Butty
Diana Goes Electric
The Trust’s first electric boat enters her first season
Junior Division
A reflection on the young people who were part of the restoration
Welcome
Dear Members,
As the boating season begins again this year, I can’t help but think about how different it is to the start of our season five years ago. There is so much to look forward to along the canal this year, and so much already happening. Reading about the things our incredible volunteers are achieving, such as the update to The Smithy at Crofton and Bruce Boat Diana being converted to electric, it feels as though the season of 2020 and the Covid lockdowns barely slowed us down Five years on, we have bounced back and there is so much to be proud of
That said, we should take a moment to think about and remember the volunteers we so sadly lost during Covid Dedicated volunteers who gave much to the Trust and are missed dearly I found myself thinking about them while I was putting together this issue of The Butty, as I read Rob Dunton’s wonderful article on the Junior Division, working on our restoration and reading about our plans as we look to celebrating our 75 year, next year. th
The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust has such a rich, and impressive history, and our volunteers have given us the vast majority of this. Would the restoration ever have happened without volunteers of The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust? I highly doubt it.
I was pleased to see that as part of our Trustees strategy going forward, which is shared on Page 18, that volunteer recruitment and retention is a focus, led by Terry Mundy. And I look forward to celebrating the many achievements of our volunteers, past and present, as we look to our 75 year th
With very best wishes,
Editor JenSmith-Furmage
K&A Canal Trust, Devizes Wharf, Couch Lane, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1EB
Who's who
President: Rob Dean CMG
Vice presidents:
Rt Hon Lord Benyon
Bill Fisher
David Lamb
Michael Corfield
Michael Goodenough
Prunella Scales, CBE
Terry Kemp
David Copley
Trust council:
Graham Puddephatt, Chair chair@katrust org uk
Jerry Dixon, Hon Treasurer fd@katrust org uk
Graham Snook
Mike Bailey, H&S
Ali Cannon
Robert Dunton
Terry Mundy
Paul Hanson
Michael Corish
Dee Nix
Office:
Helen Flavinfinance@katrust org uk
Phoebe Restorickadmin@katrust org uk
Chairman’s Letter
An update from Trust Chairman, Graham Puddephatt
Updates from our Branches (and their boats!) as we begin our 2025 season
75th Anniversary of The Trust
We look towards the 75 anniversary of The Trust in 2026 th
Locks on The Canal
Alison Cannon continues her locks series with Hungerford Marsh
Junior Division of The Trust
Rob Dunton reflects on the Trust’s Junior Division
An insight into an eventful CCBM training
Mike Bailey shares some of the oddities found along the Bradford on Avon section of the K&A
Chairman’s Letter
At Christmas, I took my Granddaughter on the Father Christmas boat trip, on the ‘Rose of Hungerford’. She and the other children onboard thoroughly enjoyed their few minutes in the great man’s presence. The adults all enjoyed the mince pie and refreshments. It was a lovely trip.
I had the opportunity to visit Crofton and discuss some of the plans the team has in mind for the coming year. Graham Snook had decided the time was right to step down as Crofton’s branch Chair. Dee Nix has now been appointed chair, and Graham will be vice chair to maintain some continuity and help get Dee up to speed. Dee has already made some impact, taking the lead in the development of “The Smithy” into an education space and new site for a tea room.
We have been discussing the status of our headquarters building at Devizes Wharf with Wiltshire District Council. They have offered the opportunity for a Community Asset Transfer of the building to The Trust. This is being progressed, and will potentially give us a 125 year lease on a peppercorn rent. It will mean we have to take on the maintenance of the building, but we have already been doing that for approaching 40 years.
We have worked hard to merge the “Enterprise” company back into the Trust, so we now exist as a single entity, which will make much of the management easier and less confusing. It has been a big piece of work for Jerry Dixon, the Treasurer and Finance Director and required a huge effort by Helen Flavin, our Finance Manager, to get all the ducks in a row for the start of the New Year. The Trustees recognised and thanked Helen for her sterling work. The Trustees held a workshop day in February looking at Trust Strategy in the new structure following the merge of ‘Enterprise’ into the Trust.
Future role, activities, and day-to-day organisation were considered, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This is especially key given CRT’s cries for better funding, EA’s lack of finance, and IWA’s campaign to ‘Fund British Waterways’. Added to this are the climate change issues, with floods and high flows particularly affecting our Kennet and Avon River elements at the end of the year and droughts and water shortages affecting the canal sections in the summer.
This has culminated in a brief paper outlining the major opportunities, and identifying a number of workstreams to address these items. Each one to be led by a trustee. We have asked branches to identify folk who might be able to assist with these activities. More detail is included in this issue.
The Trust also recognised that 2026 will be the 75 anniversary of formation of the original organisation campaigning for the saving of the Kennet and Avon canal.
