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WRG's magazine for volunteers restoring the waterways.
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waterwayrecoverygroup
waterwayrecoverygroup
volunteers restoring waterwaysvolunteers restoring waterways
Issue No 268Dec-Jan2014-15
Issue No 268Dec-Jan2014-15
navviesnavviesChesterfield:
Reunion report
Cotswold:Canal Camps
Cooks:What it takes
Chesterfield:Reunion report
Cotswold:Canal Camps
Cooks:What it takes
page 2
Visit our web site www.wrg.org.uk for
NavviesProductionEditor: Martin Ludgate, 35 Silvester Road,East Dulwich London SE22 9PB020-8693 3266 [email protected]
Subscriptions: Sue Watts, 15 Eleanor Rd.,Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ
Printing and assembly: John Hawkins, 4Links Way, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth,Herts WD3 3RQ01923 448559 [email protected]
Navvies is published by Waterway RecoveryGroup, Island House, Moor Rd., CheshamHP5 1WA and is available to all interested inpromoting the restoration and conservationof inland waterways by voluntary effort inGreat Britain. Articles may be reproduced inallied magazines provided that the source isacknowledged. WRG may not agree withopinions expressed in this magazine, butencourages publication as a matter of inter-est. Nothing printed may be construed aspolicy or an official announcement unless sostated - otherwise WRG and IWA accept noliability for any matter in this magazine.
Waterway Recovery Group is part of TheInland Waterways Association, (registeredoffice: Island House, Moor Road, CheshamHP5 1WA). The Inland Waterways Associa-tion is a non-profit distributing companylimited by guarantee, registered in Englandno 612245, and registered as a charity no212342. VAT registration no 342 0715 89.
Directors of WRG: Rick Barnes,John Baylis, George Eycott, Helen Gardner,John Hawkins, Dave Hearnden,Jude Palmer, Mike Palmer,Jonathan Smith, Harry Watts.
ISSN: 0953-6655
© 2014 WRG Mart
in L
udgate
Jenny B
lack
page 3
all the latest news of WRG's activities
Editorial What’s is and isn’t in Navvies 4-5Coming soon Winter and spring camps 6-7Camp Cook What does it involve? 8-9Camp Report October Cotswold andWRG Forestry combined camp 10-12Reunion Report from the ChesterfieldCanal 13-16WRG BC news from our boat club 17Directory WRG and canal societies 18-21Diary canal camps, weekend digs, CRTand IWA one-day working parties 22-27Letters whither the Reunion? And shouldwe raise the upper age limit? 28-29Progress our roundup from restorationprojects all around the country 30-32Camp reports Inglesham and the Shrews-bury & Newport Canals 33-37Driver Authorisation update 38-41Navvies News 42Infill including Dear Deirdre 43
Contributions...
...are always welcome, whether handwritten,typed, on CD, DVD or by email.
Photos welcome: digital, slides,prints. Please say if you want prints back.Digital pics are welcome as email attach-ments, preferably JPG, but if you have a lotof large files it’s best to send them on CD orDVD or to contact the editor first.
Contributions by post to the editorMartin Ludgate, 35, Silvester Road,London SE22 9PB, or by email [email protected].
Press date for issue 267: 1 September.
Subscriptions
A year's subscription (6 issues) is availablefor a minimum of £3.00 to Sue Watts, 15Eleanor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy,Manchester M21 9FZ. Cheques payable to"Waterway Recovery Group" please.
This is a minimum subscription, thateveryone can afford. Please add a donation.
ContentsIn this issue...
Left: on a wet KESCRG andLondon WRG Christmas digon the Thames & Medway,KESCRG leader Stephen isreduced to praying for thebonfire to light. (report nexttime) Below left: Whatdriver authorisation cat-egory is this? See Bungle’sarticle on pages 38-41.Below: paddle recess atMeretown Lock on theNewport Arm is uncovered- see camp report, pages36-37. Front cover:Bowbridge Lock, CotswoldCanals (see camp report,pages 10-12). Back covertop: Chesterfield Reunion(see report, pages 13-16)Back cover bottom:October camp: WRG For-estry clear the offsideabove Bowbridge. (Coverphotos by Martin Ludgate)
Mik
e B
ickers
taff
e
page 4
CommentWhat’s in and what’s not in...
What’s happened to the
camps brochure? What’s
happening on the
Cotswold? What’s going to
happen to the Reunion?
Taking the pith out of Navvies?
Apologies if you were expecting a page of pithy comment from either myself or our chair-man Mike Palmer, but this time instead I’m going to do a bit of a canter through some of thethings that are included in the magazine.
First, however, I’m going to mention a couple of things that aren’t included. And thefirst of those is the Canal Camps brochure giving details of all next year’s camps, which (asper the last few years) you might have been expected to be included with this issue. Well,following a couple of years when we found ourselves having to ‘busk it’ just a little morethan we’d liked (and ended up having to relocate one or two camps – usually to the Cots-wold Canals), we felt that this year we would rather wait until we had a little more informa-tion from a few of the local canal societies responsible for the restoration schemes first be-fore we went into print. So even as you read this Jenny and Amber at head office are speak-ing to the host societies, getting a better understanding of the work, making site visits ifnecessary, confirming planning and funding, and generally putting us in a position where wecan be even more confident of delivering well-planned camps.
Don’t get me wrong: most of the camps are already sorted or well on their way, andwe’re sure the rest will be soon. So you shouldn’t need to wait for the next Navvies – we’llmail out the brochure as soon as it’s ready.
Another thing we don’t have in this issue is any ‘toolbox talks’ or ‘tech tips’ type articles(unless you count the one on being a Canal Camps cook – see below). We do have a ‘how todo a lock chamber clearance’ article planned for the next issue, but in the meantime if there’sanything else you’d like to read about (or even better, that you’d like to write about) thenplease tell us.
The final thing you might have expected to see in this issue but won’t is any letters inresponse to the editorial last time. Neither my own questions (about how WRG should de-cide which canals to work on, and about how the canal restoration movement should ensurethat it’s ready for any major funding that might be just around the corner) nor my ‘guestcomment’ contributor Sophie’s (about how and whether WRG can continue to support anexpanded programme of Canal Camps) elicited any replies at all. Am I surprised? No, notreally: it always seems to the random, innocuous off-the-cuff remarks that generate reams ofcorrespondence, rather than the provocative comments that you expected to stir things up.Am I disappointed? Just a little – so please do write in if you’ve got anything to say on thesethings. But I’m not too downhearted because (a) it’s generated a fair amount of discussionoutside of these pages and (b) I’ve got plenty of letters on other subjects this time. Speakingof which…
That brings us on to the stuff that is in this issue. And firstly the letters page. GeorgeRogers, leader of this year’s Reunion (see report, pages 13-16) has written with a list ofquestions about why the number of people going to our biggest annual event seems to havebeen tailing off a bit. I’m not going to pitch in with my own opinions here (other than to saythat I think it helps if we can tell people well in advance where the Reunion is going to be –although I know that isn’t easy – as it’s much easier to get the new Canal Camps volunteersinterested in coming back if they know where they’re coming to!), and neither am I going tocome out with the traditional “we tried that in 1995, it didn’t work” type response to anysuggestions. The Reunion / Bonfire Bash / Big-ish Dig has evolved over the years, and itscurrent format and date are the result of numerous factors, not all of which apply any more.For example we lost one good reason to hold it in early November a decade ago, when wefound we could no longer afford insurance cover to hold a firework display. So it really is all
page 5
up for discussion – please join in!We also have a letter from the Canal & River Trust. OK, it’s taking us to task a little for
a report in the last issue, but it also thanks us for all our efforts, and it’s the first time for awhile that CRT (or its predecessor British Waterways) has featured in these pages other thanas a target, or at best as an entity to be discussed along the lines of “Are they still the en-emy?” I look forward to more from CRT, whether it’s praise for our efforts, putting the otherside if they disagree with us, or – even better – contributing to the discussions on how toget more canals restored.
And we also have two letters from slightly older volunteers who would like to help usmore, but feel inhibited from doing so by our upper age limit and/or our mode of operation(in particular, sleeping on village hall floors). Yes, I’m aware that the answer to the agequestion is that there is provision for over-70s to be on site (subject to some insuranceissues which Head Office can advise on) – but the point that these people provide a goodresource that we ought to be encouraging is a valid one.
I mentioned the Cotswold Canals (as a home for itinerant canal camps) earlier, andsure enough there are two camp reports from the Cotswold Canals in this issue. There’s alsoa camp at Bowbridge Lock about to happen over New Year, another two weeks planned forEaster – see Camps Preview, pages 6-7 - and plenty of weekend digs. You could be forgivenfor thinking that there’s some sort of a panic on in Gloucestershire right now.
Well it’s not actually a panic, but the Cotswold Canals Trust folks have ended up withrather a lot of work to do between now and a year’s time. That’s when they plan to put intheir bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the cash to restore the next section of canal (Phase1b in Cotswold parlance) which gives the bit we’re currently working on (Phase 1a) its all-important navigable link to the outside world via Saul Junction. So not only do we need tofinish Phase 1a in order for Phase 1b to make any sense, we also need to do it to show theHLF that we can finish a job once we’ve started it, and demonstrate the credibility that HLFwill be looking for when they scrutinise the Phase 1b application.
The volunteers’ contribution to Phase 1a is mainly the locks at the upper end: we’verestored Goughs Orchard and Griffin Mill locks, CCT’s own volunteers are just getting stuckinto Ham Mill Lock, and we, the visiting teams (WRG canal camps and WRG regional groupsplus NWPG and KESCRG) are cracking on with Bowbridge. But given that Griffin Mill took usabout three years, what chance of finishing the rather trickier (given its constricted site andpoor state) Bowbridge by late 2015?
Well, at least the rebuilding methods chosen include a mortar mix that doesn’t restrictus to summer-only working. So with a good programme of weekend working parties byvisiting groups as well as two camps at Easter and several in summer, it isn’t out of thequestion. But it’s still a lot of work – so do support these (particularly the weekend digs andEaster camps) if you can.
All these working parties will need feeding. So in this issue we also have an article byHelen Gardner on what’s involved in being a Canal Camp cook. We included it (a) to encour-age anyone who’s thinking of offering their services and to help them understand whatthey’re volunteering for, (b) to hopefully provoke some discussion and further contributions– Helen makes it clear that her way is just one way of doing stuff – and (c) because some-body suggested via WRG’s Facebook page that it would be a good article to run. Have youany ideas for future articles? Please suggest them.
And finally, as ever, we have the ‘Infill’ not-so-serious page – which is in slight dangerof being monopolised by Deirdre these days. We’ve had some excellent ‘humorous’ contribu-tions from lots of other folk in the past – please keep them coming in.
That leaves just one thing: many thanks from the Editor for all your contributions this yearwhether it’s camp reports, letters, photos, technical articles, progress reports, or whatever. Alsoto Robert Goundry for chasing up and collating progress reports, to Dave Wedd for compilingthe diary, to John Hawkins for printing the magazine, to Chris Griffiths of Stroudprint for thecolour covers, to the team of volunteers at the envelope-stuffing evenings in London, to theHead Office staff, to Lesley for proofreading, and to everyone else who helps to make Navvieswhat it is (whatever that is!) Not forgetting Deirdre (how could we?) Thank you, best wishes forChristmas, hopefully I’ll see some of you on the New Year Camp and if not, all the best for 2015.
Martin Ludgate
page 6
Cotswold Christmas Camp, 26 December - 1 January
By the time you receive this, the Festive Season will be upon us, but in case you feel a sud-den need to get away from your relatives on Boxing Day you might be interested in makinga late booking for all or port of the New Year Camp - if there are still any places left. To findout, contact head office on 01494 783453 or [email protected], or if it’s too close toChristmas and they’re on holiday contact camp leader Martin Thompson on 07736 796419.
Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation Winter Camp, 14-21 February
Camp leader Bob Crow writes: The first camp of 2015 will be a slash and burn WinterWarmer on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation from 14th to 21st February. The task willbe vegetation clearance on the towpath to enable the use of new wider mechanised mowingequipment, purchased by Essex Waterways Ltd in 2014, to be used to control vegetationgrowth in future. The accommodation will be on board the Haybay which is a convertedbarge with comfy bunks, on board showers and a drying room – sheer luxury! By Februaryyou will surely be missing the WRG camp scene so why not join us – book now - you’ll bemade very welcome.
Cotswold Easter Camps, 28 March-4 April and 4 - 11 April
2015 is going to be an absolutely crucial yearas regards volunteer work on the CotswoldCanals restoration. Easter Camp LeaderMartin Thompson explains...
Completion of the outstanding restora-tion of structures on the Phase 1A section ofthe Cotswold Canals (that’s from Stonehousethrough Stroud to Brimscombe, and includesour work sites at Griffin Mill and Bowbridgelocks) is a critical precursor of the HeritageLottery Fund bid for money to pay for thePhase 1B section. Phase 1B will provide theessential connection from the restoredlengths of the Cotswold Canals to theGloucester & Sharpness Canal and access tothe main UK canal network.
Volunteer manpower is so important torestore locks at Bowbridge, Ham Mill andHope Mill. The first two sites are alreadyunder volunteer-led restoration and CotswoldCanals Trust (CCT) volunteers are startingdredging the channel between them. CCTneed your help with this big 2015 push toreturn these derelict locks to fully functionalrestored structures. See the fruits of yourlabour being used by boats in the nearterm on this high-profile public amenity
Coming soonWinter and spring camps
As 2014 ends we look forward
to 2015: the BCN Clean Up,
Chelmer Camp, and a lot of
work on the Cotswolds. Why?
See Martin T’s piece below...
Task for 2015: turn this (Bowbridge)...
...into something like this (Griffin Mill)
Pic
ture
s by M
art
in L
udgate
page 7
venture and vibrant regeneration project. Work in the west is also complemented by some strategic construction and restoration
in the east of the Cotswold Canals. Reconstruction of Weymoor Bridge, funded by a gener-ous benefactor, is a rare chance to build a brick-arched bridge and get involved with theassociated roadworks. A temporary diversion for local residents’ access requires an expedi-ent build. With progress dependent on the collective efforts of local volunteers and visitingregional groups, support from canal camps will be key for successful completion this summer.
Also in the east is the iconic Inglesham lock restoration site and an IWA National Ap-peal Restoration Site. Having installed the lower stop plank dam in 2014, which will enablecontrol of the water level in the lock chamber, initial focus will be on the lock chamber clear-ance. WRG’s project management team are putting together the works package for thisfocused task which will enable the access scaffolding to be installed for re-constructing thechamber walls .
