Inland Waterways Associaiton, Lancashire & Cumbria Branch, Towing Path Topics, May 2019

Towing Path Topics Newsletter of the Inland Waterways Association Lancashire & Cumbria Branch

May 2019

DISCLAIMER The views expressed in Towing Path Topics are not necessarily those of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) or of its North West Region or of the Lancs and Cumbria Branch. They are, however published as being of interest to our members and readers.

Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless so stated. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter.

No reproduction is permitted without acknowledgment.

Cover: Opposite ends of the Lancaster Canal April 2019

Photograph acknowledgements:

Page 6 IWA Page 8 Daniel Adamson Preservation Society Page 9 Kingfisher Cruises website Page 16 CRT Page 18,19&29 John Hewerdine Page 26,27 Frank Sanderson Page 30,31 Wendy Humphreys All others the editor

Common initials used in the newsletter: IWA Inland Waterways Association CRT Canal and River Trust LCT Lancaster Canal Trust LCRP Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership WRG Waterway Recovery Group

Copy date for next edition 29th August 2019 The editor retains the right to edit any article or letter submitted for publication.

Editor: David Faulkner 22 Moorland Road, Langho, Blackburn BB6 8EX Tel. 01254 249265 Email david.faulkner@waterways.org.uk

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Editor’s comment This edition is almost exclusively devoted to the Lancaster Canal and events to celebrate the bi-centenary of its completion in June 1819.

See page 12 onwards for some of the events that are planned. For the latest information go to the CRT website which lists their own events plus information supplied by other organisations.

The major event for this branch is the Trailboat Festival to be held on the Northern Reaches adjacent to the Westmorland Showground on Saturday 1st June to the 3rd. This will be in conjunction with Country Fest over that weekend (see page 17). We hope that if you can only make it to one event you choose this one.

The Festival committee is led by Wendy Humphreys, one of her many tasks in addition to our branch chair. Her hard work on behalf of local waterways was recognised by the NW Region when she was presented with the Kenwin Trophy at the region social that we hosted in April (also organised by Wendy!), see page 28. The trophy is awarded to an IWA member in recognition of outstanding work and is very well deserved. (Unfortunately due to the indisposition of the region secretary the trophy was not actually at the social—the best laid plans …).

Wendy has already planned the social programme for the next winter season (page 34) so you have no excuse for not having the dates in your diary (and on the kitchen calendar in my case, an IWA one of course). It would be good to see more of you at our meetings.

Please send any news, comments, complaints etc to me at the address opposite. On page 26 you will see photographs sent by Frank Sanderson of damage to bridges for instance. If you learn of canal-side planning applications that give you concern inform our committee member Jim Nott who is doing sterling work monitoring as much as he can in conjunction with CRT. Enjoy your summer, next edition will be September. David 3

Branch Chair’s Report Welcome to the spring edition of Towing Path Topics in 2019 which will be a busy year for us all as we help celebrate the 200 th anniversary of the opening of the Lancaster Canal.

We had our AGM in February, thanks to all who came, the officers of the branch were all elected again and at the committee meeting following the AGM I was again elected to the role of chairman, so thanks for that (I think!).

We had to cancel our January social meeting which is a first as far as I can remember, the weather was really bad and freezing and we thought this would affect turnout for what promised to be a really interesting meeting. I was certainly snowed in. Those of you who were looking forward to hearing about the restoration of the Daniel Adamson will be pleased to hear that the meeting has been rescheduled for the 31st of October and I hope to see you then.

You may also remember that there was a planned restoration event on the Daniel Adamson due to held at Albert Dock, this also had to be cancelled, this time because of lack of water on the canal. This event has also been rescheduled for the 21 st and 22nd of September, the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership (LCRP) and Lancaster Canal Trust will be there on the ‘Danny’. (See page 8) The February meeting was our AGM followed by a nostalgia evening led by Audrey Smith, that was interesting and brought back lots of memories. In March our speaker was our vice chair, Tony Dunning who gave an illuminating talk about electric boats (from small dinghies to the Queen Mary 2) one of his other interests.

The programme for September 2019 to April 2020 is all planned and there are more details in this magazine.

As well as our social meetings the branch also hosted this year’s IWA Region Social and at that meeting I was awarded the Kenwin Trophy, thanks to those who nominated me and who work hard to support me and the branch. The branch also nominated the Lancaster Canal Trust to receive the Tetlow Trophy and they were awarded this at the Region Social. It was a good event and there is more about it in this magazine.