The Kennet and Avon Canal Association was set up in 1951 and was the initial incarnation of what 11 years later became the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. We are hoping that we can celebrate this achievement and use it as a catalyst to strengthen the ideas and visions of the trust and its people. th
I am writing this in April and have just attended the first public appearance of the new electric Drive on Diana the Bruce Branch boat, at the Easter Fayre at Great Bedwyn. We have learnt a lot and with some small changes Diana will be performing without the diesel engine running this season. She will be making an appearance at the Reading Waterfest and will be providing some trips in the Reading area while on her brief sojourn.
I hope you enjoy this edition of The Butty and hope to meet with many of you over the coming year.
Graham Puddephatt
Reading Branch Updates
The winters rain and force of water, has led to recurrent flooding to the West of Reading. Members and residents attended meetings with West Berks councillors, accompanied by the local MP and with Reading councillors, with the Environment agency, The railway and Thames water. They explained what has been done so far, and the limitations of adaptations for abnormal conditions, which might be detrimental during normal times. When asked if the neighbouring councils and water authorities work together, the reply was not convincing. Given that the navigation runs through the same water meadow for the area under discussion, a joined-up approach may produce dividends. There have been promises of a follow up. The first meeting was in February…still waiting!
Maintenance on the trip boat Matilda has progressed well over the winter and spring, to prepare her for the coming season. We have repainted the cabin sides, refurbished much of the woodwork, and improved some of the electrics, including a new fuel gauge, and some USB charger sockets. We have also conducted our safety training starting with some online Zoom sessions, that we were able to do while the water was still a bit too fast to take the boat out. Once conditions allowed, we were able to put our crews through their paces rehearsing procedures for dealing with potential incidents.
We were invited to an interview with Paul Coia on BBC Radio Berkshire, and we hope we might have encouraged a few more to venture out for a boat trip. The season has started early this year. We have been running trips for four weeks from Burghfield at the Cunning Man, where the water is more predictable. We move to our usual starting point at Star Lane Wharf (Queens Road Car park) midMay. This feels like a good start to the season of trips.
We were sorry to hear that David Dare had passed away. He had been a good supporter of our endeavours to get our first Matilda trip boat up and running. He made an arrangement to provide us with a three-year trial, using a boat from his Oxfordshire Narrowboats base. David was a valuable supporter to the waterways and to the K&A specifically. He will be greatly missed.
We have some exciting News about Waterfest this year. The wonderful Mikron Theatre will be appearing on the Saturday evening. They travel the waterways on board narrowboat Tyseley, putting on shows at waterside venues along the way. Tyseley will still be further North so they will travel by road specially for us. The IWA will be promoting their “Fund British Waterways” Campaign. There will be some canoes that you can try for yourselves, and of course the famous Duck Race.
Maintenance for Matilda Too
We are always looking for more volunteers to help on the day, and can always accommodate more boats. If you would like to come and help or to bring your boat please email chair.reading@katrust.org.uk. You are of course welcome to just come and enjoy the day.
The Tea room at Aldermaston is now open on its summer hours. Siobhan and Liz have been building a strong contingent of regulars. They give a discount to KACT members which is an excellent reason to sample another wonderful piece of cake. Liz ran the London Marathon this year, not the first time but is the first time she has entered on the ballot system. Congratulations Liz!
We continue to have Branch meetings on the 3 Tuesday of the month. These are held at The Cunning Man in Burghfield. We do also run a Zoom session so folk can join and enjoy the speaker and join in the discussion. We have had presentations from author Victoria Owens talking about her book about the life of LTC Rolt. One of our members remembers working with Tom Rolt. A photo that was shown included Tom Rolt taking Cressey along the K&A with Southcote Mill (Then a water pumping station) in the background. We had a talk about the National Waterways museum in Ellesmere Port focusing on items from the GWR days of the Kennet and Avon.
Ali Cannon, one of our Trustees, spoke about her book ‘Victorian Boating Holidays on The Thames & Severn Canal and The Stroudwater Navigation’ looking at Victorian leisure boating on our lovely waterway, which was very well received.
Best regards GrahamP
“Reading on Kennet and oh so near the Thames”....Daniel Defoe 1724
Newbury Branch Updates
Following the heavy Spring rains of the previous years we have prudently set the start of the season for the Jubilee for early May. This year we will also experiment with 3 trips per day in the peak Summer as well as 2 public trips on Fridays
Sadly, we are not planning for Christmas trips this year as the disappointment for customers when we can’t move the boat due to the river being in flood is too great.