So keep a keen eye on the CCT and WRG websites, Navvies, our regular restorationpublications and media outputs for what will be on offer on the Cotswold Canal, not onlyover the two Easter weeks, but on the main Summer Camp program. So much to do on andoff site! If you haven’t been before, why not try a weekend taster with a regional group:whatever the colour of the shirt, you’ll have a great time!
BCN Clean Up, 19 April
Every spring, we spend a weekend throwing grappling hooks into the murky waters of theBirmingham Canal Navigations and hoicking out old bikes, prams, trolleys and whatever elsewe can find, as our contribution to keeping this fascinating but under-used network open.Over to leader ChrisMorgan for the details ofthis year’s event:
This year we give theusual bits of canal a restand hit something new.The Canal & River Trust areallowing us to target theOld Main Line canal andparts of the modern NewMain Line.
The centre of theClean Up is the canal buffs’heaven of Smethwick, withits iron aqueduct to theEngine Arm and two levelsof canal. Daytime facilitieshave been offered andgratefully accepted at thecanalside Smethwick Enter-prise Centre and as I write,accommodation is still under negotiation but should prove to be another fabulous canalsidelocation with a very good local real ale pub.
So we can guarantee lots of locks to trawl and lots of canal to dredge, and the wonderfulpeople of the Black Country are waiting to welcome us back. More info in the next Navvies.
See you in the new year.Chris Morgan, Clean up leader
029 2088 8681 / 07974 111354 / [email protected]
And then what?
See the Editorial on pages 4-5 for what’s happening with the rest of the year’s Canal Camps,and the WRG website and Facebook group for further details of all camps and weekend work.
What ‘s lurking in the BCN? Come to the Clean Up and find out!
Chris
Morg
an
page 8
Camp Cook: what does it involve?
There are more ways of tackling the role ofcook than there are cooks so I thought I’dprovide you an insight into one way I’vebeen a cook. Obviously this is not the rightway - it’s just one way that I’ve used. I likebeing on site and I like cooking so the cruxof this approach is to be on site quite a bitand provide basic but tasty food. Most of thecamps I’ve cooked on recently have been 15-18 people so my method doesn’t necessarilytranslate to a larger camp.
Breakfast
I’m a control freak (gasps of shock from theaudience) so I’m doing breakfast. No wayI’m having grotty volunteers ‘use their imagi-nation’ and muck up my kitchen stocks. Sowhat if this means 3 hours sleep because Iwas an enthusiastic participant in the cerealbox game. I always set a time – normally8am - with the leader beforehand, and it’s agame to see how close I can get. From aleader’s perspective a predictable breakfastserve is really useful.
Around 6.50 – 7.00am I’ll get up, turneverything on in the kitchen (nb that’severyghing that you need, like the griddle -not the radios someone plugged in), then goand get dressed into something that I don’tmind smelling of bacon fat. Do teeth (other-wise I’ll forget). Make myelf tea. I run abowl of hot washing up water so that I cankeep my hands clean between handlingeverything and do a bit of washing up as Igo. I do sausages in the oven so I pop ’emin sooner rather than later (7.00-ish).
Prep everything else: get beans andtomatoes open and in pans, chop mush-rooms, find veggies’ sausages, find eggs andbacon. About 7.15 I’ll start griddling thebacon and when it’s almost done it getswrapped in foil and put in the oven. Don’tforget the veggie breakfast.
There are normally volunteers millingaround by this time, so I’ve learned to em-
brace them (not physically you understand):I have perfected a ‘super loud cheery “goodmorning” smile and greeting’ (entirely fake)and I’ll always set them a task. That alsoensures they don’t just come into the kitchenand stand around like lemons, or worse stillthey want to talk (which I haven’t found away of coping with).
Quite often the task is for them to takethe volunteers tea in bed. And if there’s noone to do it then I’ll do it. You just need tohave done the bacon and not started therest, so be back in the kitchen by 7.40. Yesreally – the art and indeed the gift of tea inbed was prevalent in the days I started dig-ging and I am determined that this ancientskill not be lost. I also make sure I havemore tea.
7.40 it’s beans and tomatoes on, andcook the mushrooms. About 7.50 it’s slap agriddleful of eggs on and get some helpersready. Just before 8.00 the first set of eggsare ready so I can put them out, and get thehelpers to put out the rest of breakfast andstart serving. Meanwhile I’ll carry on cookingeggs and the second set are done just as thequeue has got through the first. It means theeggs are nice and hot when served and youdon’t have lots left over though it doesn’twork with more than around 18 people.
Lunch
I’m a big fan of the ‘self-serve’ sandwiches (iethe volunteers each make their own lunchafter breakfast time), and putting the lunchstuff out is something I’ll get my kitchenloiterers to do anytime from 7.00am. Have acool box ready, some sandwich bags andlabels (or pieces of paper to stick inside thesandwich bag). Positives (compared to the‘traditiona’ method of just making lunch foreveryone) are that there’s a lot less waste; it’seasier for the cook; people get the sand-wiches they want. Negatives are that it canbe more expensive as people load the fill-ings, you might have to do some spares forpeople who drop in, you have to encourage
Camp CookHow do you cook for a canal camp?
“Find out what people want - I’ve
had camps where I’ve tried to do
something really fancy and all
they wanted was
bangers & mash”
page 9
people to overestimate what they might eat ifthey’re unused to physical work, and leftoverbreakfast butties are a bit trickier to sort. Soin theory by 9.00am the washing up’s doneand two meals have been served and theveggies got breakfast too.
I normally have a proper coffee (bringa cafetiere with you) and a sit down at thistime and plan the shopping. I’ll normally doa big shop every alternate day, so after I’vestock checked and made sure it’s all clean(good time to mop floors) I’ll either go shop-ping or go to site or in the middle of theweek I might just go back to bed. Don’tforget your own lunch!
I generally go and have lunch on siteeven if I’m not going to site to work, andthat’s when I would take soup or hot lefto-vers. Sometimes I find cooking a little isolat-ing and having lunch lets you catch up onwhat’s going on and have a cup of tea. It isalso a chance to discuss what the leader hasplanned for the evening so you can work outwhen the evening meal will be served.
Evening meals:
The first evening I normally do ‘Jacket potatoand salad shit’ which is quiches, pork pies,chips and dips as well as actual salad whichis not compulsory. The idea is that it is afairly flexible meal in terms of numbers soyou can cope with fluctuations on the firstnight, it’s quite light (no one will have doneany work) and it’s easy to serve as leftovers. Usually I have a ‘night off’ by thecamp having a fish & chip night, and the lastnight is normally a barbecue - so that’s threemeals planned already.
I normally discuss the menu with thecamp at breakfast before a shop so thatthere’s no surprises for them. I can’t possi-bly plan a whole week in advance so wewing it as we going along. I tend to do fairlybasic meals but make it varied (some pota-toes, some pasta, some rice; variety of meat;variety of vegetables). I might prepare astew, bolognaise or chilli in the morningwhilst doing breakfast so that I can go onsite. I’m definitely a cook by committee andwill outsource vegetable preparation at thedrop of a hard hat. I’ve also had successwith getting volunteers to do the puddings,I’m also not scared to cheat and buy me-ringue nests or flan bases or serve yoghurtsthough Brian always makes an appearance.*
Cake – never serve homemade cake the
first day, that just sets a precedent. Shopbought the first day and then if you have theinclination make a cake later on (or blagfrom the locals) and it’ll be really appreciatedrather than expected.
Red wine – normally not a good idea tostart the bottle before the camp are home.
My other tip is communication: find outwhat people actually do and don’t want toeat (especially if you have just one or twoveggies – you may find they’ll have the samemeal on two different nights). I’ve hadcamps where I’ve tried to do somethingfancy and all they wanted was bangers andmash. Fortunately we worked this out inadvance and I got more time in the pub. Your whole camp might eat veggie for anevening if you ask.
So all in all it’s about providing somefood whilst making the canal experiencewhat I want it to be (it is after all my holidaytime and as a contractor I don’t get paid forit either). There are lots of ways you canmake it easier for yourself by so called‘cheating’ and getting help from the volun-teers. I’ve also shared the cooking withanother cook so that we do alternate eveningmeals.
Helen ‘Bush Baby’ Gardner
* Brian is a yoghurt, cream and fruit dessertnamed by Harri Wood (and probably in-vented by her too).
Is the above not how you’d do it? Doyou have other tips as a cook? Pleasewrite up your take on the role of acamp cook.
The author serving up dinner
Ala
n L
ines
page 10
“We came, We sawed,We took down”
The grand tradition of the Cotswold CanalsTrust taking in homeless canal camps mani-fested itself again for this past Autumn’s“Half-Term” Camps. Both the Forestry Octo-ber camp and the initially proposed Ashbycamp necessitated a change of location, andCCT again warmly welcomed the happy bandsof volunteers to Stroud and growing list oftaskings on the Phase 1A section (Stonehouse-Stroud-Brimscombe) of the canal.
WRG Forestry rightly claimed squatters’rights at the accommodation at BrimscombePort being the Friday night arrivals; for thetransferees from the Ashby it was the con-ventional Saturday afternoon check in. For-estry also had the ‘wonder’ cook Mitch, ablyassisted by Andy and their kitchen helpers(name check for Hannah!) which left anumber of the DoEers wondering how muchmore 2nds and 3rds can they eat of theamazing evening meals and how can WRGfeed people this great food on £56 a week!Which really leads on to a general hats offand heartfelt thanks (speaking on behalf ofall leaders) to those innovative, inspirationaland extremely hardworking cooks that nour-ish bodies and souls to such great effect andmake the camp experienceso much more enjoyable andthe leaders’ life so muchmore worry-free, thankyou all.
The ‘big push’ on theCotswold Canal is to com-plete the Phase 1A length ofthe canal which primarilywends its way throughStroud. To this goal, Forest-ry’s taskings included theremoval of offending treesand branches that had growninto and over the canal bedon the offside section east ofBowbridge Lock for approxi-mately 500m, both to re-
store the canal line vista, and more practi-cally so the CCT dredger can access thislength in the relatively near future to restorethe depth to the original working invert level.Some neighbourly goodwill pollarding ofcanalside willows was also requested inreturn for being able to get to and workalong an inaccessible part of the bank. Sothe ‘Forestry Collective’ under coordinatorClive and assistant Paul departed on theSaturday morning to Bowbridge, leaving thecooks organising the catering for the original23 Forestry folks plus additional the Ashbyrelocates which took us up to 35 folks Theagenda for me was a morning providing a‘Brickwork 101’ training class for CCT volun-teers, getting prepared for the ‘Ashby’ arriv-als, and a happy hour or so at Stroud trainstation in the good company of the firstarrival DoEer Ed 1 while numerous trainsfrom the opposite direction, the odd ‘sorryI’ve missed my connection’ train came andwent. As variation of the ‘waiting for... andwaiting for... and eventually they all cometogether’ theme, Patrick, Tobi and Michaelarrived at the same time, unbounded joy!
Back for tea and buns, meet the otherMartin (my invaluable most useful person /quasi-assistant for the week), Hannah, Ted,Gary, Jason, James and then onto the orien-
Camp ReportCotswold Canals
A week in October, with WRG
Forestry removing overhanging
trees and branches above Bowbride
Lock while a group of Ashby
refugees attack the chamber wall
Chipping away at the chamber wall brickwork
Pic
ture
s by M
art
in L
udgate
page 11
tation site visit and the sight of Forestry’svery productive first day. Back for more tea,followed by the health and safety briefingand the first of the stupendous eveningmeals. Contentment overflowed.
The mild un-Autumn weather contin-ued to grace the Stroud Valley and afterSunday breakfast the Forestry collective nowswelled by the ‘Ashby-ites’ descended downto Bowbridge, the Forestry folks with someadditional newbie labourers carried on work-ing away east from the lock.
The remaining Ashby-ite crew after alittle bit of site re-organisation started on themain task of the week, that being the de-construction of the failed off-side wall of thelock chamber. The classic un-bonded patchrepair and then having to ‘tooth-out’ thesheared bricks ready for tying in the replace-ment brickwork was the order of the day. Acase of elbow-to-elbow cutting out persisted,until the scaffold was adjusted to give a littlemore room. Once the CCT storage ISOcontainer had had a bit of TLC the newlyreleased Arbo Tec reciprocating brick sawand the SDS breaker were introduced to thewall, helping no end with the preparationand cutting out of the targeted bricks.
The height of the rubble pile started toincrease and the pile had to go. The CCTplant trailer and its ‘greedy boards’ werecollected and the first of the half a dozen orso loads was taken back to Brimscombe Portstorage area where it will eventually berecycled for towpath sub-base or similaruses. Rubble shifting provided a change ofscenery to the stark face of the offside walland rotation of the happy hammer team wasnever questioned. Stalwart MUP Martin was aconstant welcome presence at the brickface.Ed2 joined us on Sunday night, still therewere plenty of bricks left to cut out!
Life at Bowbridge lock for the walldeconstruction didn’t change much for theremainder of the week, only the “it’s yourturn to start the generator” and “let’s godropped tool dipping in the silt under thescaffolding” cries brought light relief forthose chopping, chipping and cutting out thebrickwork. Now as all experienced navviesknow there is no greater frustration thanspending an immense amount of blood,sweat and tears toothing-out a brick, only forthe final last ‘perfect job’ tap with lumphammer and chisel... and the brick abovesnaps. Step forward DoEer Patrick, whoworks his way along, toothing out diligently,
perfectly then “Ting!” - 7 of those lovinglyprepared bricks snap off in one solid lump,the record for the week. He consoled himselfthe rest of the week with regular 2nds and3rds of Mitch’s & Andy’s awesome eveningmeals, well in fact any meal time fare!
Taking the rubble back to BrimscombePort also provided the opportunity to givesome basic introductory training on theoperation of the CCT small tracked excavator.Our new volunteers were able to have the‘digger experience’ for the first time and try anew skill for the DoEers’ Residential assess-ment. Suffice to say there were some verycapable operators and nobody was out ofplace operating the machine despite it beingtheir first time.
