Lock Lintel 163

Lock Lintel RESTORING AND CONSERVING THE RIVER STOUR NAVIGATION

Issue No 163 Winter 2015/16

IN THIS ISSUE Flatford Lock Re-opens • A Day in the Life of a Sudbury Boat Crew • Winter on the Stour

Stratford St Mary Restoration on Course • Water Meadows - a historic skill • Sudbury to the Sea

Contents 3 4 6 10 14 18 21 22 24 25 26 28 30 31

JOIN THE RIVER STOUR TRUST TODAY Your donation will help restore our beautiful river, and conserve it for tens of thousands of people to visit

CHARTER OUR STOUR LIGHTER

Or you can join in as a volunteer at any level you like, from boat crews, tearoom team, or the restoration and maintenance teams

REVIEW OF 2015 FLATFORD LOCK RE–OPENS

MEMBERSHIP ANNUAL RATES

STRATFORD ST MARY RESTORATION 2007 – 2015

Individual or Senior Citizen Couple

£15.00

Couple or Club

£20.00

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SUDBURY BOAT CREW

Senior Citizen

£10.00

STOUR WATER MEADOWS – A HISTORIC SKILL

Corporate (up to 20 employees)

£40.00

NEWS

Corporate (more than 21 employees) £100.00

SCHOOLS NATURE VISIT

Please consider payment by Banker’s Order to remove the need for annual reminders and help us conserve funds.

SBOC REPORT LOWER RIVER GROUP REPORT

You can pay online using a credit/debit card: visit www.riverstourtrust.org

S2C – SUDBURY TO THE SEA 2015

Please complete the Gift Aid form (if you are a tax payer) as we are able to reclaim up to 28p from every £1 that is paid at no cost or inconvenience to you.

THE STOUR IN WINTER DIARY DATES

For more details: membership@riverstourtrust.org

VISIT THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER STOUR AND RST MERCHANDISE

THE RIVER STOUR TRUST Registered Office: The Granary • Quay Lane • Sudbury • Suffolk • CO10 2AN Administrative Office: Visitor Education Centre (VEC) Dove House Meadow • Great Cornard • Sudbury • Suffolk • CO10 0GF Tel: 01787 313199/313100 • email: administrator@riverstourtrust.org • www.riverstourtrust.org www.facebook.com/RiverStourTrust

@RiverStourTrust

RESTORING AND CONSERVING THE RIVER STOUR NAVIGATION Registered Charity No: 257806 A non-profit making distributing company limited by guarantee No: 938670 Vice Presidents: Mr Emrhys Barrell; Mr William Frecknall; Mr Peter Hesketh; Lord Andrew Phillips of Sudbury; Mr David Rayner; Mr Griff Rhys Jones; Mr David Stevenson.

Council Members: Emrhys Barrell, Roger Brown, Sue Brown, Gordon Denney, Mike Finch, Bob Foster, Michael Harrington-Spier, Jim Lunn, John Morris, Andrew Richardson, Jane Rogers, Mick Rogers.

Editorial Team: Catherine Burrows, Emrhys Barrell, Sue Brown, Jane Rogers Contributors: Jim Lunn, John Morris, Sue Brown, Andrew Sheldon, Lynda Sebbage.

Lock Lintel is published by The River Stour Trust. © River Stour Trust 2016 The views expressed in Lock Lintel are not necessarily shared by the Editor or the Council of the River Stour Trust.

Tel: 01787 313199 editor@riverstourtrust.org www.riverstourtrust.org Copy Deadlines: Summer Edition 1st June 2016 Front Cover: Griff Rhys Jones enters Flatford Lock Photo by: Linda Barrell Back Cover: Misty Days on the Stour Photos by: Lynda Sebbage and Jude Rouse

Winter Edition 1st October 2016

Designer: Joanne Steward Production: Peter Evans - Tel: 07778 281065 Printed by: The Lavenham Press - Tel: 01787 247436

Take a trip back in time

Follow in Constable’s footsteps

Charter our historic River Stour Lighter

For Private Parties, or Corporate Events, our 150-year-old restored Stour lighter, John Constable, will take you back to the time when these iconic craft carried the trade of the River Stour and Dedham Vale. These were the same vessels that featured in his most famous paintings, that captured the moments of a bye-gone age.

Conferences, dealer days, or product launches – this is a unique setting that will provide a day to remember. Or try combining it with a team-building exercise at our restored Cornard Lock to shed a few pounds.

Or you can charter one of our smaller craft. Again these are manned by fully-trained crews, and can carry eight or twelve passengers, including wheelchairs, and can combine river trips, meals, or full events.

Or charter a boat from Flatford or Dedham, and visit the locations of Constable’s most famous works.

Finally, our Visitor & Education Centre at Cornard is perfect for school parties or nature trips.

Tate Images

Licensed for twelve people, and manned by our fully-trained crews, you can take a trip down the beautiful winding River Stour, from the Granary at Sudbury, or combine it with a meal at the Henny Swan, or a full event at the Granary.

The 200-year-old Granary can accommodate 100 people standing, or 80 seated, with full catering available, and is perfect for weddings, receptions, or corporate events. It is fully licensed for civil weddings, or you can just book it for your reception, with a boat available to bring the wedding party to the ceremony, or take the guests out on the river.

Call our booking line for full details, and take a step back into another age.

Call 01787 313199 or email: administrator@riverstourtrust.org

www.riverstourtrust.org

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Photo by: Jax Horswill

The Trust’s boat Kathleen brings the bride to a wedding at Le Talbooth

A good year for the Trust Jim Lunn describes some of the key moments of 2015

2015 saw the Trust making major steps forward in many important areas.

The restoration of Stratford St Mary Lock has reached the stage where one final push and fundraising exercise could see it completed. Impending new construction by Essex & Suffolk Water at Stratford St Mary pumping station in 2017 has added a new urgency to the dedicated group that is pushing forward the restoration of this, the final 1930s lock on the river. It has been an uphill struggle over the past ten years, working with very limited funds and resources, and it is interesting to note that the late John Marriage estimated that the lock was to be finished by 1998. It has been a constant two steps forward and one back but now thanks to a new enthusiasm things are moving in a positive direction.

A new Versadock pontoon has been bought by the Trust and has been used to ferry equipment to the island to enable the mud and silt to be removed from the lock chamber. A full report appears later in this issue.

Another major achievement for 2014/15 was the re-gating of Flatford Lock, for which we had to raise £80,000 from grants and our own funds. This was opened in May 2015 by our VicePresident, Griff Rhys Jones. Again a full report appears later.

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Griff Rhys Jones addresses the crowd at the re-opening of Flatford Lock

At last it appears that the problems with John Constable’s electric motors have been solved, as she has run faultlessly all season. The fault was diagnosed by Ian Rutter, our resident electrical genius, as being ‘voltage spikes’ in the electrical system, which were causing a key component to blow. The Austrian manufacturer could offer no solution, but Ian worked out what the problem was, and designed two spike suppressor circuits, which now protect the electronics. We are very indebted to him, as we can now start to seriously use our flagship.

David Kirkman is progressing at a pace organising training, and we will now be recruiting for a crew-only certification with a progression onto full-skipper following suitable experience. JC is completely different to any of our other boats, and requires specialist training.