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I have attended Lancaster Canal Trust meetings as the branch representative and have got involved in planning for the bicentenary, again more of that later in the magazine. The highlight of the year, for us at least will be the IWA National Trailboat Festival.

I attended the CRT Trustees reception in March along with Audrey Smith and this was a good opportunity to network and to promote the IWA. I also continue to attend LCRP meetings.

The branch has offered to take part in the IWA Branded Merchandise project which will mean we will be selling IWA merchandise at our events, this is a pilot and is aimed at promotion rather than making a profit, we will have to keep detailed records but will be allowed to keep the proceeds from anything we sell. I expect to receive the merchandise any time soon and look forward to seeing it. (Page 6) We have also been given/loaned an IWA sales kit; this consists of one of the new gazebos as well as other things such as banners and bunting. The bunting had its first outing at the Region Social and the other things will be used well during the year.

My report wouldn’t be complete without taking this opportunity to thank all the other members of the committee, all of whom work hard in their own ways to benefit the IWA and our branch. Sir Robert continues to attend our meetings when he can and offers us advice and support. He is also working hard for IWA at National level and using his skills and contacts as a politician to benefit the IWA. Janet Dunning continues as membership officer and is doing a really good job. Tony Dunning who is the vice chair of the branch offers me lots of support. Tony and Janet also give a lot of help at our social meetings. David Faulkner does an excellent job as treasurer and multi tasks as editor, I am sure you will agree he does an excellent job of that. Then there is Audrey Smith who works so hard for the IWA both locally and nationally. Jim Nott is doing a wonderful job of planning officer for the branch and has already responded to several planning reports and Maralyn Nott is doing a really good job as secretary.

Of course we still need new committee members, in particular a Sales Officer, we are trying our best with Sales but a dedicated officer would be able to do much more, let me or another member of the committee know if you are interested.

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And finally just as we are getting into the Lancaster Canal bi centenary year, there is another important anniversary coming up. 2021 is the 75th anniversary of the forming of the IWA, this branch organised lots of activities for the 50th anniversary so we need to start to think about what to do for the 75th anniversary.

Hope you all have a good summer, hope to see you at some of our events and hope the canals have a bit more water this year!

Wendy Humphreys

Branded Merchandise Project

You may have read about this project in the Waterways Bulletin, our branch asked to take part and we have been chosen to do so.

The project is a trial of a small range of IWA branded merchandise which is taking place this year. This has been organised by the Marketing Committee and Chesham’s marketing team have created 6

the attractive interpretations of IWA’s brand and logos that appear on the merchandise. Eight branches have agreed to sell the stock at events around the country - and hopefully also to members etc. at socials and other meetings.

The overall purpose of the trial is to market IWA and its brand to the public and current membership - and encourage new membership sign ups. It is widely felt that branches do not have any IWA core product to sell in their gazebos or stands and this merchandise will provide an attractive and eye catching display.

Additionally the products are designed to encourage conversations with the public - especially for those volunteers who have a natural reluctance.

The initial stock, repeat allocations and display material are all being provided to the branches totally free of charge - all the money from the sales will be kept in branch funds. The funding for the trial has come from the marketing committee’s budget.

Some of the products allocated to our branch are listed below.

Cotton Shopping Bag Ball Pens (red) Leather bookmark Button badges with header card Cork back coasters with header card Mugs in individual display box A5 Notebook, lined & spiral bound Cotton tea towel, individually packed with header card A bowl in which to display the pens A sign holder A ‘donation’ type display box for the button badges A leaflet display unit that will hold portrait and landscape reading material.

We look forward to showing the stock at our events this year and using the opportunity to talk to people about the merchandise and the IWA.

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Restoring the North’s Abandoned Waterways In a unique partnership aimed at promoting the work of canal and waterway restoration societies to the public , the IWA is to host an exhibition with many of the societies involved in major restoration projects in the North West at the invitation of the team running the steam ship Daniel Adamson (The “Danny”). This “showcase” of the societies work and achievements will be held on the promenade deck of the “Danny” on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd September, entry at the exciting event will be entirely free.

The vessel is moored outside the Maritime Museum in the Liverpool’s Albert Dock complex and it will be open to the public from 10-30am till 4.00pm on both days There will be ten societies exhibiting from as far afield as the Lancaster Canal to the North, Montgomery Canal to the South and Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal to the East. Experts from the societies will be on hand to explain their current work and exciting plans to bring back into use some of the nation’s important transport history assets The 1903 built steamship is herself a wonderful example of restoration in the North West being fully restored to working order in a £5million restoration project part funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In the ship’s opulent art deco styled lounges visitors will be entertained to a full programme of informative presentations from a number of the organisations present and the IWA and CRT will have stands on the quayside.