A 150mm pump was set up to emptythe chamber to allow cutting out the lowerstop plank grooves to be completed. After 3hours pumping the failure to empty thechamber was answered by finding that the,now exposed canal bypass pipe had sepa-rated in the deep mud section of the canalunder Bowbridge and the inflow was almostmatching the pump output! Time to get thechest waders on and with the assistance ofSleepy Dave accompanied by much amuse-ment from the gallery of watchers the errantpipe was re-connected and the water wasduly pumped out and the tower scaffolderected for Rob and Ed1 to chip and chop a
Installing stop plank channels at the lock tail
page 12
different piece of wall.During all of this our newly discovered
plant engineer Ted worked his magic onvarious items of powered hand tools thatdeclined to work on the chamber wall. Inreturn for the adjacent vets’ practice allowingaccess through their car park, a little add on“favour” job on Wednesday to clear out theiroverflowing car park slot drain was success-fully completed by Ted & Ed1. It also identi-fied the drain heading off toward the canal,but with no obvious discharge point so it’llbe a little weekend visiting group job to traceit and build a little headwall detail.
So much about the lock, what about theforestry peeps? Well it was all routine stuffon the upstream section from Bowbridge,chain sawing, tirforing, pollarding, bonfiresand logging up carried on aplenty. Tim the‘tree rat’ climber was able to get his harnesson and get aloft to get to those awkwardout-of-reach branches. The time-honouredexperience of fire gazing was practiced togreat effect with a limited number of bon-fires, with some of the DoEer’s being initiatedinto this well-honed art form!
The team received much positive feed-back from the local residents overlooking thecanal from the improved view and the in-crease in light to their properties. Muchprogress was made to the point that some ofthe experienced members of the Forestryteam and some laboring support made tracksfor the Ryeford section of the canal. Theycontinued on from previous Forestry week-end work party visits, removing and reducingproblem trees that CCT had identified.
Forestry always work closely with thehost Trust environmental specialists to en-sure that the most appropriate and sympa-thetic solutions for the tree managementtasks are performed. CCT are no exceptionto this rule and together with the CCT tugand barge crew everyone provided a con-summate professional service to make safeoverhanging trees over the towpath, riverand the adjacent industrial estate. The chal-lenges of these overhanging trees in thislocation required the skilled WRG Forestryartisans to bring their A-game and, as al-ways, they did.
It has become a well-received bonus forcamp volunteers that CCT lay on an eveningcanal boat trip. Obviously at this time ofyear the complete experience of a boat tripwould be lost in the darkness. But CCT’svolunteer boat crew came up trumps and
graciously agreed to put on a trip on our lastday. So a full boat load of expectant camp-ers departed on CCT’s trip boat from EbleyMill after Friday lunch. In the knowledgeablehands of CCT trip guide Clive Field, the campteam was taken for an extended cruise onthe restored 1A section of the canal. At onepoint there was concern that they had en-countered Somali pirates! Suffice to say theywere returned after an extremely insightfuland pleasant afternoon on the canal in theglorious autumn Stroud sunshine.
So an amazingly enjoyable week awaywith the amalgam of the two camps provid-ing rich banter, a great atmosphere, camara-derie and with a substantial amount of valu-able work completed. My sincere thanks goout to Clive (the Forestry coordinator) for hisoverall fathering role for the joint venture,Paul (Clive’s forestry no.2) for keeping theshow going so well at Bowbridge, Mitch &Andy our kitchen royalty (ah those awesomedinners) - who needs Bake Off when thesetwo are around? But a really big thanks andtotal appreciation goes to Martin L my MUP+for his support managing the work site andhis persistent presence on the chamber walldeconstruction, I couldn’t have done it with-out your invaluable help.
To the CCT folks, to Clive and the tripboat crew, Bill & Meg our regular site visitorsand to the SDC volunteer coordinators Pauland Jon, many thanks making the experiencegreat. Finally to all our volunteers; thank forthe work you did, your great company and Ihope that you continue with the WRG experi-ence, the list of sites needing our support isas long as ever!
Have a Happy and Prosperous NewYear, stay safe and hope to see you soon.
Season’s Best Wishes‘RAF Martin’ Thompson
“Here’s one we made earlier” - at Griffin Mill
page 13
Chesterfield Bonfire Bash Report
The WRG Reunion 2014 started off with theroar of chainsaws and the falling of treesover at Renishaw as the Forestry Team led byPaul Shaw had arrived late on Thursdayevening to get a good head start on theFriday. Their task was the thinning of the lineof trees between the canal and the TransPennine Trail. They stacked the logs andbrash ready to be burnt or taken away thefollowing day.
Friday started out fairly drizzly and bythe time I reached everyone just beforelunch, that drizzle had descended into rain,with the gazebo acting as a very effectivewater butt (Not that we wanted it to).
Some site leaders had come up on theThursday evening, with others joining Fridayday to have a walk through their sites. Peteand Martin were taken through their site atRenishaw to see the work that was needed tobe done. Matt would be joining Pete andMartin later and helping them to lead thethree sections ofthe Renishawsite. Colin andDave were clear-ing areas of thesite with brushcutters for theweekend’s bon-fires.
Next on toSpinkhill leavingthe Forestrycrew to carry ontheir sawing,George walkedPaul, Ju andStephen (Ricey)through thework that was tobe undertakenthere. TheSpinkhill site ranbetween the endof the existing
channel north of Renishaw and Spinkhill.The tasks on this site were to clear the line ofthe canal as much as possible, including theremoval of scrub and the felling of smalltrees. The stumps also needed to be re-moved and fForestry were to work on asection clearing the larger trees.
Next on to Norbriggs, now in the pour-ing rain, this site was very overgrown (moreso than the others) and thick with brambles.After having a quick walk of the site it wastime to head back to Killamarsh Scout hutand pack everything up before the move tothe sports hall that would be our accommo-dation for the weekend.
The potatoes for that evening’s supperwere happily cooking in the oven (Thankyou Ju and Linda for helping with that eve-nings dinner) and everyone was slowlygetting packed up ready for the 5pm moveto the sports hall. I must say here what alovely job Ricey and Squeezy did of hoover-ing and tidying up the hall…it was sparkling!We waited for Martin, John and Colin to
The Norbriggs Cutting work site
Reunion ReportChesterfield Canal
Reporting from a weekend of
scrub-bashing, backfilling and
thoroughly bad weather but
good progress on the
Chesterfield Canal...
page 14
return from their minibus pick ups and collecttheir things and then on to the sports hall…
After shifting a few pieces of furniture,children’s tables, children’s chairs and toysinto cupboards and toilets we managed toset up the catering area. The oven was inand all the tables and chairs were set up.Now all that was left to do was await thearrival of 100 volunteers, and sort outGeorge’s mound of very organised paper-work.
The evening flew by and slowly butsurely everyone started heading for bed….
Saturday: At 7 o’clock everyone wasup and packing up their bedding as weweren’t allowed to keep it in the main hallthroughout the day, and then across thecorridor for a lovely, and much needed forthe day ahead, fry-up.
To make life for me slightly easier formyself, as I wasn’t on all sites, I asked Peteto write a bit about the Renishaw site. Soover to Pete...
Renishaw: Arrived on site. Rainstarted during the site briefing, before peoplesplit into three(ish) groups. Two fires werestarted, one at each end of the work areawith site 1’s being slightly more small andcontrolled (early on at least). Plenty of peo-ple were kept busy with dragging the brashcreated by the Forestry Team who continuedwith the thinning operation. The brush cut-ters continued their work clearing the bram-bles and other undergrowth along the tow-path and banks of the canal.
A small team started Tirforing thestumps of the small saplings from the bed ofthe canal enabling these to be burnt as soonas the fires were well established.
The man from DCC arrived with a flailmower and was persuaded to take it downinto the bed of the canal where he madesubstantial progress until his way wasblocked with a tree and water level in thebottom of the canal.
Tea break was held under the ‘concretegazebo’ with a number of complaints aboutthe ‘mug shelf’ being too high for some/mostto reach. Bacon baps were consumed asquickly as they could be supplied by man ina van in the carpark.
Work continued with cutting, draggingand burning stuff until lunchtime. Lunch wasagain taken under the concrete gazebo as therain was still happily falling.
After lunch a further fire was startedpart way down the towpath to make the
dragging distance more manageable, morestumps were pulled and brash burnt despiteeveryone being quite wet (and some quitemuddy).
It was soon time to allow the fires toburn out as these needed to be completelyextinguished and dowsed before leaving sitefor the day.
Norbriggs: We arrived at a very wetNorbriggs at around 10am on the Saturdayminus gazebo and brushcutters. Gary andDave were leading the site work and after asite safety briefing by Gary we all ‘jumped’(this is metaphorical of course) into thebushes. Firstly a space was cleared for thefires, and then slowly but surely we startedclearing the brambles and trees that sur-rounded us. After a little work and mucheffort from Adrian and Chris our fires werealight and the brambles were burning. Righton cue for teabreak our gazebo arrived alongwith two brushcutters from our leader. Aftertea break everyone continued with the task athand (clearing vegetation), and this carriedon throughout the day despite the really wetconditions.
Spinkhill: The team arrived on site ataround 9.30 and set to work. Paul and theForestry Team worked down the far endaway from the rest of the group cutting
Tirforing stumps out at Renishaw
page 15
down the larger trees that bow saws couldn’tmanage. The rest of the team worked fromthe top clearing the brash and cutting thesmaller trees down and dragging the brashand smaller trees to the bonfire. Greatprogress was made throughout the day.
Staveley Town Basin: Staveley wasled by Colin Hobbs and Steve Baylis. At 9amthey gathered a group of volunteers togetherand headed for the basin. Having led campshere this year and in the past they were bothvery much aware of the problems they wereto face with regards to flooding as the basinis liable to this. The block laying that wasplanned was unfortunately unable toprogress; however they did manage to backfill a wall with concrete. The pumps weregoing but I don’t think they made a greatdeal of difference with the vast amount ofwater that was coming over.
Saturday afternoon saw the WRGcommittee meeting being held back at thesports centre in the catering area surroundedby a lovely lunch provided by the cateringteam. At around 4.30 very wet volunteersstarted to migrate back to the hall to dry offand get warm once again. That evening wehad a delicious meal of chicken and pastaand amazing cakes for dessert.
After speeches from Mike, George andRod Auton from the Chesterfield Canal Soci-ety, everyone relaxed into the evening for afew drinks. This was a great opportunity foreveryone to have a catch up and get theirWRGie t-shirt printed from Jullian at Jancraft(Thank you very much for getting the designdone for us and coming up to print it). Alsoa ‘thank you’ needs to be said to Steph herefor designing the t-shirt and Chesterfieldpublicity poster.
Sunday: There were a fewbleary eyes on Sunday morningbut everyone was once again upand packed by 8. The weatherhad improved greatly over nightand everyone was in high spirits.
And back to the sites….Norbriggs: As there was a
lot to do on both other sites andwe were a leader down by theend of Saturday as Gary unfortu-nately had to go home, volun-teers from Norbriggs moved overto the three other sites.
Renishaw: Back on site forjust after 09:00, well rested andeager to get on. With numbers
boosted from other sites the three fires werequickly rekindled and burning more brash,which continued to be cut.
More stumps were pulled from the bedand banks of the canal, with progress speed-ing up when the drier section of bed wasreached. Brush cutting continued with largeareas being cleared at each end of the workarea and a substantial area in the middle.Training was given to allow a number of newusers experience in operating these.
The man from DCC returned, this timewith a tracked chipper to dispose of thebrash that was either too far to drag to thefires or would not be burnt in time. Thisallowed the Forestry Team to continue fellingand thinning until it was time to leave. Anearly tea break was held allowing anotherhour of fire loading before the fires wereallowed to burn up and then to be fullyextinguished with plenty of water.
Spinkhill: I switched sites fromNorbriggs to Spinkhill on the Sunday whereJu and Ricey were leading alongside Pauland a team of chainsaws. We started clearingalong the line of the canal and just before11am a group of young people from Ches-terfield College who were undertaking theirNational Citizen Services arrived to volunteer.At 11am everyone stood and paid theirrespects on remembrance Sunday with aminute’s silence. Everyone worked reallyhard until 1 o’clock, spurred on by Georgedelivering bacon sandwiches at around mid-day. A big thank you to the volunteers fromChesterfield College for working hard andcoming along to support the project.
Staveley: A group carried on with thework from Saturday continuing to makeconcrete with both mixers going. They were
Sheltering under the ‘concrete gazebo’ (note tea-shelf on left)
page 16
backfilling behind the block workwall on the towpath side. Theteam mixed concrete on the offside by the cabins, put it in thelittle dumper and then drove itround to the towpath where theythen shovelled it behind the wall.Great progress was made overthe weekend.
At 1 o’clock everyone gath-ered back at the hall for lunchand to collect their belongings.The vans were reassembled withthe correct kit, the hall tidied andhoovered and the catering areaput back to its original state.After a good mopping andcountless water changes thecatering area’s floor was (almost)back to how we’d found it.
A big ‘thank you’ to every-one involved in a great weekend,and a massive thank you to George for all ofhis hard work in planning and running theweekend, it turned our brilliantly. Hopefullysee you all next year!
Amber Jenkinsplus contributions from Pete Fleming
Now a word from George Rogers who wasthe leader from the weekend:
Volunteering to lead the Reunion mustrank amongst one of the most foolish thingsto do in WRG - and I’ve certainly proved tobe a fool at times! I can honestly say thoughthat it was pleasure, not least because of allthe hard work put in by everyone involved.
The benefit of leading is that you candelegate writing the camp report! For thatI’m very grateful, but I did still want to add afew words of my own. In the main, I’d liketo thank everyone involved - so for the fulllist I thought it would be easiest to repro-duce the Facebook status I wrote immediatelyafter the event (easy, but no less heart-felt!)
First, however, a couple of words aboutwhat we achieved. Since the weekend I havereceived numerous letters of thanks frommembers of the Chesterfield Canal Trust andDerbyshire County Council. They are alloverjoyed at the work completed and how ithas once again raised the profile of the canaland its restoration in light of the proposedHS2 scheme. That support is imperative intrying to make HS2 more sympathetic to thecanal and so hosting such a high profileevent was very useful to the Trust.
So for that, thank you to:YOU, the volunteer. Without you, the
work done by all of the team would have beenworthless. Instead, you made it very special.
On the catering: Jude, Eli, Maria, Mitch,Anne and their team of helpers.
On the sites: Pete, Martin Danks, Matt,Ju, Steve Rice, Paul, Gary, Chris Colborne,Spikey Dave, Steve Baylis, Colin.
From the local trust: Dave Kiddy, RodAuton, Robin Stonebridge & Dave France.
To the burger van (OK, doing baconbutties, but a “bacon-butty van” is lesstongue-worthy), & its owner Craig for donat-ing enough bacon to feed an army.