The lighter was also lifted out of the water in the Autumn, for its first three-yearly hull inspection, and we are pleased to report all is well below the waterline, with fresh protective epoxy paint applied, plus anti-fouling to keep the weed-growth at bay.

Mills and Morton Ltd, AKA John & John, have again performed outstanding services to the Trust not only as construction crews but in addition this summer (with a little help and I hope not hindrance) they have removed at least 4 tons, yes 4 tons of weed from the Granary Cut that has beleaguered boat operations at Sudbury this year (And these are proper Imperial Tons not the lightweight metric variety).

Pat Thompson has been nursing the batteries on Edwardian Lady following the problems earlier in the year, with a weekly examination of the electrolyte levels, but we will be replacing these with maintenance-free gel units for next season. You may have seen the improvements to FJ instigated by SBOC, and all these little and not so little jobs add up to a lot of expenditure of time and commitment that help to keep the Trust running.

The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Photo by: John Keeper

Trusty and our other trip boats and venues raised record revenues in 2015

Revenues up 10% Overall the revenue from all our operations has continued to increase, with boat operations up by £4500 on 2014.

The approximate figures for 2015 were: Boat Operations

£37,600

SBOC

£19,900

Edwardian Lady Francis J Rosette John Constable Non-specific boats LRG Trusty II Kathleen

£5,850 £4,350 £4,000 £1,150 £4,500 £17,700 14,125 £3,600

Granary

£27,450

VEC

£2,500

Tea Room

£5,035

Stratford St Mary Lock full of silt in 2007, but now well on its way to restoration

Our Administrator Catherine has returned from maternity leave, and we must give our thanks to Jane who stood in for her magnificently for the past 12 months.

We are pleased to have had several school parties at the VEC this year, organised jointly with Sudbury Rotary, and the feedback is looking good for next year. One school greeted us with a wellrehearsed rendition of Messing About On the River and this had the desired effect of encouraging a swan to vacate the pond- dipping jetty. I had tried to bribe him with my sandwich but having consumed it in the river he promptly resumed his resting place on the bank but the singing must have been just too much, as he was last seen Above: Children from Acton School at the VEC paddling off towards Henny.

The running costs of the boats and buildings have to be deducted from these, but they are nonetheless a magnificent achievement for all our volunteers, and without them the Trust could not operate.

The Granary continues to deliver significant funds, with its weddings, receptions, and of course the tea-room, with everyone here contributing to the success of the Trust.

The Lower River Group have made maximum use of their second boat, Kathleen, which has been operating from Le Talbooth, again with wedding parties and general cruises, adding extra money to their income. Their long-serving Chairman, Ian Whale, has stood down, to spend more time in his native Scotland, but John Morris, another RST stalwart has taken over the reins.

Photo by: David Taylor

Canoes fill Flatford Lock in our annual Sudbury to the Sea cruise

The lock at Cornard suffered a major paddle fault in midMay and this resulted in unexpected heavy expenses, but due to our current good housekeeping of our accounts, we had the funds to deal with it immediately.

And finally, Sudbury to the Sea was another resounding success. Once again entries had to be capped at 300 boats, and 500 participants were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend on our beautiful river. When you see the brightly-coloured canoes packed into Cornard Lock, with the smiling faces of the crews, you realise why all our efforts are so worthwhile. Congratulations to Sue and Jane who stepped in at the last minute, and their team of helpers who continue to make this great event happen.

Please, if you want to do your bit for the Trust, volunteer to give up just two days this September to help.

www.riverstourtrust.org 5

FLATFORD LOCK RE–OPENS

On Saturday 2nd May, in front of a large and enthusiastic audience, Griff Rhys Jones, RST Vice-President, re-opened Flatford Lock to through navigation. The ceremony marked the culmination of a two-year campaign to raise the £80,000 needed for new top and bottom gates.

The lock was originally restored by Trust members in 1974, with the original gates being repaired, then further restored and re-gated, aided by grants worth over £140,000 in 1991, and has operated successfully since then, as a major part of the Trust’s aim of through navigation for the whole waterway from Sudbury, 25 miles inland, to the sea at Cattawade.

But over the years, the wooden gates gradually deteriorated, until three years ago they were declared

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unsafe by the Environment Agency, the navigation authority for the river. However the EA had no funds to renew them, so closed the lock to navigation. This spurred on the Trust to raise the funds for their replacement themselves, and with great perseverance from Treasurer Gareth Cole, successfully applied for landfill grants from Veolia Environmental Trust, and Essex Environment Trust, which together with assistance from the EA, and the Trust’s own funds reached the required total.

The new gates were manufactured and installed by local waterway contractor, Martin Childs Ltd, and fitted over the winter, ready for the official opening ceremony.

This took place on a sunny day in May. The audience of over 100 people included Trust members, invited guests,

The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Top: Griff arrives by boat and is interviewed by the press and radio Above left to right: Ian Bliss, Area Manager of the Environment Agency, one of the partners in the project, Andrew Richardson, Chairman of the River Stour Trust, and Griff Rhys Jones, Vice-President of the River Stour Trust, haul open one of the new gates. Stour locks did not have balance beams, as the lock lintels made it impossible to fit them.

press and the public. It was an auspicious date, as the Duchess of Cambridge was about to give birth to an heir to the throne, and the press were on ‘hospital watch’ waiting to get the call to rush to the nearest hospital to interview the first baby born in Essex/Suffolk after the great event.

Griff arrived in the Trust’s electric trip boat, Trusty, crewed by the duty team that day. Then together with Andrew Richardson, Chairman of the River Stour Trust, and Ian Bliss Area Manager of the Environment Agency, Griff officially hauled open one of the new gates, to allow the first boats through the lock for two years.

Stour locks had a unique capstan and spike system for raising the paddles, and the top part of this has been retained on the gates, as a reminder of the waterway’s 300-year history.

However it was also very dangerous in use, and modern winding gear is now fitted. But Griff happily posed in the traditional bargee’s stance, as depicted in Constable’s painting The Lock, which sold recently for £22.4m.

He then went on to address the audience who had gathered at the lockside for the opening. Flatford Lock and its surroundings featured in many of John Constable’s masterpieces of the early 19th Century, and Griff reminded the onlookers that his name, and the idyllic landscapes that he painted are famous the world over, not just in England.

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Griff operates the original turn-spike winding gear for the paddles, that dates back to the 18th Century when the lock was first built.

These are retained for show, having been replaced by modern winding gear.

The new gates were manufactured and installed by local waterway contractor, Martin Childs Ltd, and fitted over the winter, ready for the official opening ceremony.

Visiting The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg he was amazed to find so many of Constable’s works, and pointed out that over a quarter of a million visitors come to Dedham Vale every year, from all over the world, to visit the locations of his paintings, many of which remain little changed to this day.

Griff told an interesting tale that the artist himself described late in his life, when he was on the new-fangled train, going back to his home in East Bergholt, and a gentleman opposite tapped him on the knee and asked him if he knew he was now entering Constable Country – almost certainly the first time an area has been described by the name of its local celebrity!

But Griff, who lives besides the lower reaches of the river, also pointed out that Constable did not just paint pretty scenery. His works were filled with the working people of Dedham Vale going about their daily lives on the land,

on the river, and in the local industries. In fact he captured the beginning of the agricultural and industrial revolution that went on to transform this country into the powerhouse of the world.

And the river today is still not just about the wildlife.

It is a living, thriving waterway, that brings pleasure to tens of thousands of people, and still serves the community.

