generations.
4 NEWS
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Help us choose the Towpath Talk Top Team for 2018 NOMINATIONS have started to arrive for our new Towpath Talk Top Team award which was launched last month. 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. 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. Nominations close on June 30, 2018, after which our panel of judges will shortlist four finalists which will each receive a commendation and donation towards their volunteering organisation. This year’s panel comprises waterway journalist, author and photographer Harry Arnold; Haley Hadley, sales and marketing director of award sponsor ABC Leisure Group Ltd; John Dodwell, who recently completed his five-year term as one of the Canal & River Trust’s founding trustees and is actively involved in a number of waterways organisations and Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson. We were joined by representatives from local volunteering groups for the official launch of the new award held on board
the Daniel Adamson at Ellesmere Port. They included John and Jan Riley from the Small Task Team Volunteers, whose late leader Paul Mills won our individual Volunteer of the Year award last year. Welcoming everyone, Janet said the award would recognise the efforts of teams where they are involved in canal restoration, crewing a community boat, looking after a patch of towpath or generally doing their bit for the waterways. Thanks also go to the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society for hosting the event. The day boat hire can be taken from any of the following locations: Alvechurch, Aldermaston, Anderton, Whitchurch, Blackwater, Gayton, Goytre or Hilperton.
Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson explains the new Top Team award. PHOTOS: WATERWAY IMAGES
The appeal to fund the rebuilding of the last major obstacle in England – School House Bridge – has reached over half its total. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES
Full steam ahead on the Montgomery Canal Representatives from local volunteer groups were among guests at the launch event.
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The Daniel Adamson is ready to welcome guests on board.
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.
By Harry Arnold
RESTORATION and developments on the Montgomery Canal continue with renewed vigour following the successes of 2017. As well as work on the ground, there is active campaigning by the voluntary groups operating under the umbrella of the Montgomery Canal Partnership with the Canal & River Trust (CRT). They are in negotiations with increasingly co-operative local and national authorities in both England and Wales. Under the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) programme, the new nature reserves at Aston Locks were almost complete in December but bad weather put some finishing works on hold to resume in May. Controlled filling has started, allowing time for water levels to rise and stabilise ahead of planting set to start in April. There will be opportunities for volunteers, with planting, bird hides, footpaths and interpretation; the final build cost is expected to be £1.25 million. There are extensive ongoing discussions on detail and such subjects as future monitoring and management.
Holding water
Channel restoration by Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) volunteers was completed from Pryce’s Bridge to Lloyds Animal Feeds in November 2017. Testing over the winter has shown this section to be holding water. Work on the next length is now in hand and scheduled for re-watering by the end of this year. SUCS volunteers have done more clearance at Crickheath winding hole – the next planned terminus of navigation from Frankton. Work here is scheduled for completion by contractors Kier by summer. All ponds and hibernacula have also been built by SUCS at the Redwith great crested newt mitigation site for this length. There is still a problem with leakage on the relined section south of Redwith Bridge. South of Crickheath, through Pant, towards the Llanymynech and the short navigable section on the Welsh Border – where the Duchess Countess Trust continues to successfully operate its trip boat and the heritage centre – the prospects of restoration are also looking good. This was boosted by the successful removal of the Pant railway embankment last year by the Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) and other volunteers.
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Condition of the Vyrnwy Aqueduct is an item of serious concern to CRT in Wales and funding bids are in preparation. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES
NEWS 5
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Bridge the gap
The Montgomery Canal Restoration Appeal, launched by the Friends of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust (MWRT) last year to raise funds to rebuild the last major physical barrier in England, the demolished School House Bridge, stands at more than £170,000. It’s a little over half of the total bridge costs, but sufficient for MWRT trustees to start planning the work with CRT. Initial designs have been prepared, appointment of a project manager is in hand and ground investigations will soon begin. There have been positive and supporting meetings with most adjoining landowners. Towpath Talk readers are asked to help ‘bridge the gap’, see the appeal leaflet inserted in paper. In Wales, beyond Llanymynech and down to the River Vyrnwy, there have been discussions with local authorities and CRT about the obstacles of Walls and Williams bridges. Walls would be replaced by a conventional bridge, but it has been suggested that Williams could be a vertical lift bridge. The first structure to be restored under a heritage structure programme will be Sluice 9 at Carreghofa Locks. Volunteers will remove vegetation, repair and replace brickwork and repaint ironwork.