To everyone in WRG, on the board, thecommittee, at head office and anywhere elsethat have had input or supported me. Par-ticular thanks, as always to Jen, but alsoeveryone involved with the t-shirt and thepublicity material.
To Killamarsh Leisure Centre, for takinga punt and working with us to find a solutionto the problems.
And finally, and (much as catering isobviously the most important) the mostimportant person in getting me through this,Amber. Some might have thought it a bitrisky, asking someone to assist who’d neveractually been to a reunion. The beauty ofthat though, is she asks the questions youhaven’t thought of - and then she has thesolutions as well. So thank you. Repeatperformance in 2015??
George Rogers
Where we
worked
Navigableto the Trent
Restored toChesterfield
N
Norwood
Killamarsh
The Staveleyworksite
The Norbriggsworksite
The Renishawworksite
The Spinkhillworksite
Pla
nned H
S2 r
ailw
ay r
oute
page 17
WRG Boat Club News
I decided that as we had rather an epic ver-sion of boat club news in the last issue ofNavvies I would keep it brief this time! Iusually do a review of the year in Novemberbut feel that it is summed up as ‘nothing ispermanent but change’ this year as it seemsthat our plans were constantly thwarted - butno - what about…
Chester – that was a real success. Manymembers were there and we managed tosqueeze in a social event. Even better, itwould seem that the aims of the rally wereachieved beyond our hopes. Anyone goingthat way, this or next year, please look out forany changes and improvements to the riveraccess or workings on the river Dee itself.
Saul went well and I would love to hearmore details from any member who at-tended. (hint).
WRG Boat Club: What is it all about?
Membership is open to active volunteers of Waterway Recovery Group and those whohave previously worked with WRG.
WRG BC is affiliated to The Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs (AWCC) andaccepts and supports the rules and objectives of this association.
The club provides fellowship, support and a forum for members who own boats orotherwise cruise the waterways.
Informal club gatherings and attendance at boat festivals (especially those associatedthe reopening of formerly derelict waterways) are encouraged. All members are urgedto cruise reopened waterways, little used waterways and those threatened with closure.
Reporting back to the membership is appreciated. All club news will be published inNavvies
New members must pay a joining fee of £10, plus one year’s subscription.Membership cards are issued annually.
The AGM will be held at an IWA Festival, rally or an alternative boat gathering if agreed.
To join contact – Sadie Heritage, 236 Station Road, Whittlesey, Peterborough PE7 2HA.Tel: 07748186867 / 01733204505, email: [email protected]
Not being able to attend Shackerstonewe have made a donation for materials forfurther restoration work. Thank you to Martinfor his information about the circumstancesbehind the restrictions, I had heard of themachinations involving f-f-fisherpersons afterI wrote the news and before publication so itwas good to have an informed explanation.Anyway let us hope that restoration of themissing bits of the Ashby will manage tocontinue despite the further ‘involvement’ ofNatural England.
You should all have received a newmembership card along with alternative ‘notChristmas’ card, please don’t forget to let meknow if you require a printed copy of theAWCC handbook.
Best wishes for Happy Boating in 2015– see you all(?) at Northampton in August.
Keep flying the flag.xxx Sadie Heritage
WRG BCBoat Club News
page 18
DirectoryCanal Society and WRG contactsASHBY CANAL ASSOC
Cyril Blackford
48 The Ridgeway, Burbage
Hinckley LE10 2NR
Tel: 01455 614816
BARNSLEY, DEARNE &
DOVE CANAL TRUST
June Backhouse, 39 Hill St,
Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8EN
01226 743383
www.bddct.org.uk
BASINGSTOKE CANAL
SOCIETY
Duncan Paine, 52 Kings Rd
Fleet GU51 3AQ
01252-614125
www.basingstoke-
canal.org.uk
BCN SOCIETY
Jeff Barley, 17 Sunnyside
Walsall Wood, W Midlands
01543 373284
www.bcn-society.org.uk
BUCKINGHAM CANALSOCIETY
Athina Beckett2 Staters Pound, Pennyland
Milton Keynes MK1 5AX
01908 661217email: [email protected]
www.buckinghamcanal.org.uk
BUGSWORTH BASIN
(IWPS)Ian Edgar
Top Lock House, Lime Kiln
Lane, Marple SK6 6BX.
0161 427 7402
[email protected]/iwps/
index.htm
CALDON & UTTOXETER
CANALS TRUST
Alison Smedley
Hazelhurst Cottage
Denford, Leek ST13 7JT
01538-385388
www.cuct.org.uk
CHESTERFIELD CANAL
TRUST
Mick Hodgetts
31 Pottery Lane
Chesterfield S41 9BH
01246 620695
chesterfield-canal-
trust.org.uk
CHICHESTER SHIP CT
Linda Wilkinson
1 Chidham Lane
Chichester PO18 8TL
01243 771363
www.chichestercanal.co.uk
COTSWOLD CT
Bell House, Wallbridge Lock
Stroud GL5 3JS
01453 752568
www.cotswoldcanals.com
FRIENDS OF THE
CROMFORD CANAL
George Rogers
2 Main St, Whatstandwell
Matlock DE4 5HE07789 493967
www.cromfordcanal.org.uk
DERBY & SANDIACRE CS
Doug Flack
23 Thoresby Cres, Draycott
Derby DE72 3PH01332 576037
www.derbycanal.org.uk
DIG DEEP INITIATIVE
Alan Cavender
53 Derwent Drive,
Maidenhead SL6 6LE
01628 629033
www.dig-deep.org.uk
DORSET & SOMERSET
CANAL SOCIETY
Derrick Hunt
43 Greenland Mills
Bradford on Avon BA15 1BL
01225 863066
www.dorandsomcanal.org
EAST ANGLIAN
WATERWAYS ASSOC
David Revill
43 Kings Road
Coltishall, Norfolk
NR12 7DX
01603 738648
EREWASH CANAL P&DA
John Baylis
215 Clipstone Rd. West
Forest Town, Mansfield
Notts NG19 0HJ
01623 633895
ESSEX WATERWAYS LTD
Graham Brown
Paper Mill Lock
North Hill
Little Baddow
Essex CM3 4BT
07966 375351
FOXTON INCLINED
PLANE TRUST
c/o Mike BeechFoxton Canal Museum
Middle Lock
Gumley RoadFoxton
Market Harborough
LE16 7RA
0116 279 2657
page 19
RIVER GIPPING TRUST
Martin Bird
29 Melton Grange Rd
Melton
Woodbridge IP12 1SA
01394 380765
restoration@rivergippingtrust.
org.uk
GRAND WESTERN CT
Denis Dodd, Wharf Cottage
Nynehead, Wellington
Somerset TA21 0BJ
01823 661653
GRANTHAM CANAL SOC
Ian Wakefield
0115 989 2128
ian.wakefield@
granthamcanal.com
www.granthamcanal.com
HEREFS & GLOUCS CT
c/o The Wharf House
Over, Gloucester GL2 8DB
01452 332900
www.h-g-canal.org.uk
KENNET & AVON CT
Derrick Hunt
(as per Dorset & Somerset)
www1.katrust.org.uk
KESCRG
Eddie Jones
‘Little Orchard’Berryfields, Fillongley
Coventry CV7 8EX0845 226 8589
LANCASTER CT
Keith Tassart
24 Kings CrescentMorecambe LA3 1HX
01524 424761
www.lctrust.co.uk
LAPAL CANAL TRUST26 Loynells Road, Rednal
Birmingham B45 9NP
01785 713862or Hugh Humphreys
07970 765554
www.lapal.org
LICHFIELD & HATHERTON
CANALS REST'N TRUST
Sue Williams, Norfolk House
29 Hall Lane, Hammerwich
Burntwood WS7 0JP
01543 671427
Hatherton: Dennis Cooper
01543 374370
www.lhcrt.org.uk
NEATH & TENNANT CS
Ian Milne
16 Gower Road, Sketty,
Swansea SA2 9BY
01792 547902
MANCHESTER BOLTON &
BURY CANAL SOCIETY
Steve Dent 07802-973228
www.mbbcs.org.uk
MONMOUTHSHIRE
BRECON &
ABERGAVENNY CT
Phil Hughes
14 Locks Canal Centre
Cwm Lane, Newport
NP10 9GN
01633 892167
www.mbact.org.uk
NWPG
Bill Nicholson, 17 Clifford Rd
Princes Risborough HP27 0DU
01844 343369 / 0779
1097773
www.nwpg.org.uk
POCKLINGTON C.A.SPaul Waddington
Church House, Main St.
Hemingborough YO8 7QE01757 638027
ROLLE CANAL AND NTH
DEVON WATERWAYS SOC
Adrian & Hilary WillsVale Cottage, 7 Annery Kiln
Weare Giffard, Bideford
EX39 5JETel: 01237 477705
www.therollecanal.co.uk
SALTISFORD CT
Budbrooke Road
Warwick CV34 5RJ
01926 490 006
www.saltisfordcanal.co.uk
SANKEY CANAL
RESTORATION SOCIETY
John Hughes
01744 600656
www.scars.org.uk
SHREWSBURY &
NEWPORT CANALS TRUST
Bernie Jones
01743 709601
07971 016322
www.sncanal.org.uk
SHROPSHIRE UNION CS
Richard Hall
35 Tyrley Cotts
Market Drayton
TF9 2AH
01630 657737
www.shropshireunion.org.uk
SLEAFORD NAV TRUST
Steve Hayes
10 Chelmer Close
N Hykeham
Lincs LN8 8TH
01522-689460
email: steve.hayes-
www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk
SOMERSETSHIRE COAL
CANAL SOCIETY
Derrick Hunt
43 Greenland Mills
Bradford on AvonBA15 1BL
01225-863066
RIVER STOUR TRUST
John Morris
2 Stockton Close, HadleighIpswich IP7 5SH
www.riverstourtrust.org
page 20
STOVER CANAL SOCIETY
George Whitehead
26 Northumberland Place,
Teignmouth TQ14 8BU. Tel:
01626 775498
www.stovercanal.co.uk
STRATFORD ON AVON
CANAL SOCIETY
Clive Henderson
The Bridge House
Church Lane, Lapworth
Solihull B94 5NU
01564 783672
www.stratfordcanalsociety.org.uk
SUSSEX OUSE
RESTORATION TRUST
Ted Lintott
4 Farm Cottages
Parkfield Way
Haywards Heath RH16 4TB
01444 414413
www.sxouse.org.uk
SWANSEA CANAL SOC
Clive Reed
17 Smithfield Road,
Pontardawe
Swansea SA8 4LA
01792 830782
THAMES & MEDWAY CA
David Rouse
60 Sun Lane
Gravesend DA12 5HL
01474 362861
www.thamesmedway.co.uk
WELL CREEK TRUST
Mrs C Mansell,1 Tramways
Outwell PE14 8PZ
WENDOVER ARM TRUSTRoger Leishman
7 Hall Park
Berkhamsted HP4 2NU01442 874536
www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk
WEY & ARUN CT
The Granary, Flitchfold Farm
Loxwood
Billingshurst
West Sussex RH14 ORH
01403 752403
www.weyandarun.co.uk
WILTS & BERKS CT
George Eycott
Knowle House
1 Ham Road, Wanborough
Wiltshire SN4 0DF
07771 775745
www.wbct.org.uk
WOODEN CANAL BOAT
SOCIETY
173 Stamford St Central
Ashton under Lyne OL6 7PS
0161-330-8422
www.wcbs.org.uk
WRG CONTACTS
WRG ENQUIRIES,
BOOKINGS, DRIVER
AUTHORISATION,
Jenny Morris, IWA
Island House, Moor Road
Chesham HP5 1WA
01494 783453
www.wrg.org.uk
WRG NORTH WEST
Malcolm Bridge89 Rishworth Mill
Rishworth
Sowerby BridgeHX6 4RZ
01422-820693
www.wrgnw.org.uk
WRG NW - ENQUIRIES/
PAPERCHASES
David McCarthy
20 Andrew Avenue
RawtenstallBB4 6EU
01706-214696
www.wrgnw.org.uk
WRG BITM & 'NAVVIES'
DIARY
David Wedd
7 Ringwood Road
Blackwater
Camberley
Surrey GU17 0EY
01252 874437
www.wrgbitm.org.uk
LONDON WRG
Tim Lewis
5 Herongate Road,
Wanstead
London E12 5EJ
07802 518094
www.london.wrg.org.uk
WRG EAST MIDLANDS
John Baylis
215 Clipstone Rd. West
Forest Town
Mansfield
Notts NG19 0HJ
01623 633895
ESSEX WRG
Frank Wallder
12 Bray Lodge
Cheshunt
Waltham Cross
EN8 0DN019926-636164
WRG FORESTRY
Clive Alderman
30 Primley LaneSheering
Bishops Stortford
CM22 7NJ07973 877380
IWA/WRG STAMP BANK
Steve & Mandy Morley33 Hambleton Grove
Emerson valley
Milton Keynes
MK4 2JS
01908 [email protected]
page 21
CANAL CAMPS MOBILES
(A) 07850 422156
(B) 07850 422157
'NAVVIES' EDITOR
Martin Ludgate
35 Silvester Rd.
London SE22 9PB
020 8693 3266
0777 947 8629 (mobile)
'WRGWEAR' CLOTHING
Helen Gardner
27 Broadacre
Comberbach CW9 6QD
07989 425346
WRG BOAT CLUB
Sadie Heritage
236 Station Rd. Whittlesey
Peterborough PE7 2HA
01733 204505
07748 186867 (mobile)
WRG DIRECTORSCHAIRMAN
Mike Palmer
3 Finwood Road RowingtonWarwickshire CV35 7DH
01564 785293
WRG PLANTGeorge Eycott
Knowle House
1 Ham Road, WanboroughWiltshire SN4 0DF
07771 775745
PUBLICITY
Judith Palmer
3 Finwood Rd, Rowington
Warwickshire CV35 7DH
01564 785293
WRGPRINT
John Hawkins
4 Links Way, Croxley Grn
Rickmansworth
WD3 3RQ
01923 448559
IWA CHAIRMAN
Les Etheridge c/o IWA,
Island House Moor Road,
Chesham HP5 1WA
les.etheridge@
waterways.org.uk
TRANSPORT MANAGERJonathan Smith
23 Hardings ChalgroveOxford OX44 7TJ
01865 891 370
Canal & River Trust volunteer coordinators
Central Shires Tom Freeland [email protected]
East Midlands Wayne Ball [email protected]
Kennet & Avon Steve Manzi [email protected]
Manchester & Pennine Steve O’Sullivan [email protected]
North East Lucy Dockray [email protected]
N Wales & Borders Paul Corner [email protected]
North West Matt Taylor [email protected]
London Debbie Vidler [email protected]
South East John Highmore [email protected]
S Wales & Severn Alan Sumnall [email protected]
West Midlands Murray Woodward [email protected]
Please help us to keep this
directory up to dateIf you spot any errors or omissions or know of any changesplease pass them on to the editor. The next full directorywill appear in issue 271, but any corrections receivedbefore then will also be included in the first available‘Navvies Noticeboard’. Thank you for your assistance.