He was reminded of this when he canoed down it recently, and his guide pointed out that he was travelling through the drinking water of Ilford! Water is pumped from the River Ouse in the Fens, which has an excess of it, down the Stour, to supply 30% of the drinking water for Essex.

The re-opening of Flatford Lock marks the next stage of the River Stour Trust’s plans to open up full through navigation on the whole of the river from Sudbury to the sea at Manningtree.

Photos by: Linda Barrell

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The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Griff sitting beneath one of the iconic lock lintels, found only on the River Stour.

Sue Brown operates the new paddle winding gear

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Stratford St Mary Lock Restoration 2007 – 2015

10 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Far Left and Left: In the first years of the restoration, mud and silt had to be dug out of the lock chamber by hand, bucket and barrow.

Far Left Middle: The top gates Far Left Bottom: The original Stour paddle winding gear was a unique capstan and chain system, that remained into the 20th Century.

Left Centre: One of the gate hinges Left Bottom: The first pontoon, used to ferry people and machinery across to the lock island in 2007.

This Page Below: The lock channel was dammed, then pumped dry in 2007.

Stratford St Mary lock is the next one on our list to be restored, and is one of three that include Dedham and Flatford that were re-built in the 1930s. The concrete lock chamber is intact and the lock gates still remain, but are rotten and will need replacing. The whole lock chamber has been filled with mud, debris and weeds for over 50 years, and the approach channels were blocked and silted up.

Over the past ten years, a hard-working team under Roger Brown’s leadership has persevered in clearing the channels and making good the banks, at a time when the Trust had very limited funds, and the work had to be done with minimal resources. Work was boosted with much-needed labour by prisoners from Hollesley Bay and a squad of soldiers from Colchester Garrison.

After a very productive 2015, the work is ready for one final push to get the lock back into operation. New gates will cost around £120,000, and the challenge now is to raise funding from similar sources to those we used to get Flatford re-gated.

2015 has been a busy year of restoration work on the next lock to be re-opened on the Stour The task this summer was to complete the work which the Environment Agency had given their consent to – dredging the channel to the correct depth and landscaping our previous work. This required moving large quantities of soil around the island and as the soldiers who had helped us in previous years were not available this time, we decided to hire a dumper to do the job. The dumper had to have an operator with a ‘ticket’ so John Mills, Gordon Denney and Mike Finch were trained and assessed by John Gale from the IWA’s Waterway Recovery Group before Roly, our new raft, took it and the digger across to the island.

The season’s work began with clearance of the vegetation, then we recovered the plastic pipes which had maintained the flow of land drainage water through the channel during our earlier works, as they are no longer needed.

The digger and dumper went into action digging vegetation out of the lock chamber and piling it in a heap to dry ready

for later use. Next, the digger was driven along the gabions, (rock-filled wire baskets forming a retaining wall along the channel) as far as the canoe portage jetty to complete dredging the channel to full depth.

The rocks we had previously recovered from the channel had to be placed along the bank and covered with dredgings after Geotex, an environmentally-friendly porous plastic sheet, had been spread over the gabions to stop the dredgings falling into the rocks in the baskets. Then turf rolls were placed to form a natural edge which would retain the mud.

This proved agonisingly slow work because it could only be done in short sections, limited by the reach of the digger arm as no-one could walk on the wet mud to spread it by hand.

With one section complete, the digger was moved back to work on the next section. Roger was grateful for a reliable banksman like James to guide the digger safely into position in situations like this.

“The early work was boosted with much-needed labour by prisoners from Hollesley Bay and a squad of soldiers from Colchester Garrison” www.riverstourtrust.org 11

12 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

The channel proved to have a gravel bottom which was very hard for the digger to remove and threatened to pull it into the water on occasions. James frequently checked the depth, with a minimum of 1 metre achieved throughout.

For the final boggy length the digger had to stand on the gabions (which were under water) behind the line of sandbags to dredge the channel and place the spoil here.

Throughout the project we have worked closely with the EA to ensure that every step meets their rigorous standards for conservation and wildlife preservation, and in fact when we began in 2006 a fisherman told us that dredging the channel to the gravel bed would create a good spawning ground. So we hope that eventually we will not only re-open the lock for navigation, but improve the wildlife habitat.

With the digger busy elsewhere Dick, John and Gordon cleared the heap of dredgings from 2009 by hand and used it for final landscaping. It is hard to believe this soil was sludge from the channel in 2009. The finished job has now been seeded and is already being enjoyed by local fishermen.

I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all the team who have contributed to the success of the project over the years. Some have been mentioned in the article and captions, but my apologies to other volunteers, including the manpower lubrication operative (tea lady), who have not been specifically mentioned.

Haven’t they all done well?

“Throughout the project we have worked closely with the EA to ensure that every step meets their rigorous standards for conservation and wildlife preservation”

Opposite Page Top Row: The digger was driven onto our new raft, then floated across, followed by the dumper. The digger enabled us to clear the silt and plants almost to the bottom of the lock.

Row 2: The dumper allowed us to spread the spoil from the lock out to dry. Then the digger was driven along the gabions to complete dredging the channel.

Row 3: The channel was dredged to 1m depth. The rocks that were taken out previously were spread over the bank, then covered with the spoil.

Then the edge was finished with turf, and the rest of the bank seeded with grass.

Row 4: Mike carried out the daily task of watering the turf rolls to ensure they became established. It is hard to believe this soil was sludge dug from the channel in 2008. With the job complete the digger heads for home. The finished bank is now being enjoyed by fishermen.

Row 5: These rock-filled gabions were used to stabilise the bank. Work parties during winter 14/15 cleared vegetation including fallen trees across the channel. The plastic pipes which had maintained the chunker flow during our earlier works were removed to be sold.

This Page: Assembling Roly the new pontoon. With its wooden deck, it is stiff enough to carry the weight of the dumper and digger.

James, Mike, Roger, Gordon, John and Dick enjoy a well-earned cuppa.

Introducing Roland Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Roland the Raft, or Roly to my friends, and I’m the Trust’s new Roly-on-Roly-off ferry for the restoration work at Stratford lock.

When I arrived I was just a stack of plastic cube floats called Versadock, which my Trust friends joined together with plastic bolts called mushrooms, which drop into the gaps between the cubes to make a flat surface.

I was launched onto the river at the waterworks and fixed to a rope across the river to stop me being swept away, with another rope to haul me to and fro. My friend the workboat, Laurie B, is also working in the lock channel delivering materials, and has already done a depth survey.

They built a strong timber deck on me, to prevent me sagging when I carry the heavy digger and dumper across to the lock island, and John screwed in ground anchors to fix my ropes to. They are very pleased with me and say I’m vital to the job. Now I must get to work as there is much to be done.

Roland, July

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News

JOHN CONSTABLE COMES OUT FOR HER FIRST INSPECTION It may come as a surprise, but it is three years since our restored lighter John Constable was launched at the VEC. Like all wooden boats her underwater hull has to be inspected and maintained regularly if it is not to deteriorate, so a plan was drawn up to lift, inspect and repaint it last September.

To prevent any distortion or strain, the hull had to be supported at as many points as possible, so treated 9x4 planks were cut into lengths and stacked to form a level base. Then the lighter was poled round to the lock, and lifted into position with a crane.

