Camp report Wilts & Berks (2): Pewsham
Meanwhile on the Wilts & Berks, Pewsham Locks are emerging from several decades of decay - and some explosives practice...
Pewsham lock camp There’s a trick to writing these camp reports and that trick is to do them immediately after you return. Bung on a heavy soil wash and sit straight down in front of the laptop, that’s my advice. Otherwise the real world takes over and you find yourself scratching your head and thinking “what the hell was that local in the wax jacket called?” and “why were we demolishing that culvert?” and “what the hell’s a culvert anyway?” So here I am six months later, Martin Ludgate’s nagging still ringing in my ears, trying to think back to those golden days at Pewsham locks. I know I had a damn good time assisting Nat Belderson to lead around 20 excellent volunteers, so good in fact I signed up without coercion to help lead another this year. Other memories rush back: tree roots entwined round ancient brickwork, the slam of a van door, a newt nestling in the palm of my hand. And was there something about a badger sett we needed to avoid? It’s all coming back to me in snatches. We worked on a flight of 3 locks in varying states of disrepair. Already disused, the structures were used for explosives practice during the time of the Second World War.
All pics supplied by Nat Belderson
“There was a permanent gang on brick cleaning”
Hand excavation of the middle lock
page 12
Our excavation work revealed how damaged and rearranged the brickwork was. Concentrating on the middle chamber we used hand tools to remove soil and bring out tree roots; Pete and Martyn were particularly heroic here. Local Mario brought in an excavator to chomp up the pit and we all formed a chain gang to pull out the salvaged bricks for reuse. I have strong memories of diving into the pit rescuing frogs before the digger got to them. There was a permanent gang on brick cleaning duty and lots of wading about in silty mud trying to improve drainage. Our work in the pound above all 3 locks revealed a surprising number of old glass bottles and odds and ends of metal: the rims of wheels, old leather boot soles, rusty buckets. We stripped off the layers of ivy to reveal the shape of the basin and found a bees’ nest and several newts. Meanwhile a party of more experienced and skilled workers concentrated on a culvert further downstream, where Antony had a particularly spectacular fall over a wheelbarrow. Accommodation at Maud Heath guiding centre was excellent, although there was some confusion over whether we had exclusive use of the hall or not. This caused some friction which we managed to smooth over. The village of East Tytherton was charming. Although there was no pub within walking distance, a Jack Russell terrier ran a small