OTHER DIRECTORS
Rick Barnes
11 Lawns Park
North Woodchester
Stroud
GL5 5PP
07976 748345
John Baylis (see above)
Harry Watts
18 Furneaux Avenue
London
SE27 0EG
07889 237834
Helen Gardner (see above)
Dave Hearnden
Chellowdene
Outwell
Wisbech PR14 8TL
07961 922153
page 22
Navvies diary WRG and mobile groupsYour guide to all forthcoming work parties
For details of diary dates beyond the end of this list ple
Dec 26-Jan 1 Camp 201425 Cotswold Canals: WRG Christmas Camp
Dec 26-Jan 1 wrgBITM Wilts & Berks Canal: BITM Christmas Camp at Dauntsey. Leak sealing wlevelling & widening towpath with excavator, tree felling, bonfires, etc.
Jan 4 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Jan 9-15 WAT Wendover Arm: Seven-day weekend Fri-Thu
Jan 10/11 KESCRG Cotswold Canals: Thames & Severn Canal at Bowbridge Lock. EGM Sat
Jan 13 Tue wrgNW Ad Hoc meeting, 7.30pm
Jan 17/18 wrgBITM Cotswold Canals: Bowbridge Lock, Stroud
Jan 17/18 London WRG Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation
Jan 18 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Jan 24/25 NWPG Wey & Arun Canal: Dunsfold or Shalford
Jan 24 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection
Jan 25 Sun WRG Committee & Board Meetings: Rowington Village Hall
Feb 1 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Feb 6-12 WAT Wendover Arm: Seven-day weekend Fri-Thu
Feb 7/8 KESCRG To be arranged
Feb 7/8 London WRG Wey & Arun Canal
Feb 14-21 Camp 201501 Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation: Vegetation clearance and towpath im
Feb 15 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Feb 21/22 wrgBITM Basingstoke Canal
Feb 21/22 NWPG Cotswold Canals: Bowbridge Lock
Feb 28/Mar 1London WRG Cotswold Canals: Bowbridge Lock
Feb 28 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection
Mar 1 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Mar 6-12 WAT Wendover Arm: Seven-day weekend Fri-Thu
Mar 7/8 KESCRG To be arranged
Mar 7/8 Essex WRG Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation
Mar 15 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Mar 21/22 wrgBITM Grantham Canal: Training weekend, and stump pulling
Mar 21/22 London WRG Chesterfield Canal
Mar 21/22 wrgNW Chesterfield Canal: Joint dig with London WRG.
Mar 28/29 NWPG Cotswold Canals: Bowbridge Lock
Mar 29 Sun EAWA/NWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal
Apr 10-16 WAT Wendover Arm: Seven-day weekend Fri-Thu
Apr 11 Sat wrgNW ‘Paper Chase’ waste paper collection
Apr 12/13 KESCRG To be arranged
Apr 18/19 wrgBITM To be arranged, maybe Wendover Arm
Apr 18/19 WRG/IWA/BCNS BCN Clean Up: see p7, more details and booking form next time
Apr 18/19 London WRG BCN Clean Up
page 23
Canal Camps cost £56 per week unless otherwise stated. Bookings
for WRG Camps identified by a camp number e.g. 'Camp 2015-01'
should go to WRG Canal Camps, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham
HP5 1WA. Tel: 01494 783453, [email protected]. Diary compiled
by Dave Wedd. Tel: 01252 874437, [email protected]
ease contact diary compiler Dave Wedd: see top of page
01494-783453 [email protected]
with Bentomat, Rachael Banyard 01249-892289 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Roger Leishman 01442-874536 [email protected]
t eve 8pm Bobby Silverwood 07971-814986 [email protected]
Malcolm & Barbara Bridge [email protected]
Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]
Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Bill Nicholson 01844-343369 [email protected]
David McCarthy 01706-214696
Mike Palmer 01564-785293 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Roger Leishman 01442-874536 [email protected]
Bobby Silverwood 07971-814986 [email protected]
Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]
mprovement work. Accom on Haybay barge. 01494-783453 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]
Bill Nicholson 01844-343369 [email protected]
Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]
David McCarthy 01706-214696
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Roger Leishman 01442-874536 [email protected]
Bobby Silverwood 07971-814986 [email protected]
John Gale 01376-334896 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]
Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]
Malcolm Bridge 01422-820693 [email protected]
Bill Nicholson 01844-343369 [email protected]
David Revill 01603-738648 [email protected]
Roger Leishman 01442-874536 [email protected]
David McCarthy 01706-214696
Bobby Silverwood 07971-814986 [email protected]
Dave Wedd 01252-874437 [email protected]
Chris Morgan 01494-783453 [email protected]
Tim Lewis 07802-518094 [email protected]
page 24
Every Tuesday BCA Basingstoke Canal Chris Healy 01252-370073
Once per month: pls checkBCNS BCN waterways Mike Rolfe 07763-171735
2nd & 4th w/e of month BCS Basingstoke Canal Duncan Paine 01252-614125
Thursdays Sep-Apr BCT Aqueduct section Tim Dingle 01288-361356
2nd Sun & alternate Thu BuCS Buckingham area Athina Beckett 01908-661217
Every Mon and Wed CCT Cotswold (W depot) Ron Kerby 01453-836018
Every mon am Thu pm CCT Cotswold (E end) John Maxted 01285-861011
Various dates CCT Cotswold Phase 1a Jon Pontefract 07986-351412
Every Sunday ChCT Chesterfield Canal Mick Hodgetts 01246-620695
Every Tue and Thu CSCT Chichester Canal Malcolm Maddison 01243-775201
Every Tue & Wed C&BN Chelmer & Blackwater John Gale 01376-334896
Every Friday ECPDA Langley Mill Michael Golds 0115-932-8042
Second Sun of month FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane Mike Beech 0116-279-2657
Thu and last Sat of month GCS Grantham Canal Ian Wakefield 0115-989-2128
2nd Sat of month GWCT Nynehead Lift Denis Dodd 01823-661653
Tuesdays H&GCT Oxenhall Brian Fox 01432 358628
Weekends H&GCT Over Wharf House Maggie Jones 01452 618010
Wednesdays H&GCT Over / Vineyard Hill Ted Beagles 01452 522648
Thursdays H&GCT Herefordshire Wilf Jones 01452 413888
Every Sunday if required IWPS Bugsworth Basin Ian Edgar 0161-427 7402
Every weekday KACT/CRT Bradford on Avon Derrick Hunt 01225-863066
2nd Sunday of month LCT Lancaster N. Reaches Keith Tassart 01524-424761
Every Wed/Sat/Sun LHCRT Lichfield Terry Brown 01889-576574
3rd Sunday of month LHCRT Hatherton Denis Cooper 01543-374370
Last weekend of month MBBCS Creams Paper Mill Steve Dent 07802-973228
Two Sundays per month NWDCT N Walsham Canal David Revill 01603-738648
2nd & last Sundays PCAS Pocklington Canal Paul Waddington 01757-638027
Every Wed and 1st Sat RGT Stowmarket Navigtn. Martin Bird 01394-380765
2nd Sunday of month SCARS Sankey Canal John Hughes 01744-600656
1st Sunday of month SCCS Combe Hay Locks Derrick Hunt 01225-863066
Last weekend of month SCS Stover Canal George Whitehead 01626-775498
2nd Sunday of month SNT Sleaford Navigation Mel Sowerby 01522-856810
Every Thu and Sat SORT Sussex Ouse Ted Lintott 01444-414413
1st weekend of month SUCS Montgomery Canal David Carter 01244-661440
Every Tuesday morning TMCA Thames & Medway CBrian Macnish 01732-823725
Every Sunday & Thurs WACT varied construction Eric Walker 023-9246-3025
Mondays (2 per month) WACT tidying road crossings John Empringham 01483-562657
Wednesdays WACT Tickner's Heath Depot John Smith 01903-235790
Wednesdays WACT maintenance work Ray Pick 01483-272443
Sundays mainly WACT Loxwood Link Kev Baker 02380-861074
Thursdays WACT Winston Harwood Grp Tony Clear 01903-774301
Various dates WACT Hedgelaying (Oct-Mar) Keith Nichols 01403-753882
1st w/e of month (Fri-Thu)WAT Drayton Beauchamp Roger Leishman 01442-874536
If you have any additions / corrections / deletions to this list, please sendthem to Navvies diary compiler Dave Wedd (see previous page)
Navvies diary canal society regularsCanal societies’ regular working parties
page 25
CRT towpath taskforce Navvies diary
Abbreviations used in Diary:
BCA Basingstoke Canal AuthorityBCNS Birmingham Canal Navigations Soc.BuCS Buckingham Canal SocietyBCS Basingstoke Canal SocietyBCT Bude Canal TrustChCT Chesterfield Canal TrustCBN Chelmer & Blackwater NavigationCSCT Chichester Ship Canal TrustCCT Cotswolds Canals TrustECPDA Erewash Canal Pres. & Devt. Assoc.FIPT Foxton Inclined Plane TrustGCS Grantham Canal SocietyGWCT Grand Western Canal TrustH&GCT Hereford & Gloucester Canal TrustIWPS Inland Waterways Protection SocietyKACT Kennet & Avon Canal Trust
KESCRG Kent & E Sussex Canal Rest. GroupLCT Lancaster Canal TrustLHCRT Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Rest'n TrustMBBCS Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal SocietyNWPG Newbury Working Party GroupNWDCT North Walsham & Dilham Canal TrustPCAS Pocklington Canal Amenity SocietyRGT River Gipping TrustSCARS Sankey Canal Restoration SocietySCCS Somersetshire Coal Canal SocietySCS Stover Canal SocietySNT Sleaford Navigation TrustSORT Sussex Ouse Restoration TrustSUCS Shropshire Union Canal SocietyTMCA Thames & Medway Canal AssociationWACT Wey & Arun Canal TrustWAT Wendover Arm TrustWBCT Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
2nd Saturday of month Audlem Shropshire Union Glenn Young see below2nd Saturday of month Aylesbury Grand Union Miriam Tedder 07775-5439904th Thursday of month Bath Kennet & Avon Steve Manzi 07710-175278Alternate Thursdays Blackburn Leeds & Liverpool Matt Taylor 07780-2229771st Sunday of month Burnley Leeds & Liverpool Matt Taylor 07780-2229773rd Thursday of month Cheshire T&M/Macclesfield Steve O’Sullivan 07887-6847071st Saturday of month Chester Shropshire Union Glenn Young see belowAlternate Saturdays Chorley Leeds & Liverpool Matt Taylor 07780-2229772nd Tuesday of month Churnet Valley Caldon Canal Barry Keight 07919 5605823rd Thursday of month Devizes Kennet & Avon Steve Manzi 07710-175278Weds and Thurs Droitwich Droitwich Canal Suzanne Byrne 07900-2765443rd Saturday of month Ellesmere Llangollen Canal Glenn Young see below1st Saturday of month Fradley Trent & Mersey Tom Freeland 01827-2520104th Thursday of month Gailey Staffs & Worcs Murray Woodward 07808-7867721st Mon & Wed of month Hatton Grand Union Canal Murray Woodward 07808-786772Last Sunday of month Hawkesbury Coventry/Oxford Miriam Tedder 07775-5439902nd Friday of month Huddersfield Huddersfield Broad Claire McDonald 07920-2959431st Thursday of month Knottingley Aire & Calder Nav Lucy Dockray 07767-383736Alternate Thursdays Lancaster Lancaster Canal Matt Taylor 07780-2229773rd Saturday of month Lapworth Stratford Canal Murray Woodward 07808-786772Alternate Tuesdays Leicester Grand Union/Soar Tom Freeland 01827-2520103rd Saturday of month London Grand Union/Lee Becky Williams 07799-4368163rd Thursday of month East London Lee & Stort Navs Becky Williams 07799-4368163rd Tuesday of month West London Grand Union Canal Becky Williams 07799-4368164th Saturday of month Manchester Ashton / Peak Forest Steve O’Sullivan 07887-6847071st Thu and 3rd Sat Maunsel Bridgwater & TauntonSteve Manzi 07710-1752782nd Thursday of month Newbury Kennet & Avon Steve Manzi 07710-175278Alternate Wednesdays Preston Lancaster Canal Matt Taylor 07780-222977Alternate Fridays Sefton Leeds & Liverpool Alice Kay 07825 1963653rd Saturday of month near Selby Selby Canal Lucy Dockray 07767-383736Alternate Wednesdays Skipton Leeds & Liverpool Matt Taylor 07780-222977Alternate Fridays Stoke Caldon / T&M Tom Freeland 01827-252010Every other WednesdayTamworth Coventry Canal Tom Freeland 01827-2520104th Saturday of month Tipton BCN Murray Woodward 07808-786772Alternate Thursdays North Warks Tom Freeland 01827-252010Every Tuesday Wigan Leeds & Liverpool Matt Taylor 07780-2229773rd Thursday of month Welshpool Montgomery Canal Glenn Young see below
Contact details: All CRT co-ordinators can be emailed at [email protected], eg
[email protected] for K & A. If no phone number given, use CRT Tel: 03030 404040
Canal & River Trust ‘Towpath Taskforce’ maintenance working parties
page 26
Navvies diary IWA branches...Inland Waterways Association and other one-day working parties
IWA branch abbreviations BBCW = Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire; Mcr= Manchester;Other abbreviations: CUCT = Caldon & Uttoxeter Canal Society; IWPS = Inland Waterways Protection
Every Wed RGT/IWA Ipswich River Gipping: Pipps Ford, or Baylham Mill Lock 9am-4pm. Also Sat 3
Jan 3 Sat IWA Chester Shropshire Union Canal: Chester area, painting & veg clearance. 10am-
Jan 6 Tue IWA Northants Northampton Arm
Jan 8 Thu IWA NSSC/CUCT Caldon Canal: Task & venue TBC. 10am-3pm
Jan 14 Wed IWA BBCW Staffs & Worcs Canal: Painting, tidying & veg clearance 10am-3pm
Jan 17 Sat IWA Manchester Lower Peak Forest Canal: Venue TBC in Greater Manchester area. Veg
Jan 17 Sat IWA NSSC/TMCS Trent & Mersey Canal: Cheshire Locks. Painting & veg clearance 10am-
Jan 23 Fri IWA NSSC Macclesfield Canal: Veg clearance & litter picking 10am-12:30pm
Jan 25 Sun IWA Northants Northampton Arm
Feb 1 Sun IWA NSSC Caldon and Trent & Mersey Canals: Cleanup in Stoke . 10am-3pm
Every Wed RGT/IWA Ipswich River Gipping: Pipps Ford, or Baylham Mill Lock 9am-4pm. Also Sat 7
Feb 7 Sat IWA Chester Shropshire Union Canal: Chester area, painting & veg clearance. 10am-
Feb 10 Tue IWA Northants Northampton Arm
Feb 11 Wed IWA BBCW Staffs & Worcs Canal: Painting, tidying & veg clearance 10am-3pm
Feb 12 Thu IWA NSSC/CUCT Caldon Canal: Task & venue TBC. 10am-3pm
Feb 17 Tue IWA NSSC/TMCS Trent & Mersey Canal: Cheshire Locks. Painting & veg clearance 10am-
Feb 21 Sat IWA Manchester Lower Peak Forest Canal: Venue TBC in Greater Manchester area. Veg
Feb 22 Sun IWA Northants Northampton Arm
Feb 27 Fri IWA NSSC Macclesfield Canal: Veg clearance & litter picking 10am-12:30pm
IWA volunteers on the recent London Clean Up uncover a safe on the Regents Canal...