Cause for concern
The condition of the major Vyrnwy Aqueduct is obviously a cause for concern and renovation has been identified by CRT as an urgent priority. An imminent (autumn 2018) CRT application for an HLF Round 1 grant in Wales is to be made. Planning for this is under way with surveys
Forthcoming events
On Saturday, May 19 the popular annual Montgomery Canal Triathlon will be started in Newtown by the town’s deputy mayor. Organised by the Friends of the MWRT, entrants – currently more than 100 – will cover the 35 miles of the canal during the day by cycling 17 miles from Newtown to Pool Quay, walking 11 miles from Pool Quay to Morton and/or canoeing seven miles from Morton to Lower Frankton. In Welshpool Town Hall on Monday, July 2 the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust will be holding its annual forum. The public are invited to this afternoon event to hear reports on the restoration and presentations relevant to the development of the canal. The town is again the venue for an innovative new event on June 23-24 – the Welshpool Transport Festival – celebrating all forms of transport in the town and also involving fund raising for the canal restoration. There will be public participation in various small boat activities, with the Heulwen
Volunteers of the Shropshire Union Canal Society continue with channel rebuilding south of Redwith and clearance here at Crickheath winding hole. The next planned terminus of navigation from Frankton. PHOTO: SUCS in 2018/9. A Cadw Heritage Building Grant could cover 30% of eligible costs, with potential to match HLF and CRT contributions. Repairs were estimated at £1.6 million two to three years ago. HLF limit is £2 million, with 40% match funding needed. A first step would be vegetation removal. There is concern that proposed dredging of the river may affect the aqueduct. At Burgedin the two-mile Guilsfield Arm nature reserve has had unwanted vegetation and silt cleared by volunteers and contractors, supervised by CRT
Trust offering free trips on two boats. In a move by road from Maesbury – funded by HLF – our friends Cracker and Countess will be the visiting stars, running fund-raising horse-drawn trips (see Cracker’s Chat page 122). Another money-raising innovation will be ‘Music for the Monty’ with buskers touring the town and a Saturday evening (ticket only) concert in the town hall. There will be many smaller public participation events during the year, covering interests such heritage, wildlife/family walks, canoeing/angling taster sessions, art and wood-working skills. There will also be the regular trip boat operations at Maesbury, Llanymynech and Welshpool. There will be a re-run of the successful touring exhibition about the canal, seen by 2500 people in Welshpool, Newtown, Oswestry and Montgomery during 2017. A short professional film, celebrating the heritage and wildlife of the canal, which will appear on a number of media outlets, is being made for the end of the year.
ecologists. The £250,000 funding came from CRT’s dedicated People’s Postcode Lottery. This funding source has enabled similar clearance work to be done in two sections of the canal further south, between Refail Bridge 129 and Bridge 132, just south of Berriew, and Maerdy Bridge 102 to Bridge 103 in Arddleen. It is being done by contractors, Ebsford Environmental.
Positive reaction
There have been a number of meetings between representatives of the
volunteer groups and CRT officers with national, county and town authorities, right up to the Welsh Assembly, where reaction to the ongoing restoration has been most positive. Other finance has come in from funders such as the People’s Postcode Lottery and smaller grant providers, such as the Waitrose and Tesco bag funds. Towpath restoration and grading is going on at various locations – like around Burgedin, Wern Bridge and Bank Lock – and further sites. Volunteer adoption groups, based at
various key locations, such as Welshpool, have been particularly successful in undertaking small – and sometimes larger – tasks. The Welshpool group has its own dedicated work boat. Somewhat cosmetic, but a praiseworthy demonstration, is the clearing-out of the chamber of one of the derelict locks on the two-mile section of the dry canal bed owned by the Newtown local authority. Newtown is also very supportive of the restoration, although it may be some years before navigation reaches the town.
Welshpool is the venue for a major new event organised by the local authority – the Welshpool Transport Festival – over the weekend of June 23-24. PHOTO: WATERWAYS IMAGES
6 NEWS
IN BRIEF New look
THE Canal & River Trust will be launching a revitalised brand in May as part of plans to raise awareness and broaden support. It follows feedback from market research focus groups which included, perhaps most significantly, people who don’t currently use the waterways or know about the trust. The new look will be rolled out over two to three years, in many cases as and when things need replacing. Development has been funded through the existing marketing budget. Immediate changes will include an updated website and social media pages, some newly branded vans, uniform and signage in key locations.
Broads fleet
FOR the first time over the last five years the size of the hire boat fleet on the Broads has risen slightly, the March volume of Easterling reports. Although a fall in numbers was predicted in line with the downward trend from over 2200 in the 1980s, there was a small increase on the previous year – up to 802, a development welcomed by the industry. A new and fairer toll charging structure has also stemmed the decline in small private boats and these have increased in number by over 10% from 1646 in 2016 to 1820.