Brian Kennel, the master boatbuilder who was in charge of her restoration at the Pioneer Sailing Trust, supervised the positioning of the blocks, and drew up a report on the boat.

The lift itself was supervised by Martin Childs Ltd, who also carried out the replacement of the gates at Flatford.

The good news is that the underwater hull is basically in good condition, with the epoxy paint that was applied originally giving good protection. Brian recommended two more coats of epoxy tar on the main hull, then removing excess seam jointing in the decks (and replacing where needed), and repainting the topsides. There was a lot of lime-scale on the hull underwater – particularly near the waterline – which needed mechanical removal by scraping.

Some minor holes in the planking – mostly due to knots opening up with time – were filled with an epoxy resin and filler mix, then sanded flat. Two coats of eroding type antifouling paint were applied up to the waterline. This is more to help prevent future build up of limescale than prevent weed growth, as this paint should slowly erode away over the next two years, hopefully taking the limescale with it.

The repaint has much improved the lighter’s appearance, and with annual painting of the topsides up to the gunwale, should last for another three years.

MIKE FINCH

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HANGING UP THE APRON STRINGS Jane Malins is finally hanging up her apron strings after more than 10 years volunteering for the RST. Jane shares some of her memories‌

Cornard Lock lintel replaced While we had the crane on site to lift JC out of the water, we took the opportunity to replace one of the lintels that span the lock. This had been eaten by insects over the years, despite being made of oak, and had to be replaced. But its weight of half a ton meant that we could not safely remove and replace it till we had a crane.

The lintels at Cornard Lock have no structural function, but were included in the design of the lock when it was built in 1997, to maintain these iconic features of the original Stour locks.

The wood used for the replacement was sourced by Roger Brown, and left to season for two years. Then Pam Johnson and James Parkinson chiselled out the mortices needed to locate it on the uprights.

I have just been down memory lane, looking at old emails to do with volunteering with the Trust. The first were from September 2004, but it appears I was already a regular doing the teas. I think I had a previous email address which has disappeared.

As far as I remember, when my parents moved into Sudbury and subsequently joined the Trust, they talked about their enjoyment and I remember looking at their photos of the opening of Cornard Lock. When Jon and I moved to Bassingbourn in 1996 we would visit Sudbury and with the children have boat trips and visit the Steam Day. As my children got older and I was not needed at home I joined my mother and father helping with the Tombola and also with one-off events serving teas outside. I think I joined the Trust in 2002 and began helping in the Tea Room about then. I have helped with the Tea Rooms and also S2C in various ways, opening locks and ensuring that the people get down the river safely and informing them where the buns were to be had! It was always fun to come over to meet friendly faces and it was enjoyable to be part of a team who made the Tea Rooms a lovely place to visit. I always felt that I could recommend the homemade cakes and tea, the view and the boat trips.

I am looking forward to being able to come over and enjoy the river and the teas from the other side of the counter now.

We enjoyed a final farewell get together with Jane sharing coffee, cake and a natter. We surprised her with a bouquet of flowers and the obligatory gift of an RST tea towel, apron and keyring! We really hope that Jane and her husband, Jon, will be over for a visit soon.

NEW SLIPWAY JETTY AT SUDBURY Our hard-working maintenance volunteers have finished building the brand new jetty by the slipway adjacent to The Granary.

The original jetty was smaller and proved awkward for wheelchair access. There was a sharp turn to come off the slipway as well as a drop where the slipway was not flush with the jetty.

The new jetty overcomes these problems and the eagle-eyed among you may have also noticed a slightly wider gap between the decking boards where the jetty meets the river. This is another thoughtful design feature to accommodate the fingers of canoeists/kayakers so they can have a secure grip when using the jetty.

We think it looks great and hope you enjoy using it!

CATHERINE BURROWS Administrator

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Dear Jude Can I please say thank you on behalf of the Trust for your extremely generous donation following your participation in S2C this year.

We are so glad you enjoyed the event and your other kayaking trips on the river. It is one of the highlights of our year and continues to bring new visitors to experience our beautiful river.

Thanks Emrhys Barrell

BURES CORACLE REGATTA 2015 This year I arrived at Rushbanks Farm camp site at Friday lunch time, as I wanted to spend all afternoon brushing up on my rowing skills in the ‘new dinghy’ (a back up safety boat). Trying to row with reeds either side is challenging, and sculling over the back is better, but there’s a knack which I haven’t yet mastered. Dick Mundy arrived late afternoon, so once dinner was cleared away we had a trip down to Wissington Mill and back by coracle.

For the regatta we could not have asked for better weather this year. Nice and sunny but not scorching hot. Teas were ordered as soon as our friends from Stour Valley Lavender got the kettle on, so soon we were all set. Judy Walker from Ironbridge arrived early, so she was press-ganged into putting up the sign posters with Dick.

We had our first ladies only race which was won by Anne, a Bures regular. Judy, in the yellow was second and newcomer Carole, white hat, was third. I say newcomer, but she’s a recent convert from canoes.

We also had a group of canoeists from the Tower Hamlets Canoe club who, after having a go were persuaded to have our second ladies only race. Quentin brought a group of friends along who provided live music as well as their own hide canoes.

Next year’s regatta is on Saturday 6th August at Bures Recreation ground CO8 5BX. We’re all booked except the camp site which I’ll book the week before.

Contact: coracles@riverstourtrust.org My number is 07973 773365.

Evenings before 9pm please.

Most of our day was spent letting the public try our coracles, with the emphasis on paddling and getting in and out by themselves.

16 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

STEVE MILES

Frank Walder It is with great sadness that we record the passing of Frank Walder, an RST member, but also for many years the representative of the Inland Waterways Association on the RST Council.

SANTAS ON THE STOUR Scores of Santas came together before Christmas for the inaugural 'Santa’s Xmas Paddle-N-Pub' on the Stour. The event was hosted jointly by The Rare Cow, Henny Swan and Sudbury Boat Hire in support of The Bridge Project.

The flotilla mustered at Sudbury’s Rare Cow Steakhouse, host for the start and finish of the 2015 event. Pre-paddle bacon sarnies & hot tea were in plentiful supply as friends, families and visitors came together.

As 11am struck, with the spectators gathered and all 38 boats boarded, the fun paddle set-off for its lunchtime appointment at the Henny Swan, where Tracey and team were on-hand to provide for all our needs, and a beautiful log fire beckoned.

Gordon Hardy of Outdoor Hire Centres Ltd, which operates the boat hire facilities at Sudbury Boathouse said: "We are delighted with the success of this first event and grateful to participants, hosts and spectators for their kind support and generous donations. With Santa's, elves and reindeer coming in from across Esssex, Suffolk and as far away as London we've seen that events like these provide a great opportunity to introduce more people to the delights of this wonderful river, to experience the fun of canoeing and kayaking, while also raising money for a great cause.

The Boathouse Hire Centre will open for weekend paddlers from 26th March and full time for the holidays.

We've lots more exciting activities and events in the pipeline for 2016 and encourage anyone interested in participating to 'like' our facebook page or sign-up for more event information on our website.

To stay up to date with current and future events, please 'like' us at: www.facebook.com/Sudbury-BoatHire-666110570188022 Or call: 01206 700 707

Frank was heavily involved in the IWA at a National level, particularly working and lobbying to restore some of the nation’s disused navigations, and was often seen out on work parties with the Waterways Recovery Group. He had an in-depth knowledge of the system and was able to articulate the IWA vision to many and varied audiences from MPs, Corporate Bodies and local Councillors, to community groups, young people, and IWA members.