Ste
fanie
Pre
ston
page 27
NSSC = North Staffs & South CheshireSociety; TMCS = Trent & Mersey Canal Society; RGT= River Gipping Trust; CRT = Canal & River Trust
...and other one-day work Navvies diaryFor WRG canal camps and working parties see pages 20-21
Mobile groups' socials:
The following groups hold regularsocial gatherings in pubs. Pleasephone to confirm dates and times
London WRG: 7:30pm on Tues 11days before dig at the 'Star Tavern'Belgrave Mews West, London.Contact Tim Lewis 07802-518094
NWPG: 7:30pm on 3rd Tue of month atthe 'Hope Tap', West end of Friar St.Reading.Contact Phil Dray 07956-185305
Jan. Martin Bird 01394-380765 [email protected]
4pm. Mike Carter 07795-617803 [email protected]
Geoff Wood [email protected]
Alison Smedley 07779-090915 [email protected]
David Struckett 07976-746225 [email protected]
clearance & painting. 10am-4pm 07710-554602 [email protected]
4pm Bob Luscombe 07710-054848 [email protected]
Congleton Station Bob Luscombe 07710-054848 [email protected]
Geoff Wood [email protected]
Meet Etruria Jct Bob Luscombe 07710-054848 [email protected]
Feb. Martin Bird 01394-380765 [email protected]
4pm. Mike Carter 07795-617803 [email protected]
Geoff Wood [email protected]
David Struckett 07976-746225 [email protected]
Alison Smedley 07779-090915 [email protected]
4pm Bob Luscombe 07710-054848 [email protected]
clearance & painting. 10am-4pm 07710-554602 [email protected]
Geoff Wood [email protected]
Congleton Station Bob Luscombe 07710-054848 [email protected]
While Lichfield IWA surface the Trent & Mersey towpath
Marg
are
t Beard
smore
page 28
Lettersto the editorDear MartinHaving just come off leading what I hopewas a very successful Reunion, I wanted toraise a question for other readers of Navvies.
In the relatively short time that I havebeen involved with WRG I have been to fiveReunions, and one thing that has struck meeven in this time is the dwindling number ofvolunteers - it’s been gradual, but it is hap-pening. Whilst I don’t believe it is losing itsworth to local societies, there will come apoint where it starts to do so.
As such, I’d like to pose the followingquestions. I’m well aware that many of thesequestions have probably been asked before(and many of you are probably instead ask-ing “what’s this young so-and-so think he’ssaying, we’ve always done it like this and thereason’s obvious”), but bear with me.
1: Why do we host it in November?November means short working hours,greater chance of inclement weather and it’scolder! Add to that the fact that the newsummer volunteers have had more time toforget about us. A more subtle point that wefound this year was that with 2014 being the100 year anniversary of the start of the FirstWorld War, many large halls were booked outfor Remembrance events.
Obviously, it is easier to scrub-bash inNovember, but it could be done earlier (lateSeptember?) and still be good work. It’d alsoopen up more jobs for those of us (Godforbid!) who actually don’t like scrub-bash-ing. I accept that hosting a reunion in Sep-tember would mean a shorter amount oftime to turn the kit around after the summercamps - but if the will is there, it can bedone.
2: How much of it is the location?Much as it hurts me, should we be acceptingthat we have to stay more ‘central’ to get thenumbers? What is central? Or do we acceptthat those locations further afield will hostsmaller events? Does the timing make anydifference?
3: Is it the project or the projectteam? I know that I will travel further forcertain projects and certain leaders thanother, but for the Reunion I will generallymake an exception.
4: Should we just accept it? Personallythis would seem like defeat - but we mighthave to. If so though, we do need to temperthe expectations of local societies - “120-150people” may need revising to “80-100”.
I think that there are other points to raise,but these I will do with the WRG committee.I, and I hope others, would welcome anyfeedback you have on the questions above(or indeed anything else!)
RegardsGeorge Rogers
Basingstoke Reunion 2010: would some non-scrub-bashing work attract more volunteers?
Ala
n L
ines
...on how to get more
people at the Reunion,
what do do when you
reach 70, and the
Swansea Canal Camp
page 29
Dear Navvies I am writing regarding the article ‘SwanseaCanal WRG Camp Week 1 2014’ (issue 277).
On behalf of the Canal & River Trust,I’d like to thank WRG, Swansea Canal Societyand all the volunteers who made such amassive difference to the Swansea Canalduring the two week camp. They madeamazing progress, and we’d certainly love todo more with them in the future.
However, I do feel George’s article wasa little bit unfair on the Trust. The site hadbeen handed over to WRG to manage. TheTrust was only involved where necessary andin a genuine attempt to help find solutions toproblems that arose. Of course, when repair-ing an old unnavigable waterway, problemsdo come up! We have certainly takenGeorge’s comments on board, but at the endof the day, WRG and the Trust only want toensure that everyone’s having a good time andis going to go home without accident or injury.
Once again I’d like to thank each andevery person who was involved in the WRGCamp. Your work is the inspiration and perspi-ration behind the continuing success of somany local waterways, like the Swansea Canal.
Yours sincerelyCassie Ward
Team Leader, Canal & River Trust
Dear Navvies Despite being a WRG member for over 40years I think this is the first time I’ve written toNavvies! There are two issues which I feel aresufficiently important to put pen to paper.
Firstly, I was on a Canal Camp thissummer when I overheard two new comerstalking about WRG. One said that when hefirst heard of Waterway Recovery Group hethought it was some sort of boat rescue/breakdown organisation and had no idea thatit was a group actively involved in restoringwaterways. I thought about this and couldsee that he had a point and maybe consid-eration should be given to changing thename, but then I thought “no way” - becauseit’s such an established identity. However,after further thought I realised that every-body refers to WRG and this is the estab-lished identity/name. Therefore, if the namewas changed to Waterway RestorationGroup, it would be clearer to the generalpublic about what it does and the WRGidentity would still be retained. I realise thatit’s not as simple as this, as registered names,bank accounts, etc would need changing, but I
certainly believe that the idea should be givenserious consideration by the WRG Board.
Secondly, I understand that the maxi-mum age for attending Work Camps (& work-ing weekends) is 70, because people over 70are not covered by WRG insurance. As some-body rapidly approaching 70 (only 2½ yearsaway) I am extremely concerned. I wouldhope that in 3 years time I would still be ableto come on working parties and make a usefulcontribution. Indeed I know of many peopleover 70 currently working on canal restorationprojects and making significant contributions. I feel that WRG should press their insurers torecognise that people are living longer, remain-ing fitter and are quite capable of carrying outmany tasks beyond 70 and request that thelimit should be raised to at least 75.
I have raised these matters for seriousconsideration by the WRG Board and throughNavvies to hopefully raise a debate.
RegardsMike Fellows
Ex Working Party OrganiserBasingstoke Canal, 1976-1989
Dear MartinJust a thought re work parties. Myself andmy wife joined one of the work parties onthe Monty. Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed theweek (we stayed on our boat), we have notattended a work party since as either wecould not get the boat close enough or, if wecould the timing has been wrong. We wouldlove to be able to join you again if only theaccommodation arrangements were moresuitable for us. we both feel that the follow-ing should be considered by the organisers.
We are both getting on towards 70 andhave age-related health matters which makecommunal sleeping difficult. Is it not possibleto offer B&B type accommodation as anoption to those who would like it? This wouldobviously put up the cost to those who optfor this but we would definitely prefer to paymore for this. One could perhaps have ‘bedonly’ and join the group for meals etc. It doesseem a pity that older people who are stillwell able to work are not able to join workparties due to accommodation provision.
We feel certain that more older peoplewould get involved if they could have ‘en-suite’ or private accommodation.
Do keep up the excellent work that allWRGies are doing.
Yours sincerelyJohn Potter
page 30
ProgressLichfield & Hatherton
Our regular roundup of
restoration progress around the
waterways begins with the
Lichfield, where things are looking
more hopeful regarding HS2...
Lichfield & Hatherton Canals
The adjustments to the proposed line of theHS2 high speed railway in the Lichfield area,which have considerably relieved the impacton the Trent and Mersey Canal and on localresidents, have been welcomed by all canalenthusiasts. However, the lowering of therailway alignment at Cappers Lane poten-tially rendered restoration of the LichfieldCanal impossible.
Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restora-tion Trust is now satisfied with the reassur-ances received from HS2 Ltd that the connec-tion from the Coventry Canal at Huddlesfordto beyond the proposed crossing of theLichfield Canal by the new railway has beensafeguarded. The original route underCappers Lane will be lost now that the rail-way will cross at the present water level. Ourengineers have devised a deviation which willenable a new channel to cross under therailway and then reconnect with the originalline above Lock 30. HS2 Ltd has assured the
Trust that this new section of canal will bedesigned into the railway construction pro-gramme and will be paid for by HS2 Ltd.Once the wording of this guarantee had beenagreed by both parties, L&HCRT will be ableto withdraw its petition against the HybridBill. The bridge at Cappers Lane which wasbuilt with European funding will be demol-ished and the road considerably diverted.
Discussions with the local councils haveprepared the way to stabilising the towpathtrail from Cricket Lane to London Road.Meanwhile our engineering and financeteams have been working on major fundingapplications which, if successful, will enableus to make considerable progress west ofLichfield towards and beyond the aqueduct.Discussions with the environmental staff atLichfield District Council have progressedplans to work on the common at MuckleyCorner. It is also intended that the Trust’sright to work on sections of the canal routein council ownership should be rationalisedand made more secure.
Cappers lane bridge: new in 2006, but will it ever see a boat?
page 31
ProgressSussex Ouse
...followed by the Sussex
Ouse, where work is
continuing on the long-
running project to restore
Isfield Lock
Sussex Ouse
As we update you on the progress beingmade by the Sussex Ouse Restoration Trustat Isfield Lock it is very apparent that sum-mer has left Sussex and that the recent heavyrain will restrict further progress being madeon the restoration over the coming months.The lock and site recently flooded damaging asmall cement store and making the act ofmoving around the site not only difficult buthazardous. The flood also deposited a two footpike into the lock cut leaving the poor fishstranded when the waters subsided, to berescued and returned to the river.
The working parties will operateonly one day a week from now untilnext spring.
But over the summer months goodprogress has been achieved. The ratherambitious target set earlier in the yearof completing the west wall of the lockchamber is now beyond us, but anenormous amount of work has beencarried out and Ted Lintott, the projectmanager, often working with the bareminimum of workers, must be con-gratulated.
The damaged invert was removedand rebuilt, the lock floor cleared of thegeneral rubble and rubbish that hadaccumulated over recent years andscaffold is now in place to allow thecontinued rebuilding of the wall (seephotograph). That rebuild has to datereached about half distance (or about 24bricks high) and this task, together withthe back fill, has used over 30 tons ofballast and 100 bags of cement. Thank-fully this amount of rebuild has ensuredthat the lock structure is safe fromwhatever the winter rains and possibleflooding will throw at it over the comingmonths.
In addition the stop plank shelteron the east side of the lock has beencompleted (see photograph) and therebuilding of the upstream tow path is
about two thirds complete although this isanother task that will not be able to be con-tinued through the winter months.
Despite the slowing down of the resto-ration over winter, additional help at theIsfield site where working party numbers areconstantly stretched will be most welcome.No expertise is required and no hard labournecessary. If you can help mix cement orclean and carry bricks or offer any other helpplease contact Ted Lintott on 01444-414413.
Terry Owen
Stop plank shelter and (below) lock wall rebuild
Pic
ture
s by S
OR
T
page 32
ProgressWendover Arm
Grand Union Wendover Arm
September and October Working Par-ties: apart from lining the throat of thebridge narrows, all lining leading up toBridge 4A was completed during the Wendo-ver Arm Trust’s September and Octoberworking parties as shown below. The goodweather was, believe it or not, the reason fornot completing this work at the Septemberworking party. Laying very dry spoil on thesloping banks was a slow and tedious job.
Once lining work up to the bridge wascompleted on the Wendover side workstarted on the Little Tring side, as it is neces-sary to line about 10 metres of the canal thisside before completing the liningthrough the bridge itself and buildingthe bund. We had hoped to completethe lining through the bridge and eventhe bund this year but it involves aconcrete lining rather than spoil throughthe bridge to avoid spoil disturbancefrom craft passing through a narrows.The concreting has to proceed in shortstages to allow an excavator to place theready-mix concrete over the Bentomat.As we are near the winter weatherseason we do not want to leave anyBentomat uncovered so we will beleaving this work until the New Year.
Every visiting party on the Septem-ber Open Day asked me the question“Why was Wendover flooded and thecanal so low at Drayton Beauchamp?”
I was able to explain the problemthe Canal & River Trust is having withplant growth between Wendover andDrayton Beauchamp which is blockingthe flow of water. To alleviate the posi-tion at Wendover, CRT is having to letwater into Weston Turville reservoirwhich means that the water is lost to thecanal system and not supplying Wilstoneor Tringford Reservoirs.