The ship will be open for tours and light refreshments served in the galley

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Kingfisher Cruise on the Lancaster Canal 17th of June Our branch outing this year will be on the trip boat ‘Kingfisher.’

Kingfisher usually operates from Barton Grange marina but our trip will be from Aldcliffe Road in Lancaster, we will meet at 9.45 and depart at 10am. The boat will take us to Hasty Brow and then return to Aldcliffe Road. We will make a half an hour stop at the Lune Aqueduct where we can have a look around. The trip will be a bit less than 3 hours.

We will be accompanied by Bill Froggatt, CRT Heritage Advisor and he will give us some history of the canal and the aqueduct.

This trip forms part of our Lancaster Canal bicentenary celebrations and we have opened it up to Lancaster Canal Trust members, it is also open to any other interested people.

There will be light refreshments for sale on the boat and you are welcome to bring your own picnic The cost of the trip will be £12 per person payable in cash on the day.

For more information about Kingfisher Cruises, how to get to Aldcliffe Road and parking, look at their website on www.kingfishercruise.co.uk Places on the trip are limited and must be booked in advance - contact Wendy Humphreys on delwendwhm@btinternet.com or 07763561572 to book a place.

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Lancaster

Canal & River Trust, Cumbria County Council, IWA, Kendal Town Council, Lancs County Council, Lancaster Canal Trust, Lancaster City Council and S Lakeland District Council

Canal

Regeneration Partnership

In the early part of the year the Project Officer appointed by the group, Helen Moriarty left her role as she has had an addition to her family, we wish her all the best and are grateful for all the hard work she has done for the partnership.

The partnership had been run by volunteers for many years and having a paid officer has certainly made a huge improvement. LCRP have recruited a new project officer and he has recently taken up his post. This is Richard Frank and he works for the Mersey Basin Trust who are providing the service to LCRP. So with Richard we also get the expertise and knowledge of the Mersey Basin Trust.

Kendal to Natland Update Work continues with the landowner to agree improvements to the towing path between Kendal and Natland.

Sport England The bid has been successful and it is hoped work will start soon.

Stainton Aqueduct CRT reported that work on the aqueduct started again in March and good progress is being made; the planned completion date is October this year. Carrie House has been appointed as Community and Engagement Officer as part of this project.

Lancaster Canal Trust The Trust’s volunteer’s continue to work hard lining the ‘first furlong’. Recently they were joined by members of NW Waterway Recovery Group for a week in a hastily convened work camp.

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The WRG Easter Canal Camp had to be cancelled but WRG NorthWest were able to use days originally planned for work on the Montgomery Canal to work on the Lancaster. It meant regular changes of personnel as people fitted in other commitments but valuable progress was made. Unfortunately the second Sunday was abandoned due to snow.

As regular readers will know, the technique being used to line the first furlong to prevent persistent leaks is a rubber membrane on top of a geotextile layer which is then protected by concrete blocks. The final 2 lorry loads of blocks have now arrived . This means that the last section will now be free to be lined with the blocks in place.

There is a problem however with the offbank on this section in that the large amount of water that drains from the adjacent fields, especially from the recent bad weather, has caused a small section to collapse.

This section may have to be dug out to install gabions to support the bank but this is still under investigation.

In the meantime bringing the liner up to the correct height along the banks and sealing it, then back filling the profiled lengths along the towpath side with the help of a small excavator are the main jobs.

Crooklands – Paddock gardening The ‘gardening’ group will be working on the old paddock next to the Stable at Crooklands on Friday 10th May starting at 10am. You’re welcome to join them, just turn up. (There will be other dates, contact chair@lctrust.co.uk to help with this or anything else.Ed) Hincaster Mid-week Summer Work Parties We are doing additional work during this Bicentenary summer to improve the Hincaster area for visitors. A team has already improved the steps up to the horsepath and to the lower viewing platform. The main work from now on will be strimming the paths at 6 weekly intervals and cutting back vegetation growth where necessary. The steps will also be kept clean and free of vegetation. Work will take place at both ends of the tunnel. If you are interested in helping please email David Gibson at damakepp65@gmail.com .