His wide experience of other waterway groups was valuable to the Trust on many occasions, and his was a wise voice on Council.

Ian Whale retires Ian Whale, Chairman of the Lower River Group, and member for the past 15 years has stood down, handing over to John Morris. Ian and Wilma will be spending more time in their native Scotland, but will still be visiting us on the Stour.

We all wish them the very best.

SBOC Presentation Derek and Margaret Cresswell receive the 9th Brian Cornell Award for services to the Trust, at the annual SBOC Lunch.

Margaret is one of the tea room team stalwarts, while Derek is the ‘estate manager for the VEC’ as Brian put it, keeping the grounds neat and tidy.

ROWING BOAT FOR SALE 11ft dinghy, GRP White with light blue trim Lightweight oars, Storage cover New in Spring 2012 and cost £950 Selling due to house move. Currently moored at RST VEC £400 ono.

Call Ian Stuart 07742 942611

www.riverstourtrust.org 17

A day in the life of a Sudbury boat crew Have you ever wondered just what it takes to make the Trust’s boat trips so successful. Well the answer is a lot of hard work, preparation and then enthusiastic teamwork. Andrew Sheldon of the Sudbury Boat Operations Committee, SBOC, explains

Above Left: John Constable’s bell is more for show. She also has a proper horn Above Centre: FJ and Rosette rounding the bend on the way to Henny Above Right: Mick Rogers and his squeeze box provide musical accompaniment

Before anyone can take our boats out as a Skipper or a crew they need to be thoroughly trained to a standard laid down by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, MCA, under whose Code of Practice we operate.

We have two levels of crew, the first is that of ‘crew’ who are trained to a standard in assisting the skipper in preparing the boat for the day, able to tie up and make the boat safe at the jetties and take the helm under supervision. Our volunteer crew all start at this level while they learn the way we operate and about the river conditions. Normally after a season of practice at this level, the following year they can take further training to become a Skipper. (What this entails is covered at the end of this article). At Skipper level they are then in charge of the boat and its passengers. Their experience will be drawn on to make sure that our boats remain safe at all times. You have to remember ours are not private boats but commercial craft, licensed to carry fare-paying passengers.

So at the start of a normal Sunday our trained crew will assemble at the Granary at 10am, if they are rostered to take out Rosette, Edwardian Lady (EL) or Francis J, named after Francis Batten, who bought her for the Trust. The Officer of the Day decides from his assembled crew, who will be operating which boat and on which routes.

On each boat there will be a Skipper and a crew. If the

John Constable lighter is going out then the crew for this are specially trained, as she handles very differently to the rest of the fleet, and they start from the VEC. Having been appointed a boat the Skipper and crew will retrieve the keys from the locked key box and go down to the jetty and unlock the boat’s padlock. Boarding the boat they will work their way steadily through a check sheet, ensuring that the boat has sufficient fuel in the case of FJ or the power is unplugged from the overnight charge in respect of EL and Rosette. If the weather is set fine they will usually un-zip and roll up the plastic side windows and stow as needed. Check lights, horn and bilge pumps are working correctly and check the log book for any potential problems noted by the previous operation.

Having readied the boats there is normally time for a cup of tea while the passengers assemble for the first trip.

At Sudbury we run the regular half hour trips to Cornard lock and back and more often than not on a Sunday we send two boats down to the Henny Swan, three if the (JC) has been booked for a charter. It’s then a question of which boats leave the Gasworks Cut first and who goes into the lock first. If JC is booked on the Henny run then she needs to go through the lock first, so she leaves at 11am. The two other boats can go down in the lock together so they follow on, and the half hour trip boat

18 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Top: Brian Cornell prepares to leave the Granary with a full complement on board John Constable Above Centre: David Kirkman training a new skipper for JC

“As well as the regular Sunday trips, we operate Charters where parties hire the whole boat for a trip of typically 4-5 hours”

pops out between them if there are any passengers for the first trip of the day.

Once the passengers are safely aboard they are given a brief safety announcement covering what to do in the case of fire, sinking or any other emergency. (Never carried out in earnest so far!) Once out on the main river the crew talk to the passengers to find out how much information they want as we travel along. Most of our team are well versed with the history of the river and local points of interest and can keep the passengers entertained and informed along the way.

It is very important for the crew to work as a team, and whoever is not at the wheel when nearing the junction with the Cut and the main river will keep an eye out for other boats and relay this information to the helmsman.

On a Saturday or Sunday morning it’s a little manic normally, with the rowing club out in force, travelling at high speed often unable to see who’s on the river with them. Sudbury Scouts and other canoeists are also often setting out at this time of day and the junction has to be negotiated with great care.

The half-hour trip boat will turn just before the weir if there are other trip boats around. If they have the river to themselves they normally turn in the entrance to the lock.

The Henny boats pull in at the jetty just prior to the lock and one of the crew gets off to operate the lock with one always remaining on board to navigate it through safely.

We normally take it in turns to operate the lock - it’s a great way to burn off the calories winding the windlass 64 times to open the paddles from top to bottom then pushing a few tons of gate open.

The half-hour trip boat will return to The Granary and moor up safely before allowing the passengers to go ashore. Once they are ashore the crew will turn the boat using ropes. This is the easiest way to turn in the limited space of the Cut. To do this the crew will throw the aft line over the roof of the boat then walk along to the front of the boat having pushed the stern toward mid-stream. The front rope man then walks toward the aft with a short bow line and the aft man keeps going pulling the stern round from the far side of the water until the boat completes a 180 degree turn and is tied up again to the jetty ready for the next set of passengers.

www.riverstourtrust.org 19

Above Left: Edwardian Lady is our latest and largest electric boat, able to carry 12 passengers Above Right: The Bride and her maids arrive at the Granary on board FJ

“If you are interested in joining us, please feel free to contact the office and your details will be passed on to our trainers” (Throughout this article we use the nautical parlance of helmsman or crewman, but our team is made up of both ladies as well as men!)

The lunch-time cruises having cleared the lock will press on to The Swan to drop their passengers for two hours.

During the this time they will often take further half-hour trips from Henny up to the lock and back. At 2pm the boats return from Henny to Sudbury.

At the end of the day when all the boats have come home, they are made secure, screens re-fitted, fuel topped up on FJ and the electric boats plugged in to the Economy Seven overnight charge points. Paperwork completed and put in the night safe, the crews sign off and go home.

Every day something different happens on the river that we need to react to. Boats break down (not too often), customers tell interesting tales, river conditions change, and we see the river and its wildlife changing through the season.

If you are interested in joining us, please feel free to contact the office and your details will be passed on to our trainers.

Training involves lots of practice under guidance from one of our experienced trainers initially. They will cover boathandling, rope-work, lock operation, man overboard (we have never lost a passenger yet!), first aid, and very basic maintenance. You will get a good chance to practice on all of the boats, then when you have reached a basic competency you will go on rota and take passengers out under the guidance of an experienced skipper. There’s no rush to get you to the right standard and its good fun all the way.

As well as the regular Sunday trips, we operate Charters where parties hire the whole boat for a trip of typically 4-5 hours. We also take out wedding parties in conjunction with functions at the Granary, and for these we often decorate the boats as well. We are a friendly lot and at the end of the day we are all volunteers wanting to enjoy themselves while introducing new people to the river and the aims of the Trust.