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The Wheel of Opportunity turns – to provide fun on the water for youngsters with limited mobility By Janet Richardson
THE sight of a ‘Wheelyboat’ being towed along the M1 triggered a partnership which was to lead to a Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes-based charity launching its own boat at its Caldecotte Lakes centre. Back in 2015, an instructor from the Action4Youth partnership, which runs the Caldecotte Xperience, saw the Coulam V20 Wheelyboat and realised this might be the perfect vessel to fill a significant gap in provision for mobility impaired people at the outdoor education centre. After Googling the model name, the instructor discovered it was the boat’s builder, Jim
Coulam, on his way to the Southampton Boat Show. This twist of fate led to The Wheelyboat Trust and Action4Youth working together to fund the £41,000 cost of the project. The first to be launched in the region, the boat’s features include folding bench seating, wheelchair anchorage for the helmsman’s seat along with a four-wheel braked trailer. The specially adapted power boat, which can carry up to eight people, has a watertight bow door that lowers to form a solid ramp for extremely easy and safe wheelchair-friendly access. This enables young wheelchair users, and those with high dependency needs, the opportunity to enjoy the excitement of water sports
Year 6 pupils from Great Linford Community Primary School who helped come up with the name The Wheel of Opportunity. PHOTOS: JANET RICHARDSON
The Wheel of Opportunity in action on the lake. alongside and on equal terms with their non-disabled counterparts. This fits in with Action4Youth’s vision to give all young people the opportunity to discover what more they can achieve. The charity’s chief executive officer Jennifer Cameron explained: “We run the Caldecotte Xperience centre for water and land-based sports and are a wider charity based in Buckinghamshire but also working with groups from all the neighbouring counties.” These include Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire. Around 15,000 young people use the outdoor education centre each year. “We are here for everybody and we try to provide really good opportunities for people of all
abilities or educational needs,” Jennifer added. “We are really excited to have the Wheelyboat – it is tremendous and the young people will be able to gain qualifications through the Powerability scheme.” The launch event at the Caldecotte Xperience in March was attended by Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) students from The Redway School, local VIPs and Year 6 pupils from Great Linford Primary School, who unveiled their winning name for the new boat The Wheel of Opportunity. A representative from the primary school explained that several year groups had entered the competition to come up with the name. The winning entry came from children in Year 6 who
had all put forward suggestions for names from which the class selected the winning name. Chairman of Action4Youth and the trustees, Ken Birkby, presented a certificate to the group of children and the school will also receive a session in the summer when they can use the centre’s facilities. Lucy Lloyd from The Wheelyboat Trust said that the charity has been operating for 34 years and has 191 boats all over the country. The Coulam V20 is the latest model launched in 2014 but the trust is always looking to evolve and also on the drawing board is an 18ft version with a larger 24ft model in the design phase. Engine provider Ade Coulam was also present from JM Coulam Boatbuilders, based in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire.
Children from the Redway School board the Wheelyboat. They were also accompanied by Ken Birkby, right, chairman of Action4Youth.
Engine provider Ade Coulam of JM Boatbuilders and Lucy Lloyd from The Wheelyboat Trust.
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.
Safe boating with children Family holidays on the canal can be magical. Ali Selby-Nicholls, RYA Inland Waterways instructor trainer and chief instructor at Castaway Canal Boats on the Kennet & Avon Canal, gives us her top tips for safe boating with children. 1. Get them involved THERE is loads of hands-on stuff kids can do to help in and around the boat, even the youngest ones; from crew work, helping with lines when mooring, leaving or manoeuvring to being the bowman and guiding the helm. As long as they are accompanied by a responsible adult, they love being treated like a grown-up, the responsibility of helping and feeling like they are doing an important job. They can even help steer if they are secure in front of the helm, and start to understand about pivot points and how the boat moves and turns in the water. At eight, children can do the RYA Inland Waterways Crew Course with their family, where they can have fun learning all about personal safety, communication on board, throwing a mooring line, basic boat handling, helping at locks, being a good lookout, what to do in an emergency and looking after the environment. If a youngster is involved, they are less likely to be bored and mess about.
2. Teach them how to move around the boat LIFEJACKETS aren’t compulsory on Britain’s inland waterways, but would you let your child on the sea or a lake without wearing one? If you want kids to wear a lifejacket follow the ‘one-on-all-on’ rule, where if you want a child to have one on everyone must. They are more likely to do it if they see adults wearing them too. There should always be three points of contact between a person and the boat and children should be taught to step – not jump – on to and off the boat with nothing in their hands. Keep everything nice and calm and they will follow your lead.
3. I spy incredible wildlife WHETHER you are on a city canal or out in the rolling hills seeing wildlife is magical and you can be so close to it. The RSPB do some really good birdwatching packs for youngsters and some hire
companies even provide activity packs that include wildlife you should look out for on the canal you are cruising on. Before you leave home, do a bit of research with the kids about what to look out for. The Canal & River Trust (www.canalrivertrust.org.uk) is a good place to start. You never tire of seeing wild kingfishers or otters if you are lucky enough to spot one.
4. Take it slow PARTS of the canal, most notably locks, can be a bit daunting and provide more hazards even to adults, especially when there is lots of traffic on the canals in the busy summer months. But you are in no rush so take time to prepare. For example, if you are approaching a lock for the first time, moor up before it, take the windlasses, walk down the towpath and check it out in an unpressurised, safe environment. Show the kids how the lock works, where the dangers are and what everyone needs to shout and do if something does go wrong.
Locks are the most exciting part of the canal so help children become inquisitive about what they are, why we need them and how they work to remove any worry.
5. Start as you mean to go on NO one wants to see kids in the cabin on their iPads while the adults are on deck getting the boat ready or packing up for the day. Anything you can do with youngsters on the boat is an introduction to boat life so let them walk through the pre-start checks with you and involve them in tidying the ropes away when you’ve moored up for the night. Then the next day see if they can remember what you did the day before. There’s so much more to narrowboating than simply driving the boat; it is a complete experience that can spark the imaginations in children, let you enjoy time out together as a family and give you all a fun, hands-on and safe holiday at home.
