Wilts & Berks s
Wilts & Berks Canal A great thank you to all those who turned up and made the Bonfire Bash such a success at various locations. The water levels at Purton Road on the North Wilts have come up significantly, and we are sorting out the new leaks as we find them. The Cricklade Branch have completed the puddling at Hayes Knoll Lock, and are about to start to excavating the silt from the lock chamber to carry out an investigation of the invert of the lock. Meanwhile, Doug Small and his team at Latton Basin are continuing to extend the clearance of the canal southwards, and the plan in the Spring is to put scaffolding up at the aqueduct to repair the masonry.
On the main line, between Double Bridge and Pewsham Locks, Doug Harris’s group are finding more and more culverts for Rob Brotherston to get his teeth into. At Seven Locks, work continues apace on the offside wall of Lock 4, and hedgelaying and towpath clearance is continuing between Locks 4 and 5. We also hope to clear vegetation around Lock 5 prior to investigation into its condition. At Lock 2, we have carried out traffic and level surveys prior to consultation with Highways for a solution to the Bowds Lane crossing – originally a liftbridge over the chamber. Chaddington Spillweir made remarkable progress in 2007, and John Bower and his team are now working on a method to get the towpath over the culverts. He is also
Piling at Foxham completed on the New Year Camp has hopefully cured a serious leak...
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Luke Walker
Progress
Our regular roundup of restoration progress around the country begins this time in the Deep South