In the next issue we will be with the Lower River Group on a busy summer Sunday at Flatford

20 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

WATER MEADOWS

The medieval River Stour water meadows can be seen above Ballingdon Bridge by the Mill Hotel. The lines of the original channels are shown by darker water plants

With the recent spate of floods across the country, there is a growing urgency to find ways of combating these increasingly frequent events. But man has been controlling these annual incursions of rivers onto the land for hundreds of years, to increase its fertility and value, with some of the best examples beside the Stour, as Sue Brown explains.

We see floods in the Stour Valley most winters, with water flowing over the river banks onto the floodplains – the lowlying land either side of the river which is deliberately allowed to flood to temporarily store this extra water until the river level drops and the water can drain back into the river.

These are floodplains, but river water was also allowed to flood the adjacent land for another purpose.

today as lines of dark green water plants across the meadows. The flow of water was controlled by a system of sluice gates called hatches, and small earth or wooden board dams called stops. Thus irrigation could be provided separately for different sections. Obviously waterway networks built on almost level fields required careful construction to ensure good operation.

Way back in the past the land beside rivers would have been just marshes and bogs, until the development of drains and ditches produced summer grazing for livestock. However, beside the Stour in Sudbury, ditches can still be seen which form a tangible reminder of an almost-forgotten part of England’s agricultural heritage, the traditional method of management of water and land called water meadows. From the 16th Century until the middle of the 20th Century many of the fields along lowland rivers were managed by farmers as water meadows by the construction of drains, sluices, weirs and bridges to enable controlled flooding of the meadows by a shallow layer of moving water for irrigation.

The working and maintenance was done by a highly skilled craftsman called a ‘drowner’ or ‘waterman’, who was often employed by several adjacent farmers. The aim of this irrigation was not to flood the ground but to keep it continuously damp. In early spring the meadows were flooded overnight when there was danger of a frost. Later the water would all be drained off to allow air to get to the soil again. The river water did not freeze because it was kept moving so it kept the land and grass above freezing temperature, preventing frost damage to new growth and allowing the grass to grow several weeks earlier. During a dry summer the water irrigated the grass to keep it growing.

The water flow across the meadows also helped to keep the soil fertile by depositing nutrient-rich river silt, at the same time helping to reduce river pollution.

Water was diverted from the river along a leat called a main or top carrier and carried down the valley at a gentler slope than the river. The main fed smaller carriers which tapered down to a stop end, and were built roughly parallel to the river on the crests of ridges across the fields. The water would overflow slowly down the sides of the ridges to be collected in drains between the ridges, which joined into a bottom carrier to return it to the river.

The ridges and drains made an interlocking grid (like interlaced fingers) but did not connect directly. A by-carrier took any water not needed for irrigation straight from the main back to the river. Although it is difficult to see the complete pattern of drains, their positions can still be seen

Even though water meadows and their associated structures were costly for landowners to construct and maintain, they were widely used as they made the riverside fields much more productive and increased their value. The meadows were used to graze both sheep and cattle, as well as producing crops of hay. The system allowed a hugely increased number of animals (principally sheep) to be overwintered and contributed to a vast expansion of the wool trade, upon which East Anglia’s prosperity was based.

SUE BROWN

www.riverstourtrust.org 21

Children from Acton School on board John Constable

School children learn about the river A group of children from Acton School spent a day on the River Stour last summer as part of an initiative launched by the Rotary Club of Sudbury.

The children travelled on board John Constable and Edwardian Lady, and spent time at our Visitor & Education Centre, learning abut the history of the river, and its wildlife.

The Rotary Club’s initiative is aimed at working in partnership with local schools and the varied and diverse environment groups in and around Sudbury. The idea was developed to enable and encourage children, aged around 10 years of age, to become enthused and impassioned with the rich and wonderful environment that Sudbury is so fortunate to have on its doorstep.

The Club has facilitated trips for both Woodhall School and Acton Primary School to Arger Fen, courtesy of Suffolk Wildlife Trust and The River Stour Trust at Great Cornard but this would not have been possible without the generosity of local county councillors, John Sayers and Colin Spence. Both councillors have funded the transport for the schools to the locations visited provided by GoStart Community buses.

Organiser, Rotarian Lynda Sebbage said “Sudbury and its surrounding area is so full of the most wonderful and varied habitat and we are therefore very keen to encourage children from Sudbury and surrounding villages to take advantage of the visits. These children are tomorrow’s custodians and if we can help them take an interest today, there is every chance they will care for our habitat in years to come.”

The Rotary Club of Sudbury plan to extend this programme to include more schools and more places to visit and will be writing to schools later in the year. There is no charge to the school or the children and the Rotary Club will continue to raise funds towards the project as part of its strong commitment of working together for the benefit of both the local community and the environment. Schools who attend the programme will be presented with a local Rotary Club Award to display in their classroom.

22 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Welcome to new members Mr & Mrs Peter & Lynda Sebbage Mr Nicholas Thomson Mr & Ms George Clark & Sheryl Kenyon Mr & Mrs Michael & Elaine Clark Mr & Mrs Alec & Val Jones Mr David de Nigri Mr & Mrs Tor & Alison Leifsen Mr & Mrs David & Jacqueline Williams Mr & Mrs Christopher & Sarah Taylor-Morris Mr David Body Mr Darren Weavers Mr & Mrs Paul & Gill Sanderson Mr Alan Thomas Mr Samuel Whitfield Mr Cross Alex & Mrs Jean Kristensen Mr Arthur Carter Mr Stephen Worrall Miss Jackie Hamilton Mr & Mrs John & Margaret Clarke Mr Steve Clark & Ms Jules Willis Mr Neil Johnston Mr & Mrs David & Anne Lowe Mr & Mrs Bernard & Rachel Mitchell Mr Ian Rutter Mr Martin Brown & Mrs Zoe Attwood

Top: Children explore the wildlife of the river.

Middle: Learning about the history of the Stour and its wildlife from Brian Cornell and Bob Stoneham.

Bottom: The teacher from Acton School is presented with the Sudbury Rotary Club’s award for attending the programme by Colin Spence, County Councillor for Sudbury East and Waldingfield.

Photos by: David Taylor

For further information please contact: Lynda Sebbage Tel: 01787 313769 or 07870 640074 lynda@sebbage.com

Spotted on the lower river by Colin Daines. Is this an egret?

Answers to the Editor please

www.riverstourtrust.org 23

Sudbury Boat Operations Report As part of the newly reformed and revitalised Sudbury Boat Operating Committee (SBOC) I have, for the first time in a number of years, rejoined a Trust Committee, this time as Publicity person for the Sudbury boats.

So what am I doing I hear you ask? Well we have established links with the new landlady at The Henny Swan.

Tracy comes with many years of experience running a pub and as an owner/manager is on hand and an obvious driving force behind her smooth operation. With the aid of Jane, the Trust’s overworked administrator last year, we organised Supper Trips to the Swan for Wednesdays in August. These were successful, so we will try and repeat them more often.