If you want to be informed of LCT news sign up for Robin Yates’ monthly newsletter at robin@phonecoop.coop

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Summary of Lancaster Canal Bicentenary Events so far See subsequent pages for more information Date

Event

11 Jun - ‘Barging past’ exhibition at Lancaster Maritime Museum 1 Sep 26 May

LC Boat Club weekend at the Ribble Link

1-3 June IWA Trailboat Festival & CountryFest, Crooklands 9 June

Myerscough open day and Country Fair (tbc)

15 June

Haslam Park, Preston—Exhibition in pavilions 10-3.00pm From 10.00am Balsam Bash

17 June

IWA branch Kingfisher boat trip (see page 9)

18June

This is the date the final section of canal was opened.

Press event at Tewitfield inc IWA branch stand Guided walk from Haslam Park + Exhibition open

22 June

CRT celebration & thank you event at Glasson, invite only.

23 June

CRT celebration and public open day in Lancaster City centre at the Triangle, Aldcliffe Road

22 & 23 June

Various events at Holme Village

5-7 July

Garstang Scarecrow Festival

23 July

IWA/LCT amble around Ribble Link

27 July

‘Kennet’ at Johnsons Hillock at L&L & LC junction

6 Sept

Bat walk at the Lune aqueduct

13-22 Sept

Heritage Open Days LCT Walks & Boat trips planned, details on HOD website

27 & 28 Sept

Kendal Torchlight Festival

12 Nov

Light Up Lancaster events

13 Nov

IWA/LCT canals celebration music event, Lancaster 12

Haslam Park, Preston The canal runs alongside the park.

Sat 15 June: 10am – 3pm Exhibition celebrating the canal’s 200 years – at the Friends of Haslam Park’s pavilions. Refreshments and toilets available. Parking near the park entrance off Blackpool Road.

From 10am - Balsam Bash. This is a joint IWA/LCT event with the ‘Friends’. We have done it for the past few years and we are making real progress in eradicating this invasive species, Himalayan Balsam. Pulling up the plants is easy and greatly satisfying. Bring a packed lunch.

Tues 18 June: 10am - 3pm 6 mile walk led by a Park Ranger taking in some of the canal towpath, Ribble Link and Guild Wheel, going in the Salwick direction. Start and finish at the Friends’ pavilions.

2pm – 8pm Exhibition celebrating the canal’s 200 years – at the Friends’ pavilions. It was 200 years ago today that the canal was completed.

Sat 22 June: 10am – 3pm Exhibition celebrating the canal’s 200 years – at the Friends’ pavilions.

CRT Photograph Competition Launched on 1 April, the Lancaster Bicentenary photo competition will last through the summer season.

The closing date is 31 October.

It is hoped to host a programme of pop-up galleries to show-case the best entries throughout the year.

The competition is free and open to all. To submit a photo, entrants simply upload a photo of the Lancaster Canal to the CRT website (go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk and search for LC photo comp) or share it on Instagram or Twitter with #Lanc200.

Prizes will include goody bags for the top runners up and the winning entry will be printed onto canvas for the lucky winner.

It looks like our branch may provide some of the judging panel.

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Holme Village We are planning a series of events over the weekend of 22/23 June including:

Saturday/Sunday 10.00a.m. – 4.00p.m. Holme Images In partnership with the Parish Hall, there will be an exhibition of artwork and photographs which have Holme village as their theme. All are welcome to submit exhibits. Details can be obtained from Pat Fell (01524 781977).

Sunday 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m. Canoe Time Trials Two competitors per canoe will paddle between Bridge 150 (School) to Bridge 151 (Warehouse Bridge) to achieve the best time. Children of Primary School age will have to be partnered by an adult.

Paint-Out A number of artists will be setting up their easels along the canal bank to paint scenes and their work will be sold by auction towards the end of the exhibition on Sunday afternoon. All are welcome to come and paint. Contact Karen Morton (01524 782653) Sunday 1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. The Black and White Canal Walk A mass walk from Tewitfield, meeting at The Longlands Hotel, will walk the 4 miles along the towpath back to Holme. In acknowledgement of the fact that coal was transported up the canal from the Lancashire coal fields and limestone was carried in the opposite direction, walkers are asked to wear black and white clothing, and there will be flags and bunting. (Contact Geoff Pegg.)

Sunday 4.00 p.m. BBQ at The Smithy Inn All are welcome to partake of excellent barbecue fare outside the rear of The Smithy Inn. Holme Community School will also be involved in the celebration on the actual day of the anniversary (18th June).

More details of the events will be given nearer the time, but we hope for a large village turnout. There may be further additions to the day later.