Narrowboating can be a fun, hands-on and safe holiday for all the family. PHOTO SUPPLIED ● More course info: RYA Inland Waterways Crew Course ●To find your local centre and book, visit www.rya.org. uk/go/wheresmynearest ● Essential reading: RYA Inland Waterways Handbook is available digitally or in print.
8 NEWS
SOCIETY NEWS Gathering cancelled
IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch has decided to cancel the Boat Gathering in Chester over the weekend of June 9-10 mainly due to the breach of the Middlewich branch which will inhibit boat movements on to the Shropshire Union Canal. The alternatives would be a southern route via the Staffordshire & Worcestershire or the northern route via the Manchester Ship Canal which is subject to seaworthiness and passage fees).
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Milestone commemorates canal historian A NEW milestone has been placed beside the Worcester & Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire, in memory of the late Reverend Alan White who died last year a month before his 99th birthday.
Middlewich Branch
WHILE the Middlewich end of the branch is blocked, access from the Shropshire Union at Barbridge Junction is unaffected. The canal is open for about six miles from Barbridge Junction to the winding hole just north-east of Bridge 16 (Hollingshead Bridge). This gives access to a very attractive stretch of canal and businesses located there including Midway Boats, Venetian Marina, Aqueduct Marina and the Badger Inn at Church Minshull. (Shroppie Fly Paper, spring 2018)
Maritime volunteers
A NAUTICAL training and community service which operates on the canals and waterways around Bolton is looking for new volunteers, writes Geoff Wood. The Maritime Volunteer Service, Port of Manchester provides training and nautical skills for all its members and also works for the benefit of the community. Its members have varying skills and abilities from complete beginner to experienced instructors. The service promises to train new volunteers and develop their personal skills – but stresses that those who sign up will have ‘lots of fun’.
Danny reunion
A REUNION for former Manchester Ship Canal workers will be held aboard the Daniel Adamson at Sutton Weaver swing bridge near Frodsham on Sunday, May 20, writes Geoff Wood. It is planned to bring ex-colleagues from all over the North West together to share stories, photographs and memories.
Paddling litter pickers
A PADDLEBOARDING yoga group has been working with the Canal & River Trust to keep Nottinghamshire’s waterways clear of rubbish. SUP Yoga & Fitness runs regular floating yoga sessions on water across the East Midlands including the River Trent, Nottingham Beeston Canal and Grand Union Canal.
The wording on the plaque. PHOTOS SUPPLIED
He had been the long-time historian for The Worcester-Birmingham & Droitwich Canals Society and had written books and publications including the popular hardback book titled The Worcester and Birmingham Canal: Chronicles of the Cut. Alan was a prolific researcher particularly concerning the Worcester & Birmingham Canal as well as the Tardebigge area. He was, for many years, chaplain and head of the mathematics department at Bromsgrove School and had served as priest-in-charge of Tardebigge Parish, through which the canal runs. He researched his book for nearly 30 years. It was originally published in 2005 and republished late 2016. The new milestone, which carries a dedication to Alan, is situated between bridge numbers 55 and 56 just a couple of hundred yards down from Tardebigge Top Lock 58.
Members of the Rev Alan White’s family and friends were present for the dedication of the new milestone.
The Grand Weston Wobble is back Canal ‘enabling works’ on Selly Oak site WESTON Favell shopping centre in Northampton is planning another great adventure when the Grand Weston Wobble returns along the Grand Union Canal in May. This year, the team has set out to walk 100 miles over five days to raise funds for its Charity of the Year, Thomas’s Fund which provides music therapy for children and young people with lifelimiting illnesses or a disability. They will start in central London at the offices of Weston Favell’s landlord,
RDI Reit PLC, on Tuesday, May 15, following a visit to the House of Commons to meet local MP Michael Ellis the previous day. The route will then follow the Grand Union Canal out through west London, into the Home Counties and north towards the Midlands and on to Northampton where the team is expected to arrive on the Saturday. To make a donation, visit www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ westonfavell
Cruise for a day on the River Foss CASTLE Mills Lock on the Foss in York is operated on request by members of IWA North Riding Branch, as a free service to all boaters. This has been agreed with the navigation authority, which is York City Council. The Foss was a canalised river running up towards Sheriff Hutton, but only the lower stretch is now navigable and all passages are subject to water levels. There is no overnight mooring available, so it is necessary to book both passages. It is, however, an attractive mile-and-a-half of secluded and interesting waterway for a return trip within the day. Larger boats are advised to turn at Wormalds Cut; a 40ft narrowboat can turn further upstream; or two narrowboats breasted nose-to-tail can use one to drive up and the other to drive back. To book a passage from the Ouse through Castle Mills Lock, at least two days’ notice is needed. Contact 07588 236597, and leave a mobile number
with brief details, especially the date you want to use the lock. Use the same number for any other branch query, or email: castle.mills@waterways.org.uk
Canal, sheet metal piling both sides of the canal and the winding hole and a concrete undercroft allowing the canal to pass underneath Sainsbury’s goods delivery yard. Included is a sum of £500,000 as a contribution to a ‘canal procurement entity’ to complete the ‘canal delivery works’, which include removing the soil from between the sheet metal piling and the winding hole, lowering the services under the towpath and replacing a section of the towpath with a swing bridge at the junction with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. The development includes a large Sainsbury’s store, several smaller shop units and an 18-storey student accommodation tower. Follow progress at www.lapal.org
Construction of the undercroft under the Sainsbury’s delivery yard. PHOTO ARTHUR MOPPETT