Many of you will have seen that we ran two evening bat trips in June and July (yes that is bat trips – not boat trips, though they take place on our boats!) which included a free glass of wine and a plate of nibbles. The idea behind running these events is to attract a wider audience to our river but they also allow us to maximise on the free publicity that can be found in highlighting these activities on radio and newspapers. Although these events may only attract a small number of people at any one time they keep our name and the ideas of a trip on the river in front of the public – in marketing jargon it is called brand awareness, and we must be using every opportunity we can. For the July event we also tried running a small advert in the local paper which I am pleased to report covered its cost easily.

We did advertise an inclusive trip from Cornard to The Granary on John Constable with tea and cake at the Granary, but for some reason had no take up. Back to the drawing board on that one then! However it’s not all bad news as we were still getting listed by three newspapers and two radio stations for free.

I have also started our own Facebook page, ‘Sudbury Boat Trips’. I am aiming to put information, stories, photos etc. on this everyday through the season and contact 2 – 3 new sites everyday where there is a minimum of 100 followers up to tens of thousands. Again it’s all down to brand awareness.

It always staggers me the amount of people living within twenty miles of Sudbury who do not know we have a river and certainly know nothing about the boat trips. I was with some newish friends from Hartest only yesterday evening who have lived there for six or seven years and had no idea about the boat trips. If anyone has marketing experience and can assist or if anyone has great ideas for special events please let Catherine know and she will pass your details on.

We are now really beginning to maximise the use of the John Constable which due to some teething problems with her electric control systems had an erratic first couple of seasons. Crew and Skippers for this boat are gradually coming on stream and we hope to use her more and more in our special events and charters.

We hope to see you soon at Sudbury ANDREW SHELDON SBOC Publicity

The Bat trips themselves were well received by all who attended. We were lucky with the weather as all these trips were on the John Constable allowing people the maximum chance to view any wildlife whilst also being open to the elements. Those that went saw plenty of wildlife including Muntjac Deer and bats! Yes, there was a slight shortage of bats on some trips and even though we hung around the bat roosts at Friars Meadow and Ballingdon Bridge none were seen until we came back to dock at Cornard!

We are looking at running further evening trips along similar lines next season. One of the restrictions we have with running these events is lack of crew so if you’re thinking about training as crew please contact Catherine and she will pass your details on to our trainers.

The 2016 SBOC lunch was another highly successful event, held this year at the Henny Swan, with 64 people

24 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Lower River Group report The Lower River group has been seeking to increase its team of Skippers, improve public awareness, increase the number and type of its services, and improve its operating facilities. We hope the net result will be a happy dedicated team producing greater revenues for the Trust.

Good progress is being made on most of these issues. We now have 23 trained Skippers, more than double our total just three years ago, and we are continuing to seek additional recruits. This has allowed us to fit twelve extra Wednesdays into our Summer season at Flatford, and increase the number of wedding charters and short cruises we are able to do with Kathleen, at the Talbooth. We would like to establish some regular passenger trips between Dedham and Stratford St Mary, and are working on ways to establish safe boarding and landing jetties at both locations. We have already satisfied ourselves that there is a market for this service. Establishing a trade there would fit in well with the completion of the Stratford St Mary Lock restoration project, which is now progressing well.

Our publicity efforts have included the establishment of better permanent notices and information about the Trust and our boats.

Leaflet dispensers have been established in a number of popular pubs and restaurants throughout the Dedham Vale area.

Flatford Lock was successfully re-gated in October 2014. The lock was officially opened on 2nd May 2015 by RST Vice-president Griff Rhys Jones, one of the Trust's staunchest supporters. A large number of Trust Members and public attended the ceremony, and Trusty proudly carried Griff through the lock, watched by members of the press and broadcast media.

With the lock operating again, we have been able to run a number of trips and charters down to Cattawade, including Nature Day trips for children and parents, in conjunction with the National Trust.

Longer term, we would like to develop the potential of the Cattawade site for themed boat trips or organised picnics/BBQs etc.

We also have a new storage for our two boats, courtesy of Jax Horswill’s barn, which will enable us to carry out the necessary annual maintenance under cover, but we are grateful to Roger and Sue Brown, who have stored the boats for many years up till now on their land.

As always, my grateful thanks to all members of LRG, and to our colleagues at Sudbury, for a team effort that is showing great results. I am standing down as Chairman this year, but have handed over to John Morris, so I know the group will be in capable hands.

IAN WHALE Chairman, RST Lower River Group

From Top: Pulling Trusty out of the water at Cattawade Kathleen approaches Le Talbooth Our new winter storage barn Trusty has a new prop, after some close encounters with the bottom of the river!

ADVERTISING RATES (EX VAT)

Quarter Page £40

Half Page £70

Full Page £90

www.riverstourtrust.org 25

S2C 2015 Sue Brown reports on another hugely successful Sudbury to the Sea

Above: Crews set off from the Bures lunchtime stop on the first day. Above Right: Sweeper Corinne collected the stragglers

In the absence of an organiser for this year’s event, Jane Rogers suggested she could do the paperwork and food, if I did the rest - a daunting task until we realised what super members we have, as we recruited volunteers to do all the many tasks involved. We also found that the system and procedures that have been perfected over many previous years covered almost every eventuality, and smoothed our task. Thank you Catherine and all the previous teams who have done our job before, and for your help this year.

Almost without fail the weather for S2C is glorious, but this year we woke to heavy rain on Saturday morning. But by the time the 300 boats reached Bures they were under blue skies, which lasted most of the rest of the weekend.

As before, the overnight stop was at Wissington Camp Site, with some crews spending the night here, and others making for B&Bs or their homes.

With half the trip completed we began to relax and put the panic of the previous day out of our minds. We had received a phone call from the Lower River Group to tell us the river level at Cattawade was so low that there was a large expanse of mud between the water and the landing stages.

Thankfully Essex and Suffolk Water saved the day by kindly agreeing to turn off one of their large abstraction pumps for the weekend, which allowed the level to recover by Sunday afternoon and saved our weary paddlers a mud bath!

Sunday morning, and the boats were away again. A call from Stratford St Mary had me scampering there to help with the lunchtime check-in as a marshal was ill, then the first kayaks arriving reported a fallen tree across the river, which could prove hazardous. Fortunately I found the sweepers at Nayland and brought Corinne and her boat back to Stratford to help at the tree, leaving Rhona and James to follow the fleet down the river.

26 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Left: Boats fill Cornard Lock.

For the first time Roger and I spent the night at the camp, lighting the campfire and enjoying the happy atmosphere.

“Oh no!” Matt Shenton covers his face as sister Willa sleeps

While marshals Pam and Peter took a rest, Jean checked that all the participants had arrived safely.

“As before, the overnight stop was at Wissington Camp Site, with some crews spending the night here, and others making for B&Bs or their homes.”

Corinne made sure everyone passed the tree safely, and many smiling people finally arrived at Cattawade with a sense of great achievement to receive their certificates from Jane and, possibly just as important, a cup of tea and bun from Mike and Jim. With so many people and boats going home at the end of the event, the cramped car park and access road at Cattawade picnic site had always been chaotic. This year John Morris and a LRG team imposed a strict parking and collection regime, with vehicles obliged to park on adjacent land until they were called to the pick-up point at the picnic site. The event car park was created by the Stratford Lock gang and the system proved to be a huge improvement over previous years.

Most of the feedback from participants mentioned our wonderful team who made the event happen. I’m sure all the volunteers went home very tired but hope you enjoyed being part of it, and “Thank You”.