We will attend Reading Water Festival in June and the transit down and back will give many of the crew the opportunity to enjoy different river sections and locks as well as running trips on the day of the festival We also expect to add some popular Beer and Gin Tasting trips
Ready for the season we have been running training sessions, with the pictures showing lovely blue skies. As of the time of writing (late April) we are still working through the tasks required to renew the Passenger Certificate and expect this to complete in time for the first trips. The Jubilee has also had a ‘spruce up’ –fresh black on the hull and the inside and outside repainted
We have had a great intake of new volunteers this season – 6 so far who have attended EST and are now booking as “trainee” on trips. We also have interest in becoming Helm (and ultimately Boat Master) which is great for the future
Meanwhile, the public trip bookings look good and we have already taken several charter bookings, so the prospects for a busy Summer are great.
Jubilee on training run
Practising emergency evacuation
Hungerford Branch Updates
It has been an eventful few months for the Rose of Hungerford.
Santa cruises went well and were enjoyed by all.
Replacing the worn section of the hull was successfully completed and the galley and toilet have been replaced, the toilet being extended to improve access for people with a disability and if necessary, their carer. The changes to the galley have produced some difficulty; storage space has been reduced and the small shop for souvenirs has gone. A new automatic fire detection and suppression system has been fitted to the engine compartment to comply with MCA requirements at very significant expense, on top of the massive expenditure on the hull, galley and toilet. Rose’s crew have been instructed that the system must not be touched under any circumstances!
Essential safety training is great fun for the trainers, less so for those undergoing the stressful scenarios which are put together! Managing a passenger who had suffered a stroke produced significant concern for outside crew, who feared that a genuine emergency had arisen.Managing a child overboard with its mother jumping in after it proved challenging, to say the least. Let’s hope it never happens for real.
We are lucky to have a number of new volunteers this season; getting full crews was often a problem last year, so their joining us is most welcome. We look forward to another successful season.
Galley and toilet area before reconstruction
Mother and child overboard
Defibrillator training
Bruce Branch Updates
Easter Monday saw the culmination of months of hard work by Bruce Boats volunteers: the launching of Diana as an electric boat
The project was funded by a generous legacy in memory of Graham Thompson who had enjoyed a holiday on one of the boats back in the 1990s, and we were delighted that some of his family, Sandra and Richard Pilborough, were able to travel up from Kent to attend
The ceremony took place in the context of our Easter Fayre, so there were lots of people watching as the console was unveiled by Ellie and Florence
Then the Mayor of Marlborough turned the start key and we were off down the canal, accompanied only by a faint purring from the motor and the sound of bubbling water As we turned at the winding hole, it felt slightly surreal to have no engine noise, and everyone commented on how relaxing it was. Even the sun came out to see what we were up to!
KACT’s first electric boat has been a long time coming, due to one thing and another, and huge thanks are due to Bo Franklin, Tim Pyatt, and their team for seeing this project through to fruition amid everything else, and keeping it well under budget The beauty of the way the hybrid propulsion is set up is that the boat can still be run with the diesel engine for holiday hires and on electricity for day trips So if you know a group or family who would like a day out on a wheelchair-accessible electric boat, we should love to welcome you aboard
Ali Cannon
Crofton Branch Updates
The Trust purchased a small stone and brick-built building that sits on the Crofton site in November 2023. The building was almost certainly the old Smith’s shop during most of Crofton’s life and has obviously been used as a workshop for a very long time.
When the building was bought from Canal and River Trust it had already been used for a number of years as a hot workshop by Crofton volunteers although it had fallen into disuse and become a glory hole. By coincidence, we had had a major reorganisation of our crew room and workshops, and the possibility of using the Smithy for something else arose. The following considerations came into play:
Over the last two seasons two of our volunteers had been running a pop-up tea tent from a gazebo in the grounds. This worked extremely well, and proved to be a good, reliable source of additional income for Crofton. It also improved the visitor experience for the first time since the pre-Covid years, our visitors could get a drink and light refreshments. However, the gazebo was large, heavy, and did not stand up well to Crofton’s breezy weather. Neither did the volunteers who had to set everything up every steaming and then put everything away again at the end!
We have our own Learning and Community Engagement Officer who has worked with many local schools to encourage young people’s interest in the STEM subjects at school (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This has proved to be highly successful and very popular, however having a space for groups of children that is easily adapted to learning and project development was a problem.
Could the Smithy give us a solution for both needs?
As you can see, the Smithy was in a parlous state, full of redundant tools, clutter, several inches of accumulated grime with rotten windows and doors. It was damp, cold and looked and felt very small. Well, Crofton volunteers like a challenge so after a short discussion a feasibility plan/proposal was created and the Branch committee accepted it.
We divided roles, one of our catering volunteers acted as “client” and another volunteer as project manager with back up from “the Client”. Crofton is lucky with its volunteer base, we have electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters and decorators, welders and a small army of volunteers who can turn their hands to everything from trenching to floor laying. A core group rose to the challenge, leaving others to carry out our normal winter works programme.