Geoff Pegg, on behalf of the Canal 200 Working Group.

(Any questions, phone me on 01524 781184 gpegg21360@aol.com.)

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or

e-mail

Garstang Scarecrow Festival This is an annual event that takes place in Garstang in July. CRT is linking with the event organisers and Wyre Council to highlight the Lancaster Canal in its Bicentenary year. There will be an arts project lead by Wyre to have installations along the Lancaster Canal in Garstang tying in with the scarecrow festival but also celebrating the history of the Lancaster Canal and the Bicentenary year.

Branch events details Tuesday July 23rd Short walk (more of an amble) round the Ribble Link. Meet at the UCLAN sports arena at 1.00pm then coffee/snacks at the café.

The arena is at Tom Benson Way, Lea, Preston PR2 1SG. Wednesday November 13th Celebration music event at the Lansil Club, Lancaster. Doors open at 7.00 for 7.30pm, finish at 10.30pm.

Sid Calderbank from the Lancashire Society, the theme is ‘canals’.

More details nearer the time.

CRT Education programme The Explorers team are liaising with schools along the line of the Lancaster Canal to start a programme of education events and activities.

Our Ladies Catholic College will be bringing 200 Year 7 students children to the Lune Aqueduct on 3 July. This will be a great way to promote 200 for 200. We are also hosting school learning events on 16 July and 26 June and we will be supporting these activities with boat trips between Lancaster and Lune. Plus 2 trips on a horsedrawn boat in May. Stone mason, Alan Ward, will be attending schools with our Explorers team to deliver a heritage learning segment based on traditional masonry, with students modelling their own masons mark into clay bricks.

Trust ecologist, Diane Rollin, will be leading on a bat walk event and a bio-blitz activity day, looking and recording wildlife at Lune Aqueduct.

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CRT milestone replacement project As part of the Lancaster Canal Bicentenary Celebrations, we are planning a legacy project to complete a programme of milestone replacements.

The project will engage local communities and volunteers to help us install the replacement milestones along the line of the Lancaster Canal.

With support from Lancaster Canal Trust, we have reviewed missing and damaged milestones to produce a comprehensive list of requirements and have engaged Alan Ward, a local stone mason, to fabricate the milestones in a traditional style. In addition to fabrication, Alan will also be undertaking a programme of youth engagement in partnership with our Explorers team, going into local schools and delivering talks and interactive sessions around the traditions of stone masonry, working with the Canal & River Trust.

Alan will use a team of stone mason apprentices, teaching them the traditional skills of his craft.

The original design changed part way along the canal so 2 types will be produced. The milestones are extremely heavy so putting them in place will be a manual handling challenge. The stones will be engraved rather than using metal plates as these get prised off.

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IWA National Trailboat Festival 2019 Plans are well ahead for the IWA National Trailboat Festival which will be a major part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Lancaster Canal. The event will be held at Country Fest at Westmorland County Agricultural Society Show Ground at Crooklands on 1st and 2nd of June. There will also be activities for boaters and Trailboat Festival people on Friday night and on Monday there will be our awards day for boaters. We have invited lots of VIPs to attend on Monday and after the award ceremony there will be a sail along the canal and a guided look around the works at Stainton Aqueduct.

Over 20 boats have booked into the festival and more are still applying, come along and enjoy the spectacle of boats on the Northern Reaches. There will be boat trips on the canal provided by the Lancaster Canal Trust trip boat ‘Waterwitch’ and canoe rides with Bendrigg Trust.

We hope lots of people will stay for the illuminated boat parade on Sunday Night, this will be at 9.30 as it doesn’t get dark much before then.

We already have lots of organisations booked in for the Trailboat Festival, including; IWA National Stand providing waterways promotion and sales.

Our branch stand, complete with our new IWA gazebo providing WOW activities for children.

Lancaster Canal Trust, promoting the Lancaster Canal.

RNLI. Canal and River Trust.

Canal Arts and Crafts.

Waterway Recovery Group providing their ever popular Drive a Digger.

And as well as the Trailboat Festival there will be all the attractions of Country Fest.

We hope as many members as possible come along to enjoy the festival, don’t forget to come along to our stand and say hello.

More information and boat entry forms for the Trailboat Festival are available on the IWA website.

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J

Judging boats at a previous festival

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Tramway Bridge in Preston is closed Some of you will have read about this in Waterways World or heard about it from other sources. The Tramway Bridge is reported to be in a dangerous state and has been closed to the public. The bridge which was built in the 1930’s on the site of the former Tramway Bridge passed into the ownership of Preston City Council many years ago and an inspection earlier this year showed corrosion and deterioration. Lancashire County Council then closed the bridge and the riverside footpath below it on safety grounds.

