from several groups to repair leaks in this section, and the raised water levels obviously proves that the repairs have held! With many thanks to all those who have helped with the puddling. Our local plant hire company had promised me the free loan of a 7-tonne digger for the week, but unfortunately they were unable to deliver it in time, so I had to wait until they were back at work on the 28th Wilts & Berks Christmas Camp to remind them. The digger duly arrived We were quite a small select group this year, that evening, so on Thursday and Friday as three or four of our regular Christmas Alan and I were able to start levelling off a campers were unable to make it this time. very lumpy and sloping section of towpath, Perhaps that’s why we only completed two but there wasn’t enough time left on the 1,000 piece and one 500 piece jigsaws! As camp to complete as much as we’d hoped. appropriate, two were of narrowboats - we’re I’ve been training Alan on the digger for the building up quite a library of canal jigsaws last year or two, and he’s now quite compebetween us now - and one of Cockington in tent. Devon, near where Di lives, which Rob gave On Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Alan her for Christmas. had gone home, but Liz had arrived to make Rob arrived on the 24th December, and up our numbers) we moved across the road on Christmas Day he and I manoevred our to the section of the canal below Lock 1 of workboat over to the offside at Dauntsey to Seven Locks, where there were several large start demolishing a very bushy willow which trees which had been felled by the farmer was overhanging the canal, while Di presome time ago on the offside, and which had pared our big Christmas dinner. When Alan been allowed to fall across the cut. It took arrived on Boxing Day we carried on with quite some doing, tirforing them over onto trimming back down the offside and brought the towpath for cutting up into logs. all the brash back and had a nice big bonfire. A lot of these had already been I provided the entertainment in the morning winched over when London WRG and KESwhen I gracefully slid down the bank on my CRG were here in December, so the piles of backside, arriving chest high in the canal, logs have built up all along the towpath, and and amazingly enough the hedgetrimmer still we’re gradually dumpering them up to worked once it (and me) had dried out. It Janet’s farm for storage. There were also was pooch Mina’s turn in the afternoon when several trees to cut out of the towpath she was standing on one end of the boat hedge, as farmer Philip is in the Higher when it jerked, loud splash, and there was Stewardship Scheme and is planning to lay Mina swimming indignantly back to the the hedge shortly. With the curious way of towpath bank. Not the best time of year for ownership boundaries, the first 80-90m of a ducking.... the towpath hedge up from Philip’s farm As more campers arrived, we moved belong to Janet, and Di has been busy laying up to the east end of my patch, and continthis section for a few hours every day in ued with the ongoing task of tirforing out between preparing food, cooking and shopwillows which had sprung up along the ping for all of us! banks, and Frank could come into his own by The main entertainment of the week overseeing the bonfire. Only two or three (apart from visits to the local pub) was a weeks ago the water level was so low that skittle match at the Peterborough Arms with the towpath and bank was about 5 metres the Inglesham campers, which was a great wide and Di had been able to strim all the evening - particularly as the Wilts & Berks vegetation except the willows, but after all team won, albeit augmented by some of the the heavy rain we’ve had recently the water Ingleshammers, there being a few more of level has come up nearly two feet, and them. tirforing had become a much more soggy Despite us being a small group, we still job and more difficult to free the roots from achieved quite a lot, and it was good to see the wet clay. friends again. Many thanks to everyone. During the past year we have had visits Rachael Banyard
Camp Report
...and Wilts & Berks again
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