The old tool bench
The first job was to clear the Smithy of its tools, its clutter and its dust. After selling some scrap, filling a skip, and our Henry cleaners many times, the true size of the room became apparent. We were blessed with a room that could function very well with a catering area at one end and a large open space at the other. This space is versatile and gives us room for groups of children and adults to work on projects or use the space as a meeting area.
Work began in October 2024, with the clearing of the decks and a survey and wood treatment of the roof timbers. A massive clean-up operation followed, everything from the roof lining to the floor, the walls and beams were hoovered, washed and painted. The massive roof trusses and lintels received the same treatment, restoring them to their original black. At this point the electricians stepped in, installing new heating, lighting, a frost watcher, and circuits for water heaters, chillers and AV wiring for talks and demonstrations. Plumbers also moved in and the space got a bit crowded at times! Remember, we only work on Tuesdays and every other Saturday (during the closed season) with those Saturdays doubling as open days, the pressure was on.
Christmas came and went, progress oscillated from rapid to slow depending on volunteer availability and the fact that there simply wasn’t room for us to all fit in. Many volunteers gave several extra days to keep the project on time.
In the bitter cold of a Crofton winter volunteers dug trenches to bring a new power supply to the Smithy, and to connect the sink drain to the septic tank.
We have just completed a highly successful first day of operation during our Great Easter Steam up. We had a duo of visiting musicians sit and play for us and our visitors outside the Smithy while our guests enjoyed tea, cake and a wonderful spot to sit.
Just to finish with a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers, those who focused on the Smithy and those that had to cover for all our normal winter works. We were supported in our efforts by a grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation, to whom we are extremely grateful. We also found that the generosity of some of our suppliers was very great indeed. We laid a new wooden floor over the old concrete floor and a scaffold company donated the number of scaffold boards we needed to completely cover the floor. Other companies and individuals discounted their material costs with the result that we were able to hold our budget to well below our original estimate. I would like to thank all those who worked so hard, often in difficult circumstances to complete such a big project in a very short time.
Some of our volunteers
Devizes Branch Update
After a busy December with our Santa trips selling out we thought we may have a rest but Kenavon Venture, in common with the Trusts’ other passenger boats, has had an interesting few months over the winter preparing for our in water and out of water MCA surveys alongside fitting of the fire detection and suppression system in the engine space But thanks to the small team involved with this, all went well with the surveys except for the challenge of understanding where the new fire suppression kit should be fitted in the engine compartment.
This was completed just in time for our first trips on Mother’s Day which were both full with lots of happy mums
Bookings for other trips are going well along with a lot of interest in charters. We have got off to a good start.
In March our KV crew skittles team met with The Wilts and Berks Canal volunteers for our annual skittles challenge where we continued our winning streak over the last few years and retained the Trophy plate.
The popular jigsaw swap is going from strength to strength where visitors to the Wharf Building are able to swap, donate or buy jigsaws or perhaps just have a cup of tea. This helps contributions to the Trusts funds.
Canal and River Trust engineers completed work in March replacing gates in locks 33 and 40 on Caen Hill flight. During the work visitors were able to view inside the lock.
Another victory for KV crew skittles team!
Bradford on Avon Branch Updates
Look out 2025 – here comes the Barbara Mac!
In the past couple of years the boat has benefitted from the arrival of some lovely new volunteers who of course bring “fresh eyes” on things. I hit on the idea of gathering together this group of ten crew – some of whom have been helping out with a number of behindthe-scenes tasks and all of whom are interested in how the boat runs, committed to moving forward and keen to see things develop. But it’s not a committee as no-one wants to be part of anything as dry and dull as that. The discussion ranged from how to attract new crew to ideas to ensure the Santa trips run but get a makeover and most important of all – people offered to make things happen. Posters, flyers, social media posts were produced advertising a “taster trip” for prospective new crew and our “key players” went in to overdrive advertising via Parish Magazines, shop noticeboards, boat windows and talking to their neighbours.
The result? A whopping 26 people got in touch to book a place on our trip to find out more. Plans were drawn up to ensure that the attendees received a basic “induction” during the afternoon and were invited to return for their Essential Safety Training. Background information was emailed out including the KACT Volunteer Handbook, New Crew FAQs, details about uniform purchase. A small group of “key players” undertook to deliver different parts of the induction. Movement of prospective volunteers around inside the boat was planned like a military campaign.
22 potential new recruits came on the day and they have all completed registration forms. Amazing. We look forward to them signing up on the roster and us getting to know them as they find their way around helping to run our trips. Whoop, whoop!
At the end of the initial gathering of key players, it was clear that this session had been a huge success. I could hardly believe it when they said they’d like to meet again during the year So a second doodle poll resulted in our second meeting
This time, the issues aired included merchandise, how to make the best use of space on our table top menus, how we might train and integrate possibly the largest number of new recruits in the history of the boat and how to develop the role of Crew Manager
Bite-sized training opportunities- Knots, Lock operations, Basic First Aid, Assisting with mooring & casting off for example - will hopefully aid retention and build confidence.