Photos by: Robert Stoneham, Jude Rouse, Sue Brown

Pleased to have completed the first day, participants wait to land at the campsite at Wissington.

www.riverstourtrust.org 27

Winter on the Stour When the leaves are gone from the trees, the Stour settles down for its annual slumber. But the river is still beautiful at this time of year, and still provides a challenge for the hardiest of our members.

28 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Photos by: Tony Niles, Ian Bliss, Lynda Sebbage and Peter Evans

www.riverstourtrust.org 29

2016 RST EVENTS RST BOAT & TEA ROOM SEASON Sudbury Boat Operations 2016 Easter Saturday 26 March until Sunday 30 October Weekends: Henny Swan Lunch Cruises Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays: Half Hour Trips at The Granary Weekdays: Private Charters Lower River Boat Operations 2016 Saturday 19 March until Sunday 30 October Saturdays: Waterbus, one way trips, Dedham & Flatford Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays: Heritage Sightseeing at Flatford Weekdays: Private Charters Granary Tea Room 2016 Easter Sunday 27 March until Sunday 30 October Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays, 11am-4pm (open until 5pm, May-September) Wednesday afternoons during August

RST SPECIAL ANNUAL EVENTS Bank Holiday Monday 30 May Teddy Bear Boat Rides at The Granary (11am-4pm) Free boat trips for children (under 12 years old) and teddy when accompanied by fare paying adult Bank Holiday 29 August Pirates on the Stour at The Granary (11am-4pm) Free boat trips for pirates (under 12 years old) and teddy when accompanied by fare paying adult Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 September S2C, Sudbury to the Sea Weekend canoeing event, pre-registration vital as limited to 300 craft only Wednesday 22 June AGM 2016 at The Granary (starts at 7pm) Attendance by Trust members only, further information will be sent to Trust members nearer the time

BOAT OPERATIONS SPECIAL EVENTS The events below are planned for this year. Further details to follow or please call the office to register your interest.

SUDBURY

Sunday 10 April Cream Tea & Lock Day Half hour non-landing cruise to Great Cornard with Cream Tea served at Granary Tea Room, £10pp inclusive ticket Wednesdays 20 & 27 April Bat Watch Evening Cruises Drinks & light nibbles aboard the boat whilst on the lookout for nocturnal wildlife Bank Holiday Monday 2 May Bird Watching Cruise Sudbury to Great Henny cruise with stop for refreshments at Visitor Education Centre Thursday 30 June & Thursday 7 July Wimbledon Cream Tea Extravaganza Our version of Game, Set and Match is Boat, Tea & Scone!

Sundays 10 & 24 July, 7 August Dragonfly Days 1½ hour cruise with free tea/coffee at Granary Tea Room Wednesdays 7 & 14 September Bat Watch Evening Cruises Drinks & light nibbles aboard the boat whilst on the lookout for nocturnal wildlife Wednesday 8 October Harvest Lunch Cruise Return Cruise from The Granary to Great Henny with stop at the Visitor Education Centre for Ploughman’s Lunch and refreshments LOWER RIVER Bird Watching Cruises Early morning and/or late evening charters to observe birds along the river and cruising past the RSPB Bird Reserve at Cattawade 1 June until 31 August Summer Heritage Sightseeing Trips Half hour non-landing trips on Wednesdays (11am-5pm), Adult fare £5.00, Child fare, £3.00, Family Ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children) £14.00

Further details and more events may be added (check the website or contact office) –Volunteer assistance is vital to ensure that these events run smoothly! If you can help at any of our events or for more information, please contact Jane or Catherine in the RST office on 01787 313199 or email administrator@riverstourtrust.org. The administrative office is open in the VEC Monday to Friday, 10-4.

Easter Sunday 27 & Easter Monday 28 March 4-4-3 offer on non-landing return trips to Great Cornard Lock (departing Granary Tea Room at 11am, 11.40am and 3pm) 4 travel for price of 3 offer (cheapest fare does not pay) available on selected half hour trips (at 11am, 11.40am & 3pm). Adult fare £5, Child fare £3

30 The River Stour Trust Restoring and Conserving the River Stour Navigation

Visit the Beautiful River Stour The Suffolk Stour is one of England’s most beautiful rivers, made famous by the paintings of Constable and Gainsborough. It winds its way through the lush countryside of the tranquil Dedham Vale, and thanks to the River Stour Trust and its members it is still a public navigation.

• You can canoe the full 25 miles from Sudbury to the sea at Manningtree, or you can travel the upper and lower reaches in larger craft. You can launch your own boat up to 23ft at our purpose-built concrete slipway at Sudbury, and use the first three miles of the river to Henny. Or you can take a cruise in one of our silent electric trip boats at Sudbury or Flatford.

• Or you can get married in the Granary at Sudbury, or Le Talbooth Hotel at Stratford St Mary.

• Or take a trip back in time on board our 150-year-old restored Stour lighter, or follow the wildlife of the river at our Visitor & Education Centre at Cornard.

• Or you can see the places that Constable painted at Flatford, and stand in the exact spots where he stood to paint his masterpieces, including the boatbuilding dry-dock that still remains to this day, 200 years later.

Look at our website www.riverstourtrust.org for full details, or call our main office on 01787 313199.

SALES TABLE

BOOKS & DVD

TIE - £2.50 Green with Lock Lintel logo TEA TOWELS - £4.50 Good quality cotton, printed with map of the River Stour, green on white JOTTER PADS - £2.00 With line drawing of The Granary in bottom left corner ASSORTED RIVER SCENE POSTCARDS 11 per pack, historic & modern images - £1.00 ‘The Lock’ by John Constable - 30p APRON - £7.50 Exclusive to the Trust with images of river scenes (matches perfectly with RST tea towel). Adult size. Side and neck ties.

The Essex & Suffolk River Stour Navigation - £12.99 by the late John Marriage 200 illustrations & photographs depicting atmospheric scenes from days gone by.

RST CLOTHING Show your support for the River Stour Trust by wearing our branded merchandise!

Baseball Cap (one size) - £6.50 French Navy, with logo on front Polo Shirt (all sizes) - £17.50 French Navy, polyester/cotton mix, embroidered with logo on the chest Sweatshirt (all sizes) - £21.00 French Navy, polyester/cotton mix, embroidered with logo on the chest - (all sizes) Boat crew volunteer? Please contact us to order your clothing. RST logo is on both the chest and the arm so it is visible when a life jacket/buoyancy aid is worn.

An Appreciation of Sudbury’s Ancient Common Lands - £5.00

by Adrian Walters Beautifully illustrated. Details the history of Sudbury’s Common Lands.

Sudbury’s Unique Riverside - £5.00

by Adrian Walters Includes references to the Stour Navigation, Allen Brickworks, orchids, bat willows etc.

The Essex & Suffolk Stour; A History - £12.99

by Sean O’Dell A detailed account of the beginnings, life and trading decline of the Stour.

Our River: The Stour at Sudbury - £5.00 The riverscape depicted over the four seasons through photography and poetry.

Stour Secrets - £10.00

By Ken Rickwood An exploration of the estuary between Essex & Suffolk.

Stour Odyssey - £10.00

By Ken Rickwood Exploration of the river from salt to source.

Secret Rivers - £24.95 DVD compilation (2 discs) of the ITV Anglia series presented by Paul Heiney.

TO ORDER Please contact RST or visit www.riverstourtrust.org Please allow up to 28 days for delivery