Michael Nye started a facebook group and petition which collected some 4k signatures in a few days.

Mindful that we are celebrating the Bicentenary of the Canal this year you will be pleased to hear that Sir Robert Atkins our North West Region Chairman has written to the Chair of Lancashire County Council protesting about the closure.

Sir Robert has had a reply to say that while the bridge is owned by Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council has a responsibility for safety and that is why they have closed the bridge.

The reply does however go on to say that Lancashire County Council is working with Preston City Council and user groups to look at the best way forward.

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A brief history of the Lancaster Canal (Not all of our readers will be familiar with the canal so I thought it might be useful to provide some information Ed)

Situated on the west coast Lancaster was an important port for trade with America in the 18th century. As ships got bigger the difficulties of navigating the Lune estuary increased and more traffic diverted to Liverpool.

A canal from Kendal to Preston via Lancaster was proposed, initially with a link to Liverpool passing through Leyland to join the Leeds and Liverpool Canal which had been started in the 1770’s.

Subsequently John Rennie was employed to survey a route and he recognised the importance of transporting coal as demonstrated by the Bridgewater Canal. Rennie’s proposal was Kendal to Preston as before but then towards Chorley and east of Wigan to Westhoughton and the Lancashire coalfields.

The main cargoes would be coal from south to north and limestone, used for soil conditioning and construction, in the opposite direction.

(Hence it being known as ‘the black and white canal’). Rennie proposed a broad canal for such bulk cargoes and it was constructed for barges of 14 feet width, 72 feet length.

Construction started in 1792. The southern end from Wigan to Walton Summit south of Preston and the lock-free length from Preston to Tewitfield north of Lancaster had been completed by the turn of the century.

This northern section included Rennie’s magnificent aqueduct over the River Lune.

The River Ribble was a more difficult obstacle to be crossed. There was insufficient money to build the 3-arch aqueduct that Rennie had designed. A ‘temporary’ tramway was constructed through Preston to join the 2 lengths of canal. The first horse-drawn train on the partly completed tramway was in June 1803; the 2 halves were joined the following January.. The tramway was not simple to construct, it had 2 inclined planes at Penwortham and Avenham with steam engines to haul the wagons using a continuous chain. At Walton Summit the canal split into 3 basins with tramroad tracks between them.

After a long dispute with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Company that canal took over the section from Wigan to Johnson’s Hillock. In 1813 22

authorisation was given to complete the canal to Kendal. This section included the 8 locks at Tewitfield and the 345-yard Hincaster Tunnel plus construction of Killington Reservoir to supply water. The canal was officially opened on 18 June 1819 by the Mayor of Kendal.

The canal was a commercial success, the cheap coal led to the rapid expansion of industry in Preston and Lancaster. It was also used for passenger traffic with swift packet boats or ‘fly-boats’ offering a faster and more comfortable alternative to the poor road system. By 1826 a branch had been constructed to Glasson Dock further increasing trade.

The Glasson Branch had been opposed by Preston shareholders who wanted the money spent on a Ribble aqueduct but the Lancaster men were keen to provide an alternative to the River Lune for access to the sea . Shallow-draft Mersey flats could carry up to 80 tons to Preston or Kendal via Glasson, benefitting Kendal in particular (justifying the previously under-used Lune aqueduct).

As with most canals the Lancaster Canal eventually succumbed to competition from the railways and the last cargo was carried in 1947.

Despite protests the line of the canal north of Tewitfield was cut by the M6 motorway in the 1960’s. The section above Tewitfield is known as ‘The Northern Reaches’ - the Lancaster Canal Trust, the IWA and the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership are working to eventually restore it to navigation.

The lock-free navigable section from Preston to Tewitfield is ideal for leisure boating. In 2002 the ‘Millennium Ribble Link’ was opened at the southern end to link the canal to the main system via the River Ribble and the River Douglas.

For more information see: ‘The complete guide to the Lancaster Canal’ 6th edition published by the Lancaster Canal Trust £6.50 from LCT c/o Lancaster District CVS, The Cornerstone, Sulyard Street, Lancaster LA1 1PX ‘200 years of the Lancaster Canal—an illustrated history’ by Gordon Biddle ISBN 9781526704344 RRP £25.00 Hardback Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley S70 2AS Tel: 01226 734222 Or order online at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Postage and packing £4, free delivery on orders over £30 (They had an offer that if you quote the reference LC200 you get 25% discount and proceeds go to LCT. Not sure if it still applies, Ed) 23

The Kendal end of the canal as it is now.