It is so refreshing to work with this fabulous group and know that they are supportive of all we are trying to achieve I can’t wait for the next time we all gather together
Lesley Hooper Chair - Bradford on
Avon
Bath and Bristol Branch Updates
I took over from David Fearns as chair of the Bath and Bristol Branch last year and should like to thank him for everything that he has done over the years at this end of the navigation.
B&B is a strange branch, because we do not have a boat or a building to provide a focus for activities, but various volunteers help in this section. We have renewed our adoption agreement with CRT of the river section from locks 1 to 7 and do gardening at the locks. In particular, with the help of Saltford Guides, we plant flowers and keep Lock 1 at Hanham looking nice to welcome people to the Kennet & Avon as they leave the Bristol Harbour Authority. We also have people doing litter picking. In the coming year I hope to move forward with other activities and to recruit new volunteers. If anyone has ideas or wants to get involved, then please let me know!
Edmund Cannon bathandbristol@katrust.org.uk
75th Anniversary of the Trust
IIn 2026 we celebrate 75 years since the formation in 1951 of the Kennet & Avon Canal Association, which became the Trust in 1962. Trustees have discussed how we might mark the anniversary and use it to enhance and develop our work
The anniversary is an opportunity to present our heritage, our reach and our expertise. Nobody knows the Kennet & Avon Canal like we do We hope to celebrate the achievements of the Trust, and present our plans for the future. We intend to engage with the Waterways authorities and promote our role in the protection and enhancement of the canal
We are planning a main launch event at Devizes, with further events throughout the year along the whole length of the canal We plan to engage with the Local Authorities in each area, to remind them of our role, and the importance of the K&A in their communities. The reopening of the canal in 1990 was marked by a narrow boat travelling along the whole length We hope for volunteers to be given the opportunity to travel along lengths of the canal to see parts they don’t normally see, as part of a continuous trip from end to end.
Next steps
A subgroup of trustees will be formed to bring in some non-trustee volunteers and work up more detailed proposals for consideration by Trust Council If you would like to be involved please contact your Branch chair to express your interest. There are contact details for the branch chairs in this edition, or on our website katrust org uk
Spring Poem
by Dru Marland
All night I heard the rolling waves
And woke to wonder at the greenThe ash is bursting into leaf.
So bright against the clouds, so brief
The sun that warms the hawthorn’s cream; All night I heard the rolling waves.
The tumbling rooks who misbehave Among the branches now are screened; The ash is bursting into leaf.
The mad-eyed heron, stealthy thief's
The one still thing in this wild scene
-All night I heard the rolling waves.
Blown blossom rafts the cut, and paves
The towpath where the damp now steams -the ash is bursting into leaf.
Though, tempering the joy, a grief
For long-passed dawns like this is keen,
All night I heard the rolling waves; The ash is bursting into leaf.
Locks on the CanalHungerford Marsh (73)
By Alison Cannon
Hungerford Marsh Lock can provide unexpected challenges for boaters It is almost always windy here, even when there is no wind elsewhere, and sometimes the cattle gather round the paddle gear as they queue for a drink in the canal: cattle-phobic lock crew, be warned!
The lock sits in the middle of Freeman’s Marsh, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the west of Hungerford Like the neighbouring locks, it was built between 1775, when the newspapers announced a meeting in The Bear Inn at Hungerford to agree the building of six locks between Hungerford and Oakhill Down, and 1799, when the canal was opened from Hungerford to Great Bedwyn An old road ran across the Marsh, so a swing bridge was constructed over the top of the lock – the cheapest way of accommodating a crossing of the canal.This is now one of only six (I think) lock-andswing-bridge combinations left in the country; Burnt Mill Lock on the edge of Great Bedwyn also originally had a swing bridge over it, but this was replaced by a fixed footbridge during restoration.
In the nineteenth century, the canal across the Marsh was a favourite haunt of fishermen – and even fisherwomen An anonymous writer who rowed the length of the canal in 1881 commented on “the number of ladies as well as gentlemen who with rod in hand dotted the banks, apparently enjoying the sport”. They must have been quite a sight, all clad in Victorian costumes!