Tangles club boost for canal trust The entrance to the River Foss from Castle Mills Lock in York. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Busy summer ahead for Kennet LEEDS & Liverpool short boat Kennet will be concentrating on the eastern end of the canal at the start of this year’s season. First event will be the Skipton Waterways Festival over the early May Bank Holiday, from Saturday to Monday, May 5-7. The Tour de Yorkshire will also pass through Skipton on Sunday, May 6. En route to Bingley for the second Bingley Canal Festival on Saturday, May 19, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society will host a visit from John Grogan MP on board Kennet. John is the recently elected MP for Keighley who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Inland Waterways. Keen to become more closely acquainted with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal as it runs through his constituency, he plans to join Kennet
WORK started recently to enable the Dudley No 2 Lapal Canal to cross the Battery Park site when it is reinstated and join the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. A temporary bridge has been built between the offices and the main site. The original canal route was not economically viable, so a new 340m route running alongside the edge of the new Selly Oak Shopping Park was agreed between the Harvest Partnership of Sainsbury’s and Landsec with Birmingham City Council. The Canal & River Trust advised as statutory consultee. With a section 106 agreement in place the route and the winding hole is protected. Additionally, the developers are committed to spend almost £3 million on ‘canal enabling works’ including a bridge over the Worcester & Birmingham
at Silsden and travel with the crew through to Riddlesden. The next destination point will be Leeds for the Waterfront Festival taking place on June 23-24 but the society will be using the passage to revisit communities that were particularly supportive of last year’s bicentenary celebrations. Kennet will host a visit from the Saltaire Primary School, which produced the mural at Hirst Lock, in early June followed by an Open Day at the lock on Sunday, June 10. Other school visits are being arranged and it is also planned to revisit the Botany Bay Festival over the August Bank Holiday Weekend before the season closes with an Open Day at Greenberfield Locks on Saturday, September 23. Kennet is then due to go into dry dock during November for topside painting.
A FUNDRAISING Lichfield club has donated a cheque for £600 to the city’s canal restoration trust. Lichfield Ladies Tangles Tangent Club made the presentation to Peter Buck, engineering director of Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, at their recent meeting at St Johns House. Thanking Samantha Beech, chairperson of Lichfield Ladies Tangles, for their generous donation, Peter said the money would be used to buy essential materials for the trust’s volunteers to continue the restoration of the Heritage Towpath Trail on a number of sites through Lichfield for the benefit of all the community. He invited the ladies to walk along the completed sections of the Heritage Towpath Trail and said he looked forward to meeting them on the Lichfield Canal. Lichfield Ladies Tangles, who describe their core values as ‘the three Fs, fun, friendship and fundraising’, is a member of the National Association of Tangent Clubs and part of the four-club family of Round Table, 41 Club, Ladies Circle and Tangent. LHCRT received another cash boost from an all-day Easter coffee morning held at the home of Eric Wood, the trust’s president.
Almost £1300 raised from donations plus barbecue, book and bric-a-brac sales will go towards the trust’s £1 million Tunnel Vision campaign to raise money to construct a tunnel under the Cross-City Lichfield to Birmingham railway line at the same time as a railway bridge over the planned extension of the Southern Bypass is put in place, probably late next year.
Lichfield Ladies Tangles Tangent Club chairperson Samantha Beech presents a cheque for £600 to Peter Buck, engineering director of Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. PHOTO SUPPLIED
NETWORKING 9
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Characters of the cut Julie Webb meets the Birmingham boatman with some dramatic tales to tell. IT WAS an unseasonably freezing March day when I met Graham Wigley for a chat in the Tap and Spile at his base in Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin. He was just back from steering a trip boat in a blizzard, which would have been taxing for anyone but particularly, you might have thought, for a man about to turn 74. I got the impression, though, that after 50-plus years of narrowboating he’s still pretty energetic and, running a year-round business, ready to cope with whatever the weather throws at him. “I was born in Birmingham,” he told me, “but we went back to Derbyshire, where my family is from. I got interested in waterways through the Derby Canal, which was semi-derelict – I wondered why. It had never been nationalised, or it would have been well looked after. “When I left school I thought about joining British Waterways but my father suggested I went into his own line, accountancy, so in 1961 I became a junior clerk, and at the same time got involved with the IWA. We had moved to Sutton Coldfield by then and I had a good look round the canal system – there was a tremendous amount of commercial traffic then, even horse-drawn still. “With friends from the IWA we had the idea of starting our own cargo company. After the bad winter of 62/63 BW dispensed with their narrowboat fleet, so there were lots of redundant boats available. With help from the IWA we set up Birmingham and Midland Canal Carrying Company and carried for 10 years. At one stage we had 20 boats. The wooden ones needed lots of maintenance so we got rid of those fairly quickly and kept a core of steel boats and composites.” They carried all sorts of things all over the system: coal from Warwickshire down to London, pitch from Liverpool Docks, timber from Manchester and Sharpness for building, aluminium from Walsall, tomato puree from Brentford to Birmingham for HP sauce and oil
Graham Wigley on the stern of Anson with Collingwood in the background. PHOTOS: JULIE WEBB from Ellesmere Port to Aldridge. “One of the oil carrying boats capsized,” said Graham. “We were doing an experimental load with Duckham’s new cylindrical tanks and to test it they rocked the boat really violently – water started to come in and the boat went over and sank! There was no pollution, of course, because the oil was contained.”