The former ticket office (left) is still part of the factory that took over the warehouses (see right).

The original terminus is now a council depot and recycling centre, just north of the photo below.

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Lancaster Canal Bridges Damaged The Tramway Bridge in Preston isn’t the only bridge with problems.

At least 2 bridges over the Northern Reaches have again suffered damage from large lorries. Frank Sanderson sent the following photos taken in January.

Crooklands bridge 166, not for the first time.

Built for horses and carts, not really fit for 44t artics.

Both North parapet (shown) and South parapet damaged. One of the parapet stones had to be fished out of the canal.

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Seven Milestone bridge No 163 on the A65 near junction 36 of the M6.

Frank says that one theory suggested at the parish council is that when the M6 is blocked, vehicles are rerouted via Kendal but take the Milnthorpe route to get on the A6.

These are serious collisions not gentle nudges.

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IWA North West Region Social Meeting The 2019 IWA NW Region Social was hosted by our branch and took place on Saturday the 6th of April at St Chads Parish Centre. Nearly 40 people attended from all over the region and it was a really good day.

We started off with an introduction and welcome from Audrey Smith.

Audrey gave a short talk on the work of the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership and on the Lancaster Canal bicentenary celebration events. This was followed by a lovely buffet lunch and the usual raffle.

Following that our region chairman, Sir Robert Atkins gave a short welcome and talk. The North West Region awards two trophies each year, one is the Tetlow Trophy which is awarded to an individual or organisation not necessarily IWA members, who has done outstanding work for the canals.

Your branch nominated the Lancaster Canal Trust for all their work on the Lancaster Canal and Robin Yates from the Lancaster Canal Trust was there to receive the award.

The other award is the Kenwin Trophy and this is awarded to an IWA member who has done outstanding work. This year the trophy was awarded to myself, your branch chairman. A great surprise but I had been warned beforehand.

After this we had a short presentation from Bill Froggatt who is the Heritage Advisor for Canal and River Trust, he gave us a presentation on the history and development of the Lancaster Canal and showed us some really interesting old maps.

Following that most people went on a walk along part of the old route of the canal where it branches out from Johnson’s Hillock. The weather was lovely and the walk was enjoyable.

Thanks to everyone who attended for a lovely and informative day.

Wendy Humphreys The next 3 pages are shots of the walk .

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Johnson’s Hillock locks and Bill Froggatt on the canal north of its junction with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal

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The aqueduct over a stream Views of the canal The tunnel under the motorway The Southern entrance to the Lancaster, now the Walton Summit Branch of the L&L

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A poem from Brian Capps REFLECTIONS

Ducks, racing to land on their image on still water Swans, quietly admiring their own beauty in the still canal.

Country bridges, making full circles with their reflections.

Lock gates, appearing twice their depth mirrored in the canal.

Bankside trees, forming a tunnel of colour with the water.

A setting sun, lighting a pathway on the water as it slips into the cut The moon, on a quiet evening, appearing above & below the boat.

A cool breeze, ruffling the tranquillity of a still canal.

Ripples, darting rainbow flashes across still water.

Fish ripples, in widening circles slowly fading into stillness.

Then ducks, racing to land on their image in still water.

Evening is here, time to reflect on the day.

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Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society (It would not be right to focus exclusively on the Lancaster canal so the following is taken from the Spring edition of the society’s newsletter ‘Clogs and Gansey’. Ed) As we have indicated earlier, this year’s programme for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society is focussed towards the bicentenary of the Lancaster Canal. This fits with our regular practice to alternate Kennet's activities annually between the Eastern and Western sections of the Canal as it is the turn of the western end this year.

Following Kennet’s appearance at the Skipton Canal Festival, our regular ‘opener’ to the season, we will be remaining in Skipton for a couple of weeks to provide a location for a screening during the Skipton Film Festival. This will take place on Sunday 19 May at 3.00pm. Following this we will begin the move westward in order to arrive at Burscough by 22 and 23 June for the Burscough 40s Festival. Whilst in that area we will travel on the short distance to Scarisbrick Marina for a Kennet Open Day and, depending upon local responses, some school visits.

We will return to the bottom of Johnson’s Hill Locks for another Open Day on Saturday 27 July, which will form part of the Lancaster Canal Bicentenary celebrations. Alongside the programme for Kennet, the Society will undertake a number of static displays such as at the Silsden Park Day on Saturday July 6.