Fishing around the lock became contentious in 1905, when complaints were made about the number of people getting the train from elsewhere to fish here on a Sunday afternoon. This was apparently prohibited, and fishing was reserved for the inhabitants of Hungerford, but the noticeboards on the towpath to this effect had fallen down
The canal at this time was known for its perch, roach, pike and chub; the trout for which Hungerford was famous stayed in the chalk-streams nearby: the rivers Dun and Kennet
When John Russell explored the canal in 1964 the lock, unused for the past fifteen years, was showing signs of decay and the balance beams had already fallen off the top gates It was to be another ten years before it was restored and then finally reopened in 1977
Today, it is one of many locks on the canal which carry the instruction that it should be left empty with bottom paddles up. On this lock, once the lock is empty, one of the bottom gates always swings open.This is annoying for boaters trying to fill the lock, but it is quite deliberate and there is unique reason for it. If the lock were full – or empty with the bottom gates closed – careless cattle losing their footing and slipping in would not be able to get out With the bottom gate open, there is a means of escape
Junior Division of the Trust
As we approach the 35 anniversary of the reopening of the canal in August, it is easy to forget the slow progress of restoration at the start. After the restoration of Sulhampstead Lock in 1968 there was a pause whilst the Trust’s efforts were directed elsewhere; assisting British Waterways explore a solution to the notorious Limpley Stoke ‘dry section’ and then to begin the restoration of the Widcombe Locks in Bath.
With no timetable yet in prospect for restoring the major engineering works, support was given to the formation of a ‘junior division’, encouraging school and youth groups to carry out essential maintenance on the longer uninterrupted lengths of waterway. In the mid-1960s the Long Pound and the five-mile pound were both choked with weed and quite impassable. Although the green coating of ‘duck weed’ was the most visible sign, the much denser Azolla grew from the bed as an aquatic fern and made a propeller unusable. The Long Pound had the potential of becoming navigable, being lock-free, so clearing the weed seemed a sensible place to start in planning for the restoration of the connection between Wooton Rivers and Devizes
On account of the thick weed, the only viable form of propulsion was a paddle drive, and the K & A Trust’s main passenger trip boat Charlotte Dundas had used this system for some years (see right), here using independently driven paddles either side of its narrow hull like a paddle steamer
A diesel engine powered them through a hydraulic drive, enabling efficient manoeuvring in tight spaces This became the model for all weed clearing boats on the long pound for many years to come.
During the 1960s the Trust benefited from the experience of a number of retired military officers, and the Junior Division was no exception, with its energetic chairman Captain John MansfieldRobinson. He set about obtaining suitable craft that could be adapted by schools and youth groups to operate weed-clearing equipment The obvious choice was the ex-War Dept. pontoon landing craft which were cheaply available through Government Surplus outlets Originally designed to be assembled in units of three, the centre section could carry a 56tonne Sherman tank when placed next to a series of identical units to form a river crossing pontoon Conveniently, when assembled, the three units measured 60 feet long with a beam of 6 feet, suiting the canal perfectly
A number of schools agreed to become involved in putting the idea into practice, and Dauntsey’s School, situated close to Devizes, started assembling a weed-clearing boat. However, this time the paddle drive was designed in the ‘Mississippi’ configuration, slung over the stern! This required some imagination to convey the drive from the engine to the paddles. The chosen method was to run a diesel-electric system with the engine near the boat’s centre, coupled to a 110 volt generator driving an electric motor. This was connected to a Morris Minor back-axle with its brake drums replaced by combine-harvester sprockets which drove the paddles using the original combine-harvester chains (see above) Hare-brained though it seemed, it worked efficiently and was able to work even in heavy weed conditions At the bow, a welded and counterbalanced weed basket was dipped into the canal as the boat moved along, then brought up when full and the weed unloaded into the ‘hold’ of the front pontoon for later disposal. With time, the work extended beyond weed clearing, including clearing fallen trees and branches and increasingly large quantities of
rubbish and scrap metal which had been deposited in the canal, especially on the outskirts of Devizes. A set of grappling hooks was made in the school’s forge and these proved ideal for pulling up everything from bicycles to numerous shopping trolleys.
In one weekend trip alone ten tons of scrap metal was removed from the canal between Devizes Wharf and Coate bridge (see above, tree clearing at Wilcot).
As a nod to the Junior Division’s chairman, the boat was named John Robinson and was developed over the years to allow longer trips with a cabin and stove for winter working, allowing overnight stays With the Charlotte Dundas usually operating between Devizes and Honey Street, the John Robinson was also fitted with retractable seating to allow public trips between Wilcot and Pewsey Wharf, long before the worries of MCA directives and public liability!
In 1971 the Trust was offered a commercially-built steel weed cutting boat by the Thames Conservancy, who had used it in the weedy backwaters of the Thames
Oddly, it was powered by a notoriously temperamental Ford petrol engine, and the vessel was equipped with a rather vicious ‘V’-shaped serrated weed cutting blade at the front and drove a pair of steel-lined timber paddles at the rear Steering was achieved by rotating the unit carrying the paddles from side to side, but this had to be done at low throttle otherwise it was liable to capsize!