Re-invention
The story of Graham’s involvement with the canals is one of re-invention, reflecting their gradual change in use over half a century, beginning with the decline of carrying. “After 10 years they were building motorways like there was no tomorrow,” he said. “The coal mines were disappearing; the timber now came in bundles that didn’t fit the hull so you couldn’t take a full load. And palletisation killed everything off. “We were nearly going out of business so we converted some of our vessels into camping boats for young people and Anson into a trip boat. We took on engineering work – helping to lay pipes and cables along the towpath and access buildings that couldn’t be reached by road.” Using his other Admiral class boat Collingwood, Graham has been employed by rail operators for the last 35 years to enable their surveyors to carry out bridge inspections. “Most railway bridges are quite low and you can easily get to them by standing on top of the boat, but if necessary we put a scaffold tower on the side.” Company boats have appeared in all sorts of film and TV productions over the years, including The Canal Children with Eric Porter; a
Anson from the bridge, braving the wintry weather.
piece on industrial history with Melvyn Bragg; and a programme featuring Birmingham-born poet Benjamin Zephaniah. In its present incarnation – there have been three in all – the company has a fleet of four narrowboats (including 1930s boats Yeoford and Ash), a pusher tug and workboats. Anson is now its party boat, complete with fairy lights, bunting and bar. It takes up to 36 merrymakers, with food if required, and is very popular with hen parties. The camping trips are infrequent since Graham’s remaining business partner, Sam Waller, died in 2010, but in their heyday they catered for Scouts and Guides, school groups, and youth organisations like the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades. Some had more excitement than they bargained for. On one occasion a body was spotted in the water; on another the butty jammed under a metal frame holding up a bit of the Harecastle Tunnel. “The only way we could lower it was to give the kids buckets to fill: they thought it was wonderful.” Further dramas included a voyage taking Guides on the Llangollen when a sudden blast as Collingwood entered the Pontcysyllte aqueduct blew her planks on to the towpath and the steerer had to beat a hasty retreat before the fibreglass covers were lost as well. Another trip ended, extraordinarily, with the shooting of a Securicor driver in full view of the departing children waiting for their bus outside the Basin. “We never had that group again,” said a philosophical Graham. “Not our fault, but there we are!” www.partyboatsbirmingham. co.uk
In the bar of the party boat.
10 COMMUNITY BOATING
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Watersports for all ages at Islington Boat Club ISLINGTON Boat Club is a well-known institution situated just off the Regent’s Canal on the quiet City Road Basin. The second largest open space in Islington, the club has used it to provide a lifeline to vulnerable people in the local community for almost 50 years. A wide range of activities and courses are offered for adults and young people, focusing particularly on young people, over 50s and people with additional needs. Activities include kayaking, narrowboating, powerboating, yoga and stand-up paddleboarding.
Young people (aged 9-19)
There is currently an open access youth club with 300 registered members rising up to 500 participating in the summer programme. The youth club runs three times a week during the term and every weekday during the holidays and addresses personal and social development through watersports. Young people can take part in canoeing, kayaking, powerboating, narrowboating, swimming and mountain biking. Youth club members
Islington Boat Club’s base at City Road Basin. PHOTOS SUPPLIED learn new skills that are transferable to their social and educational networks. Regular off-site trips are also organised so young people can broaden their horizons and test themselves in more challenging environments. The charity helps young people find pathways out of poverty, exclusion and disadvantage.
People with additional needs
A wide range of activities can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
A free All On Board club promotes an accessible and welcoming environment for people with additional needs to meet new people, try something different and keep active via watersports and outdoor activities. It offers a programme of beginner-friendly, safe and supervised watersports and outdoor activities for people with additional needs. This can include people with physical disabilities, learning difficulties and mental health issues. Programmes include an after-school club which runs on Thursday evenings for people with additional needs and booked group sessions.
Over 50
IBC runs a popular ‘Upperdeckers’ club providing an opportunity for people over 50 to try something new, meet new people, keep active and have fun on the water. The club offers a free programme of beginnerfriendly, safe and supervised water activities including sailing, kayaking, narrowboating, bellboating and powerboating.
