14 ANNIVERSARY
IN BRIEF
Aylesbury update
WORKS to build a new concrete lock wall at Buckland Lock on the Aylesbury Arm will start in the next few weeks according to the Canal & River Trust. It is expected the canal will reopen around the end of October. Following the lock wall collapse before Easter, a number of boats were stranded in the Aylesbury Basin and had to be craned out. With the new Circus Fields Marina due to open in the next few weeks there are plans to crane boats, with moorings already booked, back into the canal.
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Festival to celebrate Mercia Marina’s fifth anniversary
Towpath reopens A RESTORED towpath along a
1.2km stretch of the Caldon Canal has been reopened by Central Shires Waterway Partnership chairman, Charlotte Atkins. It connects two of the area’s most popular attractions, Churnet Valley Railway Station and Cheddleton Flint Mill. Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership (CVLLP) received £1.89 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the work which is part of a near £2 million project. A wheelchairfriendly boat access point at the Flint Mill has also been created, designed with The Beatrice Charity, which runs boat trips for the disabled.
Men arrested
TWO men were arrested after a woman was sexually assaulted on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal towpath in Kidderminster, writes Bob Clarke. The men, both in their late teens, were arrested in connection with the assault which took place shortly before 3am on Saturday, July 6 near the Tesco store. Police were called to the store after staff reported that a 19-year-old woman had been assaulted.
Community boat BEDFORD’S own community boat
John Bunyan has been launched by the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust (B&MK) at the Priority Marina. The naming ceremony was conducted by Basil Hubbard, a Bedfordian now living in Norfolk. The new, purpose-built 72ft river boat will accommodate up to 70 passengers and will ply the River Great Ouse from Bedford to Kempston and eastwards to Great Barford.
Ticket winners
TEN lucky readers each won a pair of tickets to the IWA Festival in our online giveaway. They are: Simon Barber of Codicote, Hertfordshire; Alan Hockley of Crickhowell, Powys; Phillip Lewis of Accrington, Lancashire; William Major of Oxford; Pam Milton of Densole, Kent; Carole Hearmon of Harpenden, Hertfordshire; Gill Sims of Chesterfield, Derbyshire; Debbie McGill of Enfield, Middlesex, Sharon Highway of Radway, Warwickshire and Keith Renicor of Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
The 600 berth Mercia Marina, close to the Derbyshire Dales, Peak District and National Forest, is 90% full. This year’s festival will mark the marina’s fifth birthday. THIS year’s annual festival over the weekend of September 7-8 will mark a special milestone for Mercia Marina as it celebrates its fifth year in operation. The marina opened in September 2008 in the 24-acre Willington Lake, in South Derbyshire, which is surrounded by another 50 acres of countryside for dog-walking fields, a wildlife lake and holiday home development. Twelve islands or promontories were added to the natural contours of the lake thus creating a green oasis for people and wildlife alike and resembling a series of small marinas joined by wide expanses of open water. A key feature of the development was the £100,000 planting scheme, featuring wildflower banks, reed beds, semi-mature trees and native plants. Although Mercia Marina’s opening coincided with the start of the recession, five years later the 600-plus berth marina is about 90% full. “There has not been a single day when we have been quiet,” Tony Preston, the sales and marketing manager, commented. “Once people learnt of our location next to the Trent & Mersey Canal between Trent Lock and Fradley Junction and heard about the excellent infrastructure and services available, there was a fast uptake of berths. “The area is popular due to the close vicinity of the Derbyshire Dales, Peak District and National Forest.” The Midland Chandlers flagship store at Mercia opened in May 2010 and plans have been
approved for a £1.8 million pub and retail development in the public space. A development of holiday lodges has also taken off, with only four spaces left out of a possible 18. These are privately owned but can be used as holiday lets as well as holiday homes. Although tourism has been hit quite badly in recent summers, the lodges have done well and have proved a good investment for their owners. There is a large New & Used brokerage and two companies run hire boats on site: Avante – boat share – and Aqua Narrowboats – five-star luxury hire as well as bespoke boat building and workshop services. There is also a dry dock for DIY or service use. A tearoom and general store also trade well. The marina also prides itself on its environmental work and earned a conservation award from David Bellamy in 2011, going on to achieve gold again The lodges can also be rented out for holiday lets. with an improved position for 2012/13. The very active volunteer group has adopted a local stretch of the canal and adjoining woods, for the benefit of boaters, walkers and wildlife. The festival will be a way of saying thank you to all Mercia’s moorers and visitors and showcasing what the marina has to offer. “Everybody has worked incredibly hard and pulled out all the stops. We have definitely done something right to get where we have and that right thing is probably just listening to the people who matter, our customers,” Tony added. With free entry, it will be a family fun day out with quality food stalls, crafts, live music and a firework display.
The tearoom and outside seating area. PHOTO:WATERWAY IMAGES
Stove success CONGRATULATIONS to the winner
of the Hobbit boat stove, courtesy of Salamander Stoves in our recent competition. First out of the hat was the entry from Kelly Dawe of Woodgate Valley, Birmingham, who correctly answered that the Hobbit has a 4kw heat output.
Tablet talk
YOU can now read Towpath Talk on all computer and mobile devices such as iPads on our new web based reader. Simply visit www.towpathtalk.co.uk and click on the Read online button.
An open weekend at Mercia Marina. PHOTO:WATERWAY IMAGES
Visitors enjoy the sunshine outside the tearoom.
PHOTO:WATERWAY IMAGES