The hull required much work as it was very corroded at the time of delivery, and the school decided on a vibrant orange colour (see below), and since it was finally launched three months after the release of Stanley Kubrick’s notorious film in 1972 it became known as Clockwork Orange!
In reality, its usefulness was limited as it had no means of lifting the weed once cut, and its instability was rather hazardous. A few years earlier Capt. Robinson, with ex-naval colleague Lt Cdr Hoyle, had planned to build a more ambitious weed-clearing boat which became known as Moonrake II This was an engineering challenge and required cooperation between several groups, of which the largest contributors were Commonweal School (now Academy) in Swindon and Dauntsey’s.
Like the John Robinson, the hull used an ex-War Department pontoon and the main power came from a twin-cylinder Lister diesel engine coupled to a large generator, but here the power was split five ways between twin independent paddles, a powered weed rake and two conveyer belts to move the weed deposited by the rake across the boat and on to the bank
In the view above, the power unit, cabin, paddles and weed rake have been completed – including the heavy counterweights necessary to balance the basket of saturated weed. Unlike the John Robinson the Moonrake was highly manoeuvrable on account of the independently controlled paddles Trials proved encouraging, but several minor improvements were made before the boat was put into regular use The load carried by the weed basket was considerable and so a braking mechanism needed to be fitted to the drive shaft to allow the basket to be ‘parked’ in various positions to allow safe unloading on to the conveyor belt. Finally, a pair of cams, or guides, was added to turn the basket upside-down when it reached the top of its travel. This can be seen with the boom-mounted rear conveyer belt in the left of the picture.
Clearly its success had become more widely known, for in early August 1971 the Central Office of Information arranged the filming of a short documentary made for distribution to a Nigerian network which was advising organisations seeking to clear long-standing weeded-up waterways there! In the photo above, the Nigerian presenter is preparing to narrate another ‘take’ of the weed-clearing sequence
With the opening of Wooton Rivers locks in June 1973 and rapid progress on the Crofton locks during 1974 and 1975, the dream of bringing more boat traffic back to the Long Pound became a reality. With nearly 20 miles of cruising possible, the weed-choked waterway that had become all too familiar since the 1950s was now just a memory, but would this have been possible without the tireless work of the Junior Division? I doubt it
Rob Dunton
Editors Note - Do you have memories of the Junior Division? We’d love to hear about them for inclusion in future editions of The Butty Please do contact me at thebutty@katrust org uk
Planning for the Future
The Trustees had an Away Day in February and, amongst other things, spent some time thinking about where we as a Trust are today and what we might need to consider for the future.
We reviewed the charitable objectives contained in our Articles of Association and were comfortable that we are on track – indeed with our supporters and volunteers, doing a great job of delivering against them. So our focus turned towards considering things that might present a challenge to us in the future Some priority areas emerged from this exercise, where the Trustees felt that we needed to do some further work.
We are sharing this with you now because we’d like to ask for your help in the work to gather existing knowledge, find out more and develop recommendations.
Improving Volunteer Recruitment and Retention (led by Terry Mundy)
Seeking and Securing Grants (led by Dee Nix)
Review of our offer to Members (led by Ali Cannon)
Canal Navigation Projections - CRT and Global Warming (led by Graham Puddephatt)
Boat Strategy - incorporating MCA requirements (led by Paul Hanson & Jerry Dixon)
Buildings Strategy (led by Graham Puddephatt & Rob Dunton)
Ideally, we will have approved recommendations from each Workstream in time for them to be incorporated into the 2026 Branch planning cycle
The Workstream leaders will be contacting branches both to seek input and find colleagues who could help with development of the recommendations for their Workstream Please feel free to contact your Branch Chair if you would like to get involved
A CCBM Course to Remember
By Ali Cannon
Five potential skippers.Two CCBM trainers (and the allimportant caterer!) One widebeam boat
Three days boating learning new skills and polishing old ones. Lots of emergency drills –evacuation, man overboard, windlass injury, fire. It was the last day and we were on our way back to Bedwyn, in the middle of the final Assessments All was going well. And then... We had just passed through the locks at Froxfield when black acrid smoke started pouring out from the engine around the floorboards and any other crack it could find.
“Smoke from the engine – we’ve got to evacuate”. The people on the bow were confused. We had just done an evacuation exercise
“No, this one’s for real We’ll pull the boat into the side. Can you get off?”
All the practice kicked in. No-one panicked.
With the engine off, the smoke gradually subsided and everything started to cool down. Even the rain stopped too After a while, we judged it safe to have a look But we wanted the boat to be in a secure position when we did so, with an easy means of escape in case things didn’t go well. A six-foot plank to the stern was not going to cut it
So we decided to tow Hannah to the bridge
Everyone was keen to find out what it was like to be a canal horse! Sheet bend, anyone? We used one of the stern ropes to make a longer centre line and towed from there
We didn’t want anyone standing above the recalcitrant engine to steer, so used bow and stern ropes to keep the boat straight. It went well, and soon Hannah was under the bridge and we very cautiously opened up the engine There was no obvious damage, but thankfully there was no more smoke.