Tight budget
All the programmes and services listed above are either free to users or substantially subsidised. IBC is a charity which is effectively funded by charitable trusts, corporate donors and its friends and supporters but that does not generate sufficient revenue to cover all its costs. IBC therefore needs to explore other sources of income such as offering unsubsidised training courses. As an RYA approved training centre, staffed with RYA registered instructors, it offers many accredited courses for anyone aged nine and above.
COMMUNITY BOATING 11
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Training on board a full RYA-spec boat.
Training courses
The RYA Inland Waterways Helmsman course is for anyone wanting to cruise the UK’s inland waterways or Europe’s extensive network of lakes, rivers and canals (a CEVNI theory course is also required in Europe) and can be converted into an ICC (International Certificate of Competence). It deals specifically with the requirements of the inland boater, whether a narrowboat owner or cruiser enthusiast. It assumes no prior knowledge and so is ideal for the first timer, yet the more seasoned boater will learn plenty of tricks of the trade and tips to make their boating safer and more enjoyable. A hands-on course with minimal theory, it is not only an opportunity to learn new skills but it’s also a fun day out enjoying being afloat! This is a two-day course and is taught on a fully RYA-spec boat at a 3:1 student to instructor ratio. Minimum age is 16. The one-day RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance course is taught with a low ratio of students to one
instructor (usually 6:1). Participants will receive full RYA diesel engine maintenance qualifications and an RYA diesel engine maintenance handbook. RYA Powerboat Inland Level 1 and Level 2 courses: The Level 1 course is an entry level course providing all the skills and background knowledge needed to drive a powerboat. It focuses on low speed, close quarters handling, man overboard recovery, an introduction to driving at planing speed and collision regulations. It is a hands-on course with the vast majority of the day spent afloat driving the boat. There are also some small theory sections, which are designed to aid your safety awareness and independence while afloat. This is a two-day course and no prior experience is required. All the courses are run by friendly, experienced staff and take place at the Islington Boat Club base at City Road Basin, entered via Graham Street, London N1 8JX. Prices include certification. Contact 0207 253 0778, info@islingtonboatclub. com or visit www.islingtonboatclub.com
Youngsters enjoying a bellboating session.
Link and Transpennine boaters’ plaques THE Inland Waterways Association (Lancashire & Cumbria Branch) has commissioned a plaque for boaters who cruise the Liverpool Canal Link. Photographic evidence of the boat in Salthouse Dock will be accepted as proof of passage. If necessary, confirmation of passage will be sought from CRT. A Transpennine plaque is also available for boats which travel between Eldonian Village, Liverpool and Office Lock, Leeds (or vice versa) within a
12-month period. Copies of the relevant boat log and/or relevant photographic evidence will be accepted as proof of passage. Plaques cost £8 each including post and packing. Proof of passage and cheque, made payable to IWA Lancashire and Cumbria Branch, should be sent to: Audrey Smith, Brewery Wharf, 15 Dark Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley, Lancashire PR6 8AE. Enquires to audrey@familysmith.co.uk
12 IWA ROUND-UP
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Tunnel entrance tackled at WRG’s first canal camp of the year WORK to restore the entrance to a long-ignored canal tunnel and create an attractive all-abilities towpath walk for communities near Shrewsbury got a big boost from Waterway Recovery Group’s first canal camp of 2018. Fourteen WRG volunteers spent the week-long camp working together with local volunteers from the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust (SNCT) at the North Portal of the Berwick Tunnel on the former Shrewsbury Canal. The volunteers opened up around 200m of towpath extending out from the tunnel portal and installed gating and fencing to allow further work to continue in future. The capping stones at the tunnel entrance and the stonework behind the lengthsman’s hut were exposed, and these will see further work
done by SNCT volunteers, with WRG returning for an additional camp in May. WRG canal camp leader, Ian Gaston, said: “The Shrewsbury Canal Camp was a resounding success. The team quickly bonded and the first task to secure the site and set up a compound for materials was completed in record time. This allowed the team to focus on the main task of clearing the canal, and they should be proud of all they achieved.” The 887m (970yd) Berwick Tunnel is the only tunnel on the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals, and used to connect Berwick Wharf through to Uffington and onwards to Shrewsbury. Alistair Price of the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust said: “This is a very successful start to the first phase of the plan to
restore the 3440m (2.1 miles) of the section of canal known as the Berwick Loop which, it is hoped, will provide a popular attraction in its own right as well as a very attractive section of the restored Shrewsbury and Newport Canals.” This year’s aim is to remove the tree roots from the tunnel entrance stonework to allow it to be re-mortared back into place. Eventually, SNCT would like to restore the damaged portal, rebuild the lengthsman’s hut and create an all-ability circular walk down the towpath to the A5 and back along the opposite bank. The long-term aim of the project by the Shrewsbury & Newport Canal Trust is to reopen the length of the canal from Norbury Junction through to Shrewsbury.