The programme for the latter part of the year is still to be confirmed, depending to a large extent on whether a location can be found for the Burnley Canal Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

We are also planning to be at the Skipton Puppet Festival at the end of the season in October.

NB The spring edition contains some interesting articles on the Lancaster Canal. You can access their newsletters at llcs.org.uk although as we go to press the latest one had not yet appeared.

(The photo opposite was taken on the Leeds & Liverpool, east of Gargrave. Not strictly in our branch area but then I always was a bit of a rebel. Ed)

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Branch Programme 2019-2020 Date

Speaker & Topic

26th Sept Richard Trevitt Trustee and former Chairman of the Lancaster Canal Trust will talk on his work with CRT 2019

to repair/replace the milestones on the Lancaster Canal as part of the Bi-centenary project.

31st Oct

Bob Cannel and Les Green of the Daniel Adamson Trust – The Daniel Adamson is a 1903 Steam Tug boasting a

unique Art Deco interior which was saved from being scrapped by a team of enthusiastic volunteers who bought the ship for £1 and then secured £3.8M from The Heritage Lottery to save this significant ship which is 15th on the Register of National Historic Ships. (This is the talk which was cancelled in January).

28th Nov Mike Clarke is the president of the Leeds and

Liverpool Canal Society and has an extensive knowledge of canals and canal history. This talk will mainly focus on our northern canals including the Lancaster Canal

12th Dec Christmas meal—last years event was very enjoyable

and we have booked the same venue again, more details nearer the time.

30th Jan 2020

Paul Hindle, Chairman of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal Society—the MBBCS through time.

There is a lot going on with the MBBC, come along and hear what is happening and what the enthusiastic team of volunteers have been up to.

27th Feb AGM followed by a talk about the Ribble Rivers Trust

from Harvey Hamilton Thorpe who is the Ribble Life Together Programme Manager. The Trust was formed in 1997 to restore the River Ribble and its surrounding flora and wildlife to its former glory.

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Date 26th Mar 2020

Speaker & Topic

Carrie House is the Project Officer working on Community Engagement for the Stainton, Hincaster and Sedgewick Project. Carrie will have been in post for a year and will have a lot to report on her role and progress with the project.

30th Apr

Bill Froggatt, Heritage Advisor for CRT talking on Canal Heritage. Bill gave us a short talk at the Region Social in April 2019, he is very knowledgeable on his subject and has lots of interesting archive material to show us.

Venue for branch meetings We meet on the last Thursday of the month from September to April at St Chad’s parish centre which has a very pleasant meeting room and a bar. You are welcome from 7.00pm for a drink and a chat, the meetings start at 7.30pm St Chad’s Parish Centre, 235 Town Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley PR6 8AJ. There is ample parking in the car park.

IWA Club 500 I thought I would include some details of an easy way for you to raise extra funds for the IWA. For £12 a year you are allocated a number which is entered in the draw which is held 3 times a year—February, June and September. Half the money raised goes in prizes, 6 per drawer. Last year prizes were from £675 to £67 in February; £1,346 down to £133 in June when prizes are doubled.

If interested please contact Lorraine Carter, Secretary—Club 500, 56 Oakdene Drive, Surbiton , Surrey KT5 9NH Tel: 020 8337 2276 E-mail: lorrae.carter@waterways.org.uk Payment by direct debit is easiest and cheapest for Lorraine.

I won several hundred pounds a few years ago, a lovely surprise. Ed

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Branch Committee Chairman

Wendy Humphreys Darwen

07763 561572 01254 703553

Vice-chairman

Tony Dunning Egremont

07730 113894 01946 820875

Secretary

Maralyn Nott Kirkham David Faulkner Langho

07912 249265 01254 249265

Treasurer & Newsletter editor Membership secretary

Janet Dunning Egremont

Environment & Planning

Jim Nott Kirkham

Publicity

Audrey Smith Wheelton

Sales

Vacant

Social secretary

See chairman

Lancaster Canal Regeneration P’ship

Audrey Smith & Wendy Humphreys

Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Audrey Smith

Lancaster Canal Trust

Peter Jones

Wild over Water & Web Master

Janet Dunning

Region Chairman (ex officio)

Sir Robert Atkins

01946 820875

01257 274440

Email addresses are firstname.surname@waterways.org.uk

We no longer publish addresses.

If you want to write to us please use the editor’s address (p2) 36