Another very serious state of af-fairs resulting from the lack of water atDrayton Beauchamp is that the Trust’s
re-watered Stage 1 is receiving no water andis slowly evaporating due to wind and hotweather. If we had completed the bund inBridge 4A this year we would be strugglingto put any water in our newly re-lined length!
A great concern is the wildlife, particu-larly fish, if the water is not topped up soon.Last week I saw about 2 dozen mallard duckssitting along the offside wondering where alltheir water had gone.
CRT is currently employing a mechani-cal reed cutter to clear a channel in the canalso we hope water will be flowing again atDrayton Beauchamp in the near future.
Roger Leishman, Restoration Director01442 874536 [email protected]
Completed channel lining approaching Bridge 4Aand (below) profiling completed beyond the bridge
And finally, the Wendover Arm
Trust continue to make progress
on re-lining the arm - and this
time they’re complaining the
weather’s too dry for a change!
page 33
Camp ReportInglesham
Another Canal Camp; another
Cotswold Canals work site; the
same author. We bring you the
last of three weeks at Inglesham
Lock during summer 2014...
Dam Fine Time Had By All… at Inglesham Camp 3
Week three of the Inglesham triple header.Under the guise of the Friday night BBQ cookand erstwhile weekend guest, I had astealthy opportunity to weigh up the “undercard” camps before the “top of the bill” actarrived. They were good, dammed good butcould they match up to top team of camp 3?Un-ashamedly they did but then camp 3 setthe stop planks high and sandbagged them.
The pressure was on, a £5,000ishtemporary PortaDam on hire for three weeksof camps with the objective to put in a stopplank dam. A substantially more costly hirebill awaited if it overran, as well as someserious logistical wheeling and dealing to getvolunteers in to complete the objective. Allthat was needed by the three camps was:
1 De-water the work area2 De-sludge sufficient work space under a
listed bridge3 Expose the stop plank sill (if one existed)4 Prepare / replace as applicable said stop
plank sill5 Prepare and install stop plank grooves6 Repair stone /
brickwork on thelower wing andabutment bridgewalls
7 Prepare / install/seal stop planks
8 Fill / place aninordinatenumber of sandbags to form astructure thatwould stop theQE2 from forc-ing its waythrough.
Other little jobs likemaking safe the lockwalls around the work
area, clearance of the lock site of regenerat-ing vegetation , pot hole filling and a bit ofhedge trimming along the access road andgetting all the necessities on site with loadconstraints on an access bridge.
When I said the first two camps weregood, dammed good, it was true, the tasklist had taken a hell of a beating but therewas much still left to do and the sand bagsof time were running out.
Getting the camp booking list is likegetting Christmas presents, some you’veasked for, some you like but haven’t askedfor, and some you’ve no idea who they arebut turn out to be totally unexpected pleas-ures. And some you wish for but never get!Fortunately, to date I have been the recipientof the first three and this camp was no ex-ception. There is a price you have to pay toget the best pineapple upside down cake (inthe world) and a top camp cook & adminis-trator, so I had as my co-leader the manknown as ‘Moose’!
The normal necessities of camp intro-duction day passed, Roberto our Italiantrainee Civil Engineer arrived early at theroundabouts known as Swindon and en-gaged in riding shotgun for our trip to collect
Replacing damaged brickwork
Pic
ture
s by J
ohn H
aw
kin
s
page 34
folks traveling via train and alternative coachreplacement. Great to see Huw, Nick, Mag-gie and Derek again, and meeting all the newfaces, ah with that look of “it seemed like agood idea at the time when I booked on”!With a certain lack of individuals that hadbricklaying experience, the presence of John‘trowel hand’ Hawkins staying over from theprevious week’s camp was most appreciated,as well as his van driving credentials, (adddrivers to bricklayers as another ‘present list’shortfall!).
Sunday morning dawned and we setabout tackling the outstanding tasks. Thebricklaying shortfall was abated by an unex-pected visitor to site, Tom Jeffries, whotaking a day off from the demands of on hisfarm, wielded trowel and level with morethan ‘agricultural’ panache! His absence fromthe canal restoration ‘coalface’ was getting onfor longer than the age of our youngest D-of-E-er. The pressing needs of today’s modernfarming mean that his future presence sadlywill remain ‘unexpected’, but always verywelcome.
Now the danger of not having TasterellaTaster on your camp is that when it comeswriting late camp reports you don’t have thedistinctly Taster aide memoire to correlatepeople to places of work. The situation didnot get helped by a paid job requiring myattendance at various meetings during theweek. So as per a variation of the More-cambe & Wise sketch, “we have all the rightpeople and all the right events, not necessar-ily in the right order”.
My aging memoryrecalls that Chrissie wasclearing Himalayan balsamaround the spillway;various times the scaffold-ing now known as ‘Fid-dlers Elbow’ for the speedand frequency it went up,down and around withprimarily Derek, Nick,Daniel and Huw assisting,in clearing the invert,sucking out the sludgeand dissembling anderecting the scaffold. Logswere cleared from thecanal bed upstream of thelock; the drying sludgeand rubble separation andthe spillway area clearedby a combination of Josh,
Andy, Roberto, Liam, Ed, Emma and Toby.Chrissie cleared Himalayan balsam from thechannel banks upstream of the lock; Maggiemaintained the fire and fetched and carriedfor all; the ‘Hawk’ laid bricks, ably support byDerek and Maggie; and Huw cut bricks.Liam, Josh and Andy, securely attached byharnesses to a safe anchor point, cleared theold horse trough and debris from around thetow path area adjacent the bridge. It ex-posed the overgrown coping stones and thearea where there was a large coping stonethat needed to be removed to a place ofsafety as it was in vulnerable position for allconcerned. Despite some tough defencefrom the pine tree roots, the offending stonewas removed and the area was made safe.Chrissie now only visible by red hard hat inthe tall reed growth continued westward tothe winding hole, dragging back dumpy bagsof balsam for Maggie’s bonfire, Ed, Emma,Toby & Roberto pruned back the overhang-ing hedge growth along the track.
The stop plank sill was now fully ex-posed, Moose, commanding the team hadthe sill’s downstream side soft invert pre-pared by Daniel, Derek, and Nick ready forthe stop plank leak reduction polythene sheetto be installed. In the process Derek provedeven his light frame cannot defy gravitywhen attempting a short cut across the kneedeep silt and not sink! The green oak sacrifi-cial plank prepared by Ed & Emma was dulyinstalled on the, far from level, originalwooden stop plank sill. While all of this was
Will they fit? Installation of the stop planks for the first time
page 35
going on the stop planks were getting pre-pared for installation.
A top tip for future camps is to estab-lish that measurements are in millimetres notcentimetres. Suffice to say we had to finishoff the stop plank wall with a couple of “cut& shut” planks.
Thursday saw Roy Sutton, the IWA’sHonorary Civil Engineer, visit us to overseethe stop plank installation and the stopplanks and plastic sheet facing were finallycompleted late that afternoon. That just leftthe plank handles to fix and approx. 1800sandbags to place by close of business Fridayso the Portadam contractor could take itaway on the following Monday. While thestop plank handles were being fixed on oneside the flurry of sand bag wheeling, sliding,humping and dumping (sorry, “careful place-ment”) feverishly took place under the gazeof Marshall Moose in the footprint of thesandbag dam. The sandbaggers gleefullyfilled in the space vacated by the handlefixing team from the steady flow of sandbagsdown into the lock invert. With the finalhandle in place and fixer and tools exitingstage right sandbags immediately enteredstage left. With Herculean team effort thesandbag dam wascompleted with timeto spare and the sitecleared, tidy andclosed down as thelast van pulled out togo to get some well-deserved showers forthe passengers.
It may seemthat all we had was awork fest but ourhosts, CCT, gra-ciously provided aboat trip on theThames from StJohns Lock back upto Inglesham, andwe all enjoyed thefish & chip supper bythe Thames on alovely warm eveningas the sun wentdown over Lechlade.Huw, the demonWelsh wizard on theskittle ally was topbowler and thememory is a bit hazy Planks installed and sealed with plastic sheeting: job done!
on the team winning front, did we seniorsreally let the youngsters win? The Georgereceived our patronage, the swimming poolin the leisure center was enjoyed by someafter the days grime was washed off andfolks just chilled and relaxed.
All in all a most excellent camp, theobjectives met with the dam away on time,and great people. Great to be in the com-pany of a super band of regular and occa-sional WRGies, and a great pleasure to meetand work with the our new faces on thecamp, some who will hopefully return in thefuture to be ‘the future of WRG restoration’ -Britain’s canals need you! Tom, don’t leave itso long before you make it back to a WRGsite. My thanks go out to the Hawk for asalways being the most useful person onecould ever want on a camp, Maria for keep-ing everyone superbly fed & organized,providing the best pineapple upside downcake…. in the world and my assistant (oops)junior co-leader Moose, what can one say(that is printable)? I couldn’t have had mypineapple upside down cake without you andseriously many thanks for covering whenwork commitments took me away, it wasfun, let’s do it again, soon, I need the cake!
‘RAF Martin’ Thompson
page 36
Camp ReportShrewsbury & Newport
Reporting from the first canal
camp on a new project for WRG:
Meretown Lock on the Newport
Arm, part of the Shrewsbury &
Newport restoration scheme
Shrewsbury & Newport Canals
On Saturday 16th August 20 volunteers, amix of old hands and first timers, descendedon Bourton Borough School in Newport toset up our base for the week.
Following our normal regime of check-ing and counting the kit, introductory talksand safety briefings, we were all set to de-scend on Meretown Lock on Sunday morning.
Having secured the site with Nymeshfencing, and most importantly set up theBurco ready for tea and coffee break, we setabout scrub clearing the lock sides to investi-gate what lay beneath and the reason for thebulge in the offside wall brickwork.
By lunchtime the lock looked a verydifferent place and the scrub clearance teamwere well on the way to the A41.
The bulging brickwork had been re-moved and prepared ready to rebuild. Theconcrete dam at the tail of the lock had beenpartially dismantled using our disc cutter anda good helping of brute force with a sledgehammer!
When the hired plant arrived it wasimmediately put to use lowering the level ofthe infill to provide asolid base for the brick-layers at a comfortableworking height.
On Sunday after-noon we collected someof the reclaimed bricksfrom the Shrwsbury &Newport Canals Trust’s‘black store’ to becleaned for reuse in thelock wall rebuild. Iunderstand they camefrom a wall close to theblack store which wasdemolished and thecouncil intended to sendthem to landfill prior toSNCT intervention.
The local trust hadborrowed a nine pin
skittle alley, giant Connect 4 set and a Jengagame set consisting of wooden blocksemblazoned with ‘Guinness’ on the sides. Thiswas all put to good use during the evening.
Monday started with the newcomersbeing instructed how to safely mix Limemortar. Several teams started on the allo-cated tasks of brick cleaning, mortar mixingand bricklaying.
On the camp we had several D of Evolunteers. Some of these were shown howto lay bricks. The sound of chipping ham-mers echoed throughout the morning asthere were a lot of bricks to clean.
After lunch several volunteers went tothe second site at Forton to begin scrubclearance in preparation for repositioning theboundary fence.
Investigation work began at the tail ofthe lock and the towpath side paddle holewas found to be in good condition.
The lower section of the concrete damproved to be an inverted T shape and toothick for the disc cutter so a decision wasmade to hire a pneumatic breaker and com-pressor which as soon as it arrived was putinto action breaking out the remainder of the
Clearing out the head of the lock chamber
Pic
ture
s by M
ike B
ickers
taff
e
page 37
dam. Again a number of newcomers wereshown how to safely operate the breaker.
The dam proved straightforwardenough to remove. However the other taskfor the kit proved less straightforward. Atsome stage a mound of concrete had beendumped in the offside paddle hole and therestricted space made it a very difficult taskto remove, but persistence paid off and intime it was all removed. Thankfully beforedumping the concrete the offenders hadsomewhat bizarrely decided to place a sheetof corrugated iron in front of the paddleopening. Very thoughtful – but not puttingthe concrete there in the first place wouldhave been even more thoughtful!
Bricklaying continued at a good paceand more bricks were ferried from the blackshed and cleaned. A decision was then takento cap the offside wall with bullnose engi-neering bricks which were ordered for next daydelivery at a local builder’s merchant. Work alsoprogressed at a pace at the Forton site. SNCTmembers worked with us at both sites.
A visit to the bowling alley (ten pinautomated this time) was arranged but as wehad worn the youngsters out only the old’unsventured into Telford to play.
Back on site the excavator was alsoused to remove tree stumps between thelock and the A41.
Bricklaying continued to bring the off-side lock wall up to matching height of thenearside wall which also needed some infillbricklaying to complete. The bullnose engi-neering bricks duly arrived and were col-lected, ferried to site and straight into thebrickies hands to begin laying.
On Thursday evening the local trust hadarranged a quiz night at the local British LegionClub and paid for the drinks! Not surprisingly itwas the best attended evening event.
Friday, the last day on site, had arrivedin the blink of an eye. At Meretown Lock weneeded to point up the bullnose capping brickswhich is not a quick task, and interestinglyseveral different methods were used – all veryeffective, The capping bricks had to have aconcrete haunch laid behind them so themixer was going flat out to produce sufficientconcrete once we had sufficient lime mortarfor the brickies to finish the pointing.
The plant was being collected at 4pmbefore which we had to level the infill in thelock but this could not be done until thepointing was finished. In these situations it isa question of belief – if you convince yourself
you will finish everything you likely will –and we did, both at Meretown Lock andForton.
As leader of the camp I wish to thankall of the volunteers for making this such aneasy and successful camp.
Thanks to Kate for cooking for the firsthalf of the week and preparing us for thesecond half. To Ricey as assistant leader andcook for the second half. To Pete Fleming forhis invaluable help in van & kit transfers. ToIan for van transfer help. To Bernie Jones,the local organiser and the SNCT memberswho visited us both on site and at the socialgatherings. Your can-do attitude was a re-freshing change and your hospitality wasoutstanding. I hope we will all work togetheragain in the future.
Bob Crow
Preparing the walls for (below) bricklaying
page 38
Driver Authorisation update - part 2
Following a number of queries about the WRG Driver Authorisation scheme recently, wethought it was a good opportunity to go through the categories and clear up misunderstand-ings. Part 1 of this article (in Navvies 267) covered categories 1a to 4a. Unfortunately wecan’t give you 4b and 4c yet so you’ll have to wait until next time to find out about trailersup to 3.5 tonnes (towed by vehicles with up to 9 seats) and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes (towedby vehicles with up to 17 seats) respectively. But first an introductory note on how it works...