AROUND THE BRANCHES WITH IWA’S GEMMA BOLTON
New bollards and support for wheelchair users in East Yorkshire CAST iron bollards are to be installed along the Driffield Navigation thanks to a donation from IWA East Yorkshire Branch. The Branch contributed £500 towards the purchase of 40 cast iron bollards to be installed at the locks during the spring and summer of 2018. The first nine bollards are now in place at Town Lock with the remainder to be installed at
Wansford, Whin Hill and others in the coming months. The branch also donated £500 to the Beverley Barge Preservation Society to support the purchase of a lift to enable passengers in a wheelchair to enjoy trips on the Beverley Beck and River Hull aboard the Society’s trip boat Sun. The lift is now fitted and ready for the 2018 season.
OVER the past four months, the Lichfield Branch has been carrying out offside vegetation clearance along the Trent & Mersey Canal on a trial basis for the Canal & River Trust. A group of members were put through some basic training ahead of the first offside clearance work party in December between Great Haywood and Rugeley. The branch concentrated on the areas that posed a problem for navigation such as the narrow
Litter removed from the canal at Rugeley. PHOTO: MARGARET BEARDSMORE
The first boat at Berwick Tunnel North Portal. PHOTO: IWA
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.
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
Wednesday May 9, 23 and Saturday May 26 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 May 6 and Tuesday May 15
IWA Northampton Branch: Work party on the
Clearing vegetation from the offside of the canal. PHOTO: IWA sections, approaches to bridges, bends, and opposite moorings, and intends to get involved again in October when next winter’s work begins. Led by IWA Lichfield Branch, 24 walkers explored Fradley Airfield and walked parts of the Trent & Mersey and Coventry canals in March. The group toured the runway, a dilapidated hut, pillboxes and kept an eye out for a resident ghost before visiting Fradley Church to learn about the
Commonwealth War Graves. Another day in March saw 18 volunteers removing litter, four supermarket trolleys, a strimmer, a scooter, jogging machine, and two pushbikes from the Trent & Mersey Canal in Rugeley. Steps by Leathermill Lane Bridge were repaired, the canalside notice boards were removed and taken to Fradley for refurbishment and some of the bulbs planted last year were spotted throwing out new shoots.
Flower power for the Ashton Canal
IWA Manchester Branch volunteers built a new raised flower bed at Lock 7 and turned around the soil in the lock garden along the Ashton
Canal in March. The branch has been transforming the area by holding regular volunteer days along the canal.
IWA Warwickshire will be holding its autumn clean-up on Saturday, October 14 and plans to have a full hopper by 1pm. Signing on is by the bridge on the Grand Union at Rushmore Street, Leamington Spa CV31 1JA from 9.30am. All equipment, including grapples, will be provided.
IWA WORK PARTIES IN APRIL
Sunday May 13
Offside vegetation clearance, uncovering history and litter picking in Lichfield
THE Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is gearing up for the annual Canalway Cavalcade which has been taking place at Little Venice since 1983. Organised entirely by volunteers, it takes place over the early May Bank Holiday weekend (May 5-7). Activities include a boaters’ gathering, a pageant of boats, trade stands, live music, kids’ activities, competitions, Morris dancers, a real ale bar and a wide variety of food. Admission is free. At the time of going to press, a limited number of moorings were left. Contact mike.moore@ waterways.org.uk
Autumn clean-up on the Grand Union Canal
EAST
New bollards in place at Town Lock. PHOTO: IWA
Come to the Cavalcade
Northampton Arm. 10am-2pm. Work usually includes a variety of tasks such as painting, vegetation clearance and litter picking. Contact Geoff Wood: geoff.wood@waterways.org.uk
Thursday May 17
IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch and Trent & Mersey Canal Society: Work party
on the Cheshire Locks, Trent & Mersey Canal, 10am-3pm. Contact: John Lawson 07940 878923, John.lawson@waterways.org.uk
Saturday May 19
IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch: Work party in
the Chester area working at various locations alongside the Shropshire Union Canal, 10am4pm. Work will include painting and vegetation clearance. Contact Jason Watts: jason.watts@ canalrivertrust.org.uk. IWA Manchester Branch: Work party in Greater Manchester, 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
Tuesday May 22 IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch supporting Burslem Port Trust: Work party on
the Burslem Arm, Stoke-on-Trent, 10am-3pm. Contact: Steve Wood 07976 805858, steve. wood@waterways.org.uk
SOUTH Tuesdays May 15 and 22
Tuesday May 8
IWA Oxfordshire Branch supporting Banbury Canal Partnership: Work party on the Oxford Canal near
Work party in Kidderminster, meet 10am at Limekiln Bridge to work in both directions. Volunteers are going to concentrate on plastics noting sources and examples for future campaigns and tidying. Contact: david. struckett@waterways.org.uk
WEST
IWA Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire:
NORTH Thursday May 10 IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch and Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust: Work party
on the Uttoxeter Canal, 10am-3pm. Contact Steve Wood 07976 805858, steve.wood@ waterways.org.uk
Banbury, 9am-1pm. Contact Colin GarnhamEdge: bcpontheoxford@gmail.com
Every Tuesday & Saturday in May
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
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