By this time, our Boat Manager and newlyappointed Engineer were on their way to meet us It wasn’t a long-term solution to remain in the bridge-hole, so we decided to tow to Little Bedwyn where there would be easier road access, another 600m further on. At least we could put someone on the tiller this time! Our towing team leapt back into action, and we made good progress to Little Bedwyn.
We had lunch while the engineers inspected the engine Their early optimism that it would be a quick fix soon faded away: it looked as if it would need outside help.
We were now in a quandary In fact, two quandaries: firstly, how to finish the CCBM course and assess the final two candidates, and secondly, how to get Hannah back to Bedwyn or whether to leave her where she was.
In the end, we opted for a solution which would solve both. We were fortunate that we had a spare boat at the wharf and could juggle cars to get everyone back there Our CCBM-ers boarded Rachel and took her back to Little Bedwyn, completing their assessments on the way. Then they went home, newly-qualified skippers And now the real fun started. Could we use Rachel to tow Hannah back to base? How should we join them together?
Well, historic narrow boats – motor boats and unpowered butties – had two ways of being joined together: on a long tow rope when they were fully loaded, and on “cross straps” when they were empty.
We decided to give cross straps a go, creating in effect an articulated boat 120ft long and 11ft wide It worked beautifully! Rachel had no difficulty towing Hannah, and they glided together through the water as if they had been made that way However, we had three locks to get through, and being widebeams only one boat could fit at a time So, with our inner horses released once more, we towed Hannah by hand through each lock. This was fine until we got to the last one – when we discovered how useful the “split bridges” on the Stratford Canal (and others) really were, and wished the makers of the bridge at the tail of Burnt Mill Lock had had the same idea
It had been a long day.We had left Cobbler’s Lock before 9am that morning, and reached Bedwyn shortly after 8pm But it was deeply satisfying and we all went home feeling a sense of achievement, having done something we had never done before And we just hope the engine can be fixed before going out again on hire. But that will be after the Butty goes to press, so you will have to ask if you want to know the end of the story!
Ali Cannon
Rubbish Collection!
The “Barbara McLellan” is based on what must be one of the busiest parts of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Bradford on Avon. It certainly feels like that at certain times during the main boating season with queues of boats waiting to enter the lock from both directions, which leads to delays and mooring difficulties for our boat.
One of the other consequences of working on such a busy stretch is the amount of rubbish, lost equipment and other items that finds its way into the canal, and over recent years the “Barbara Mac” has unfortunately picked up more than its fair share of it, almost always wrapped around the prop shaft and propellor. Not all of it is visible to our crew unfortunately, despite them keeping a constant lookout Our collection has included:
· A whole car tyre
· A parking bollard (not a cone)
· A complete 2 metre long ratchet strap
· Various lengths of blue polypropylene rope
· Rags, wire, flags, plastic bags
· Various other assorted (and quite surprising!) bits and pieces
The photos show some of the offending articles removed.
Some of this offending rubbish can be removed through the weed hatch but on our boat this is in a small and difficult to access space in the engine room which usually requires the removal of one of the access ladders to give enough room to remove the hatch.
As the weed hatch is small, working one-handed makes it difficult, if not impossible, to remove a lot of what gets wound around the prop shaft and propellor. With effort (and choice language at times) we can usually remove the small bits of offending rubbish However at times more serious action is necessary.
· At least twice we have had to put the boat into the drydock across from our mooring to remove the tyre, parking bollard and thick wire. This has relied on the generosity of the owner to make the dock available at very short notice, sometimes altering or delaying work on his own boats. Fortunately we have a very good working relationship with the operator of the drydock Finding drydock time at short notice is sometimes impossible and we have reluctantly had to cancel boat trips on occasion
· We’ve had to hitch a tow from another boat to bring us back to our mooring not the easiest or best thing to do but necessary when all else fails and a bit embarrassing!
· On one occasion we lost all power at Avoncliff and paid for taxis to take passengers back to Bradford on Avon Try persuading a reluctant taxi driver to come out to Avoncliff
We’ve sculled the boat back where the distance has been short exhausting
For the future we’ve been talking to the boat hire company across from us who may be able to send one of their boats to help us if we lose some or all power.
So, the question is “Are we just unlucky working as we are on a busy stretch of the canal, or do other boats have the same trouble ?” Answers on a postcard please.
Mike Bailey
Join the Kennet &Avon Canal Trust
Members receiveTwo copies of Trust Membership magazine, The Butty, a year Free Entry to Crofton Beam Engines (or discounted entry for special events) Opportunity to attend and vote at our annualAGM katrust.org.uk/support-us