The Categories
It is important to note that the categories are cumulative, so if you have 1c, you also have1b and 1a. For fun I have included in brackets at the end the number of people who haveeach category. The DA scheme is recognised and used for all WRG camps and local groupsas well as some canal societies (for example Wilts & Berks Canal Trust). Some local societiesrun their own equivalent scheme which may or may not accept a WRG card.
5a – Tractors up to 1000Kg. Remember the small tractors we used to borrow for theNational? They were category 5a. If you are using them to drag trailers around then you willalso need 4a. If using them to power implements you may need other categories, e.g. 17,19 or 20. [26 operators, of whom 2 are instructors]
5b – Ride-on mowers up to 1000Kg. [8 operators, of whom 1 is an instructor]
5c – Tractors over 1000Kg. Anything from a small grey Ferguson T20 up to ‘gertbigguns’. Don’t forget that you may need other categories with it if using trailers or attach-ments (e.g. 4, 17, 19 or 20). [38 operators, of whom 10 are instructors]
6 - Loading and securing of plant. More accurately loading and securing of anything to atrailer or truck. Note that this is not needed for packing a van or kit trailer, the nature of theirconstruction and equipment carried means the risks in that situation are much lower. This ismore for strapping down dumpers, rollers, excavators etc. onto flat beds and beavertails.[32 operators, of whom 6 are instructors]
7 - Skid Steer. Mostly applies to the Case skid steer loader, in recent years seen at someNational Festivals and currently on the Erewash, though we have been known to hire themin. [33 operators, of whom 10 are instructors]
8 - Was dumpers, no longer used or valid. Replaced by categories 24, 25 and 26.
9a – 180 degree excavators for example Thwaites Tusker, Alldig, also sometimes foundas an attachment on the back of tractors. [7 operators, of whom 2 are instructors]
9b – JCB3 and equivalents. Got a loading shovel on the front and a digging arm on theback? You’ll be looking at 9b then, no matter whose brand name is on the side (thoughchances are it will be JCB). [34 operators, of whom 7 are instructors]
10a – 360 degree excavators up to 7 tonnes. [154 operators, of whom 18 are instructors]
Driver authorisationThe categories explained
Ten years after it
was re-launched,
Bungle brings us up
to date on how the
categories work now
page 39
10b – 360 degree excavators over 7 tonnes. [80 operators, of whom 21 are instructors]
11 – Draglines. Much though these look like a lot of fun, I have not seen a working one ona canal for about 20 years. [0 operators, of whom surprisingly 0 are instructors]
12 – Smalley. An obscure machine designed for digging graves or defensive trenches de-pending on who you ask. A 360 degree excavator with no tracks but two wheels, was once acommon sight on WRG sites but now only one left in action (at Wootton Bassett on the Wilts andBerks), though we do know of one being restored… [12 operators, of whom 4 are instructors]
13 – Bulldozers. A rare beast in canal restoration unless you are doing a major muckshiftwith a landscaping job at the dump site. [4 operators, of whom 0 are instructors]
14a – Barrowhoist. Two types, traditional one mounts on a swivel post which is eithermounted in a scaffolding or on a counterweighted base. The newer type have a trolley on atrack. [25 operators, of whom 5 are instructors]
14b – Small cranes. We have neverdefined small cranes but think JonesKL15. This does not cover lorrymounted loading equipment (Hi-absetc). [17 operators, of whom 6 areinstructors]
15 – Telehandlers and fork lifttrucks. Mainly used at festivals forloading and moving heavy and bulkyitems. Note you do not need thiscategory for using the forks on a JCB3or skid steer. [27 operators, of whom6 are instructors]
16a – Pedestrian roller. Rollereither single or tandem that you walkbehind. [29 operators, of whom 2 areinstructors]
16b – Ride-on rollers. [50 opera-tors, of whom 12 are instructors]
17 – Wood chipper (on early ver-sions of the scheme this was known asa shredder). Covers all sizes fromsmall vegetation capable machines upto tracked kit that will chew up andspit out good sized trees (and nav-vies…) [22 operators, of whom 1 is aninstructor]
18 – Electrical distribution. This isfor the sort of work we do at Festivals.Not needed for plug-together cablesand adapters that are taken apart atthe end of the day (i.e. on-site systemsfor running a mixer from a kit genera-tor do not need this category).[7 operators, of whom 2 are instructors]
If you’re authorised to drive this (category 16b)...
...then you’re also OK on this (16a). But not vice versa!
All p
ictu
res
by M
art
in L
udgate
page 40
19 – Power winches. As found on the back of tractors and the front of Land Rovers. \[8 operators, of whom 3 are instructors]
20 – Flail. Normally mounted on a tractor, either dragged behind or on an arm to cut hedges.[10 operators, of whom 2 are instructors]
21a – Boats up to 7m, with or without engine. This covers dingies and small boats, nor-mally powered by outboard engines, does not include boats being used for giving trips tothe public which fall outside of the driver authorisation scheme.[7 operators, of whom 0 are instructors]
21b – Boats over 7m, with or without engine. Does not include boats being used forgiving trips to the public which fall outside of the driver authorisation scheme.[43 operators, of whom 6 are instructors]
21c – Tugs. This is for boats designed to be either push or pull tugs being used to moveother craft and primarily covers the additional skills needed to correctly attach the two boatstogether. If you are just giving a broken down or stuck boat a quick pull on a rope then youdo not need this category. [64 operators, of whom 13 are instructors]
22 – Dredgers. A boat with dredging equipment, normally a hydraulic arm.[15 operators, of whom 5 are instructors]
23 – Tracked dumpers. Dumpers that have tracks instead of wheels. Becoming popularsince we outlawed ‘narrow skip tipping’ dumpers as there are models that are both narrowand very stable. [35 operators, of whom 7 are instructors]
24 – Rear steer dumpers. Useful on good surfaces for moving equipment, especially on narrowtowpaths but for most restoration work now superseded. (Also sometimes known as ground
This is a ‘normal’ articulated, forward tipping, four wheel drive dumper, category 25...
page 41
anchors due to their propensity to getting stuck!) [131 operators, of whom 28 are instructors]
25 – Articulated steer, forward tipping dumpers. By far the most common item ofplant on site that needs driver authorisation. [243 operators, of whom 36 are instructors]
26 – Rear tipping wheeled dumpers. Only used for really big muck shifts, it is rarethat you will have room for them on a canal site. [2 operators, of whom 2 are instructors]
Over the ten years since it was refreshed in 2004, the scheme has changed: for examplesplitting dumpers into separate categories; adding tracked dumpers and dredgers. Some-times we get requests to add a category but decide that an external qualification would bemore appropriate (e.g. chainsaws, quad bikes). There are items of kit that we do not coverunder the scheme, but rely on leaders and volunteers to ensure that the individual is confi-dent and competent to use it – e.g. bricksaws, strimmers etc.
Remember that even if you have a category on your card under the DA scheme, ifyou are not happy to use/drive it either because it is an unfamiliar model or you are a bitrusty, say so. It is much better to speak up than knock down that wall that has just beenbuilt (or worse). It is possible that you have the option of going and practicing somewhereout of the way (take for example telehandlers at the National Festival – you will see mostof us drive off out of the way to ‘get our hand back in’ with a pile of fencing stillage at thebeginning of the setup before lifting £10k worth of boat engine in a tight space).
Driving plant on the road has recently become more complex. Under the DA schemeyou will need the category of the item of plant PLUS any one of categories 1,2 or 3 PLUSyour driving licence much have been checked in the past 12 months. There are now insur-ance implications for powered plant in public areas – this was covered in Navvies 264-265.
To find out more about the scheme, the best place to start is the WRG website(www.wrg.org.uk) where there is an entire section devoted to it, complete with forms thatyou can download to apply or vary your categories.
George ‘Bungle’ Eycott
...not to be confused with this, a rear-steer dumper, for which you must have category 24
page 42
Navvies NewsWe need your stamps!
Canal Camp mobile phones
In almost every issue of Navvies for the last20 years or so, somewhere we have men-tioned the numbers for the two Canal Campsmobile phones: 07850 422156 (if the campis on the Kit A circuit) and 08850 422157(for Kit B camps).
Now this is all very handy but we feelwe should point out to camp leaders thatthese phones are provided not just for mak-ing calls out, they are also the means ofother people contacting the camp. So justbecause you have your own phone, thatdoesn’t mean you can leave the camp phonewith a flat battery back at the accommoda-tion/in the flightcase/in the van. It is reallyfrustrating when we need to contact a campabout van movements or a problem with kitand the phone is turned off.
Also, if you’re clever enough to forwardthe camp phone on to your personal phone,then you had better be clever enough toremember to take the forwarding off beforeyou leave. Otherwise when someone ringsthe camp the following week, you will bedisturbed and they won’t be able to contacttheir loved ones. And you will need to con-tact the camp to get them to take it theforwarding off - which you can’t do becausewhen you ring them it will divert to yourphone! Thank you.
Don’t just turn up!
OK, having taken the camp leaders to task,it’s the turn of the volunteers now. And inparticular the regular ‘old hands’ who are inthe habit of turning up to for a few days tohelp out on a canal camp. Now it’s reallyuseful to have you along, but please doremember to speak to the camp leadersfirst to check that it’s OK for you tojoin them before you show up (even if youknow you’ll be welcome, you’ve turned upfor every camp on that site since 1984, andthey’ll benefit from your expert assistance!)It’s a common courtesy and helps them plan.
Get your boots on and walk for WRG!
Our parent body IWA, supported by itsWarwickshire Branch, is organising an 8 milesponsored walk along the Stratford-upon-Avon and Grand Union canals on Sunday22nd February 2015. The walk aims to raiseat least £1,000 (hopefully a lot more) to-wards the £50,000 WRG van appeal. Due tobe launched later in the new year, this aimsto raise money for two new minibuses ataround £25,000 each for summer 2015.
The eight-mile circular walk will start atLapworth Village Hall and take you alongpeaceful stretches of the Stratford-upon-Avonand Grand Union canal towpaths as well asthrough fields before arriving back at thevillage hall for tea, something to eat and awell-deserved rest. It’ll be a great day out andyou’ll get the chance to have a chat with peopleof similar interests and explore a beautiful areaof the country, all in the name of WRG!
If you’d like to come along and walk forWRG, or for more information seewww.waterways.org.uk/iwalk or phone01494 783453 ext. 611. Places are £5 perperson and under 16s go free, after which itis over to you to raise as much sponsorshipas possible. Young people under 18 need tobe accompanied by an adult.
Toby Gomm
Congratulations...
...to George Rogers on becoming the 149thperson to receive a Point of Light Awardfrom the Prime Minister, awarded to recog-nise ‘shining examples of volunteering’.
Stamps wanted!
Another thing that appears in nearly everyNavvies is a piece about the Stamp Bank. Butwe’d like to draw particular attention becauseat this time of year you might well have a lotof used postage stamps. So save them, plusempty ink and toner cartridges, aluminiumcans and foil (or any other aluminium eg oldpans), foreign coins and notes, any couponsthat can be exchanged for items, old mobilephones and old die-cast (eg Dinky) toys, andthey can be used to fund canal restoration.
Send them to IWA/WRG stamp bank,33 Hambleton Grove, Milton Keynes MK4 2JS- or to arrange collection for heavy or bulkystuff contact Steve & Mandy Morley on 01908520090 or [email protected].
page 43
Infill‘Dear Deirdre’ is back!
On weddings, ebola, and
the sort of criminal that
rather puts you off the idea
of using prison labour on
canal restoration...
Dear Deirdre I’m increasingly concerned about the Ebola epidemic and fearfulit may spread to these shores. What precautions can I take whilst digging toavoid any chance of infection?
- H J, CroydonDeirdre writes I think WRGies constitute a low risk group as they tend to shun holidaysin West African in favour of pottering about the Midlands in a narrowboat. In fact they usu-ally avoid going overseas altogether, although Martin Ludgate once visited a ship canal in theNetherlands whilst in a particularly adventurous mood. If Ebola does strike the UK, I expecthead office may venture some new guidelines against sharing teaspoons at tea break, or atleast insist you give it a really good wipe on your sleeve first. Other than that, I expect itwill be business as usual.
Dear Deirdre I’ve been asked to give a speech at a WRGie wedding. It’s veryflattering to be asked, but I barely know the couple getting married! I mean, I’vemet them on a few digs but there are lots of other people in my local WRG groupwho know them better. To be honest, I’m not quite sure why they chose me.
- M Drew, East SheenDeirdre writes Actually it’s perfectly clear. You’re obviously NFW (‘Normal, For WRG’).This means you’re the only WRGie they know who can be trusted not to give a speech pep-pered with filthy innuendo and weird anecdotes about the groom’s adventures with heavyplant. That’s the last thing a bride wants her elderly relatives to have to sit through.
As the couple have clearly chosen you as the acceptable face of WRG, you must takeyour responsibility seriously. Try to appear normal to the other guests and conceal the ec-centricities of other WRG guests where possible. For example, you might encourage WRGguests not to wear steel toe cap boots on the dance floor (it’s very aggravating for brides-maids dancing in peep-toe heels). If they start singing any songs about people working inpanda conservation, hastily conduct the bride’s elderly relatives from earshot. Interrupt long-winded dinner discussion about tractor engines by steering the conversation off in otherdirections. Other guests will thank you for it.
As for your speech, you might like to stick to safe themes such as what the bride doesin her day job and how good the groom’s map-reading skills are. Don’t tell any anecdotesinvolving over-consumption of beers with suggestive names like Intercourse IPA or Bell EndBrew. Avoid stories that involve any or all of the following: an unconscious Duke of Edin-burgh volunteer; puke; unsafe sexual practices; upside-down diggers. Don’t explain how thegroom got that scar, or tell any anecdote that ends with the words “...but don’t tell the insur-ance people”.
It isn’t very often that WRGies have to mix with normal people, but mercifully these thingsare usually quite short so you won’t have to keep up the pretence for very long. Enjoy the day!
And finally...
Did you hear about the arsonist in Devizes who left a trail of destruction behind him beforeattempting to make his getaway – yes, you guessed it, by stealing a boat and fleeing at4mph along the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Or rather, when we say 4mph, that’s what he might have managed if he’d been smartenough to head east along the 15-mile level pound through the Vale of Pewsey. But no, ourbright spark headed the other way, straight down the 29 locks of the Caen Hill Flight. He gotthrough four locks before abandoning his boat, setting fire to it, and getting arrested...
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